Sridharan spoke at a well-attended event organized by the Federal Agency for Civic Education and the VHS on the subject of "sustainable city". Sridharan's discussion partner Boris Palmer, Mayor of the city of Tübingen, and member of the Green party, repeatedly put pressure on Sridharan to step up to the plate.

The visiting mayor had many ideas on how a city could become more environmentally friendly. In Tübingen, for example, investors would only receive building rights once the building land was owned by the municipality. "In that way, we have much more influence," said Palmer. He has long since implemented the one-euro ticket for local public transport in the city with 90,000 residents and has already developed a concept for free bus transport. "If the federal government gives us 15 million a year, we'll do it."

Sridharan argued that the infrastructure in Bonn did not allow for free local transport. On the other hand, he announced that the 365-euro yearly ticket would become a permanent feature if the test phase was successful. The federal government had signaled to him that it would finance the project beyond the two-year period.

The ever more lively discussion focused mainly on the question of how mobility could be made more sustainable. Sridharan referred to the idea of bicycle routes in Kaiserstrasse and on both sides of the Rhine. "We are currently examining that," he said. Listeners accused him of lacking credibility. Kurt-Schumacher-Straße in the federal quarters had just been renovated without taking bicycles into account.

Palmer said there had to be big solutions to allow for more bike traffic, and invited council members to visit Copenhagen, where bike jams at traffic lights have become a regular occurrence.

Orig. text: Martin Wein

Translation: ck