Moratorium for Kewerstrasse: Beech stays, safety comes!

Moratorium for Kewerstrasse: Beech stays, safety comes!

There is important news about Kewerstrasse in Oberhausen, which concerns both the preservation of an old beech tree and the ensuring of better traffic planning. On March 28, 2025, the petitions committee of the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament called on the city of Oberhausen and the BUND Oberhausen to develop solutions that protect the tree and ease the traffic situation there. Dr. Palotz, the head of the department in charge, is open to working together on this challenge. Loud Lokalkompass.de No repayment of funding is necessary as long as the points mentioned are adhered to.

An independent report commissioned by BUND and prepared by traffic planner Dr. Ing. Jürgen Brunsing confirmed that trucks and buses can drive past without felling trees - and at a speed of 20 to 30 km/h. This shows that it is entirely feasible to increase traffic safety at this intersection without sacrificing the beech. Cornelia Schiemanowski and Bärbel Höhn offered discussions about the planning, while the CDU parliamentary group has so far rejected this invitation. The discussions are crucial because existing traffic planning potentially compromises pedestrian safety, particularly a proposed crossing positioned near a sharp curve.

A moratorium on safe solutions

The challenges in foot traffic are not only noticeable in Oberhausen. Everyday life is often similar: Pedestrians are at risk and often feel unsafe in traffic. How deutschlandfunk.de reports, a pedestrian is injured in an accident every 18 minutes - tragic statistics that continue to come to light. In 2024, 397 pedestrians died in traffic accidents in Germany, with many of these accidents occurring at zebra crossings or due to incorrectly parked cars blocking access to sidewalks.

A moratorium is considered necessary to avoid hasty decisions being made that could potentially put citizens under pressure until the next local elections. Dr. Brunsing has indicated that errors may have been made in the city administration's assessment of his report, which gave the impression that his suggestions were not being considered as an alternative to the current plan.

A step towards pedestrian friendliness

The BUND Oberhausen is vehemently committed to planning that not only improves traffic safety at the Kewerstrasse junction, but also promotes the preservation of beech trees. It remains to be seen how the political actors will react to the suggestions presented in order to implement prudent transport planning that takes into account the needs of all road users. In other cities, such as Mainz or Aachen, structural measures have already been implemented to improve the situation for pedestrians. The trend in many European cities is clearly towards pedestrian friendliness - an important goal that should also be achieved here in Oberhausen.

The responsibility to protect pedestrians is greater than ever. Measures to improve infrastructure, such as safe crossing aids, pedestrian lights and wider sidewalks, are crucial to reducing the number of pedestrian accidents and getting closer to the goal of “Vision Zero”. In this sense, it remains exciting to see how the situation around Kewerstrasse will develop further.