Now the anti-30 speed limit initiator is speaking out "The green-left wants to ban cars from cities"
In Zurich, a 30 km/h speed limit applies around the main station, Sargans is taking the canton to court, Küsnacht is fighting all the way to Lausanne - and in Bern, the Federal Council is tightening the rules. At the center of the conflict is a proposal by FDP National Councillor Peter Schilliger.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- A proposal by FDP National Councillor Peter Schilliger has prompted the Federal Council to allow 30 km/h on main roads only under stricter conditions.
- More than 600 towns and municipalities are opposing the plans and speak of an unconstitutional encroachment on their autonomy.
- Examples such as Sargans, Zurich main station and Küsnacht show how fiercely the dispute over 30 km/h is now being fought out before authorities, courts and in politics.
For months, a bitter dispute has been raging in Switzerland over 30 km/h. In recent months, blue News has repeatedly reported on specific cases throughout the country in which the introduction of a reduced speed zone is being bitterly fought over.
In Sargans SG, for example, the municipality wants to introduce a 30 km/h speed limit in the town center. However, the cantonal civil engineering office is refusing to deal with the application - with reference to the planned tightening of the law, which would largely rule out 30 km/h on cantonal and important municipal roads.
Sargans has therefore lodged a complaint with the Department of Building and the Environment for legal delays. The municipality is citing "high-ranking interests" in noise protection, which should already be taken into account under federal law.
The current 30 km/h speed limit dispute was triggered by a motion from Lucerne FDP National Councillor Peter Schilliger. Schilliger's main aim is to slow down cities with 30 km/h speed limits on main roads. "The widespread introduction of 30 km/h should be stopped," he said in an interview with the Aargauer Zeitung newspaper. Neighborhood streets with a 30 km/h speed limit are fine for him, as they are about residential quality. On "traffic-oriented roads" - i.e. main axes, feeder roads or important village thoroughfares - 50 km/h should remain the rule.
Schilliger criticizes the fact that, in his opinion, cities have gone too far: "We are seeing more and more roads being converted into 30 km/h zones for ideological reasons and with hypocritical arguments." He does not see himself as a hardliner: "I am not an ideological person. You can usually find a solution with me," emphasizes the FDP politician.
Various arguments about 30 km/h
Nevertheless, it is clear to the politician in an interview with the "Aargauer Zeitung": "Left-wing green" wants to "ban cars from the cities". However, he is not finding support everywhere: around 600 Swiss towns and municipalities have protested in an open letter against federal plans that would make it more difficult to introduce 30 km/h speed limits on roads with heavy traffic. They want to decide for themselves where 30 km/h is introduced.
This dispute is also visible in the canton of Zurich. In Küsnacht ZH, the administrative court has rejected an appeal against a 30 km/h speed limit on the busy Schiedhaldenstrasse. Despite opposition from residents, businesses and the SVP, the speed limit is to be reduced in future, primarily for noise protection reasons. The opponents have taken the case to the Federal Supreme Court - another example of how far the conflict has escalated in the meantime.
The dispute is particularly visible in the city of Zurich. The city government has imposed a 30 km/h speed limit on 24 streets and squares around the main railway station - from Bahnhofquai via Central and Gessnerallee to Walchestrasse. The authorities justify the move on the grounds of safety: in the last five years, there have been over 700 accidents and 14 accident blackspots in the main station area, and the traffic situation is one of the most complex in Switzerland.
Critics from the middle classes, however, see this above all as harassment for motorists and delivery services. In an interview with blue News, FDP cantonal councillor Marc Bourgeois spoke of a "snail zone" and doubted the increase in safety: during the day, traffic is congested anyway, whereas at night, 30 km/h would mainly result in additional buses. The SVP, on the other hand, speaks of a politically motivated "forced slowdown" aimed at making driving in Zurich unattractive.
