Category Archives: Beatrix Wupperman

All posts by Beatrix

Ralph Saxe – Transport Revolution In 2019?

With Bremen’s state election looming next year, and the Greens riding high in the polls, there is a very real chance that they will form a strengthened half of any new coalition. With the two old parties declining in popularity, there is even the prospect of a Green-led government. With this in mind, we recently interviewed Ralph Saxe, transport spokesperson for the Bremen Greens, to see what they have in mind for the coming legislature. Continue reading Ralph Saxe – Transport Revolution In 2019? →

Sharing a car in Bremen: What we gain

We’ve had enough! More and more cars fill our streets, less and less space for everyone else. So what could a CarSharing (Car Club) system do for us? If several people share one car we need less of them, and fewer parking spaces are needed.

In Bremen nearly 15,000 people use Cambio. Founded 30 years ago as a community association called „Stadtauto“.

Right now (May 2018) Cambio offers 331 cars of different sizes, based at 91 stations around the city for 14,800 users in Bremen und Bremerhaven.

Continue reading Sharing a car in Bremen: What we gain →

European Push and Pull

The Amsterdam approach to car parking which we previously outlined is also regarded as a model for the European Push & Pull project.

Push-Pull is essentially a package of carrot and stick policies: I’ll take something away from you, e.g. Free parking, and give you something back, e.g. more trams, quality cycleways, safe pavements.In short: improved quality of life through better mobility.

Continue reading European Push and Pull →

Carrot and Stick in Amsterdam

One of the best examples of consistent parking management is the city of Amsterdam. The principle is simple. The closer you park to the centre the more you pay. Amsterdam’s parking regime covers an area that, as far as population is concerned, is nearly as big as Bremen. Continue reading Carrot and Stick in Amsterdam →

Four Bremen NGOs Forge New Transport Transition Initiative

A major step forward for a Transport Transition has been taken in Bremen, with the release of a first joint policy document by city’s the 4 major pro-transition NGOs. Continue reading Four Bremen NGOs Forge New Transport Transition Initiative →

Parking: Expensive for everyone except drivers

Is Parking a Basic Right?

What does our community do when it offers free parking for almost everyone? Do free parking spaces constitute a needed public service such as education or health? Why am I allowed to buy a car without having to think about where I can park this car, day or night?

Why am I paying rent or property tax for my house, but use free public space to park my private tin can?
Continue reading Parking: Expensive for everyone except drivers →

Bremen’s First Premium Route

When a cycling city like Bremen, with a cycling modal share of 25%, announces its flagship cycling infrastructure initiative of this parliament, you would expect at least some bold and innovative measures. The name of the flagship policy – Premium Routes – certainly trumpets the idea that these will be even better than the existing, substantial, cycling network. Continue reading Bremen’s First Premium Route →

Bremen’s Parking Policy Battleground

Some cycling activists may be wondering why we’ve spent the last couple of months discussing the apparently boring subject of car parking. True enough, there are certainly sexier cycling themes to pursue in Bremen at the moment – the planned Cycling Quarter in the Neustadt, the Premium Route from Mahndorf to Bremen-Nord, that is under discussion, or the new cycling bridge over the Weser. But the place of parking in the traffic hierarchy can have a radical influence on the progress or otherwise of everyday cycling in Bremen. Continue reading Bremen’s Parking Policy Battleground →

“The Law Is An Ass”, Said Alice.

The on-going local spat between citizen activists and the Bremen authorities in Neustadt took another twist last week, as the former tried their hand at legal parking, and the latter responded with the, umm, full weight of the law.

The Alice in Wonderland, parallel universe reality, reared its head in Biebricherstrasse, where last year the same group of citizens were punished for trying to calm local traffic. This time, they chose to park two cars legally by leaving them on the roadside, rather than on the pavement where all other cars illegally park.

Continue reading “The Law Is An Ass”, Said Alice. →