Image Archives

The Great Tram Stop Adventure

An agitated lady stands at the Busestraße tram stop. “I have to take risks just to get to the bus stop”, she says. She pushes her rollator along the footpath and cycle path between the densely parked cars, lightly touches a vehicle door and daringly steps on to the road. A vehicle in front of her is already racing along the road. Her view is completely blocked. She yanks back her rollator in shock, which unfortunately has no magic eyes to tell her if the road is clear.

A vehicle parked on the protective strip between road and cycle path, a sanitation company, has gotten hold of a “weekend parking lot” here on the pedestrian and cycle path area and enjoys it under the eyes of a lethargic authority, not to mention the police.“Company car park” of a sanitary company (Photo: Bernd Thomsen)

But the offender is not alone. A considerable number of parking offenders have been supporting him for years, in disregard of the relevant traffic regulations .- Has the authority failed in its duties due to a lack of traffic monitoring? Consistent traffic monitoring here is essential, with regular speeding traffic. Continue reading The Great Tram Stop Adventure

Bremens first Protected Cycling Lane?

Bremen’s Neustadt – located in the centre of Bremen, on the left bank of the Weser – is developing into one of Bremen’s liveliest districts. However, the Friedrich-Ebert-Straße (see our post about Parking Day 2019 in Bremen) – a traffic axis designed at the height of the popularity of the “car-friendly city” – cuts the district in two and separates the neighborhoods of “Flüsseviertel” and “Südervorstadt” from each other. A working group of citizens who are committed to the development of the district have now presented a plan for the redesign of this main artery:

Cover picture of the brochure

Essential measures

Continue reading Bremens first Protected Cycling Lane?

One Hundred and Eighty Kilotons

What can cycling do to reduce CO2 emissions in Bremen? Here we calculate what has been done, what hasn’t, and what can be done in the coming decade.

With Fridays for Future developing a regular presence on the streets of Bremen, a transport transition blog like Bremenize must surely be asking – what can cycling do in response to the climate emergency? Generalised answers to this question abound in the cycling advocacy world, amongst concerned politicians, in Bremen’s new coalition agreement, and indeed amongst Fridays for Future activists, or at least amongst those living in a country with a cycling culture. Continue reading One Hundred and Eighty Kilotons

Parking Day: Or how to civilise a traffic hell  

The Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse in the Neustadt district of Bremen is heavily congested, or better said: a four-lane traffic hell.  People who live on this road are exposed to unbearable levels of noise and air pollution every day. Because this road – 30 m wide, then 60 m wide before it turns into the Wilhelm-Kaisen-Bridge – offers generous space for motorized traffic. Pedestrians and cyclists, on the other hand, have to share the narrow (4 m) sidewalk, and can hardly ever cross the road safely.


Not much space for everyday cyclists, Foto: Wolfgang Köhler-Naumann

Should this be the case? Is this appropriate for a modern urban environment?

We believe it is not. We wanted to show that there is another way to organize public space. Continue reading Parking Day: Or how to civilise a traffic hell  

Guerilla action or a “city for people”?

Europe-wide Parking Day in Bremen, Germany

“A city for people” – for three hours reality in Bremen’s Neustadt.

This happened on the 15th Parking Day as part of the European Mobility Week in Friedrich-Ebert-Straße in Bremen after the super demo against climate change of “Fridays for Future” in the city centre with more than 30,000 participants (not bad for a city of 550.000!):


More space for cyclists and pedestrians for 3 hours, Foto: Fino Terreno

Continue reading Guerilla action or a “city for people”?

“Geht-Doch-Manifesto” – Pro pedestrian traffic in Bremen

Manifesto pro pedestrians:

(The following is taken from the original text)

Lots of dosh for car traffic – hardly anything for foot and bicycle

According to a study by the University of Kassel, car traffic in Bremen receives a subsidy of 156 euros per inhabitant per year, public transport 115 euros, cycling 9.3 euros and walking 16 euros.


Pavements in Bremen, does it have to be like that?

Although Bremen does somewhat better than other municipalities, it must be said that car traffic is heavily subsidised. Continue reading “Geht-Doch-Manifesto” – Pro pedestrian traffic in Bremen

Resident Parking – Transport Transition or Motorist Appeasement?

The new Draft Agreement on Cooperation in a Government Coalition for Bremen, 2019-2023 (from now on here called Koa Treaty) promises to install resident parking, to ban illegal parking and to push back the illegal practice of parking on pavements with two wheels. Hooray! Or not to Hooray?


Illegal Parking in Bremen – Foto: Beatrix Wupperman

It literally says: “We will consistently manage public parking space, i.e. we will manage the inner-city areas and identify resident parking.”

But we have to be careful: resident parking in Germany is super cheap. What is the upshot? Continue reading Resident Parking – Transport Transition or Motorist Appeasement?

The Time Is Ripe – Parking Must Cost

The New Bremen Politics of Parking

The newly-elected Bremen coalition government has agreed ambitious changes to transport policy, and placed them at the forefront of the coalition agreement (Draft Agreement on Cooperation in a Government Coalition for Bremen, 2019-2023), hereafter referred to as the “Koa Treaty”.  Meanwhile this draft has been approved internally by all parties of the coalition and it will thus be put into effect by the coalition parties in the near future.

At the same time, the Bremen Alliance for Transport Change -on the basis of the findings of the conference held in Oct. 2018– has set itself the goal of achieving the practical implementation of its core requirement, the introduction of a city-wide management of public parking areas in Bremen, making parking chargeable all over the place.

This post opens a series on the topic “Management of public parking spaces”. The aim is to provide activists in Bremen with a common conceptual and factual framework for their actions in initiatives, associations, district councils, etc.

Continue reading The Time Is Ripe – Parking Must Cost