I sent the same questions as I had sent to the Department of the Environment to Daniel Costantino, who works for the organisation "Umverkehr".
What do you think are the best measures to reduce CO2 emissions?
Basically: Burn less fossil fuels. Use less energy in general. Buy durable, repairable products. Aim for closed-loop recycling. Use instead of own. There are many more possibilities here.In terms of mobility, this means more cycling instead of driving. Walk and use public transport. If a car, then car sharing. Ask yourself before each journey whether it is really necessary. Form car pools. Avoid flights whenever possible.
To make part of the city car-free or to ban certain vehicles as other cities are already doing?
I am generally not a fan of bans, but sometimes there is no other way. I think it is better to build car-free settlements, to reduce the number of parking spaces, to offer a good and safe bicycle infrastructure, to offer good public transport, to promote car sharing and car pooling. Promote car-free neighbourhoods. Well-functioning neighbourhoods with shopping facilities for everyday needs also reduce traffic.
Is lowering the speed limit a good alternative solution?
In my opinion, lowering the speed limit is a good way to combat noise (https://www.zh.ch/content/dam/zhweb/bilder-dokumente/themen/umwelt-tiere/l%C3%A4rm---schall/strassenlaerm/tempo_30_als_laermschutzmassnahme.pdf) and for general safety. For example, during emergency braking, a car at T30 is already stationary when it only starts braking at T50 (T30 = reaction distance 16.7m, braking distance 4.7m / T50 reaction distance 27.8m, braking distance 13.1m). The field of vision of the driver also widens at lower speeds, which in turn improves safety, as dangers can be recognised earlier and the driver can react accordingly. Furthermore, a lower speed requires a narrower lane - freeing up space for other road users, such as cyclists.
On the other hand, a lower speed requires a smaller safety distance, i.e. more vehicles can pass. In general, traffic flow is increased at lower speeds.
Lowering the speed limit has many advantages, especially in terms of safety and prevention.
As a means of reducing traffic, I find it suitable only to a limited extent.
Minimising parking facilities so that people use public transport more ?
Reducing parking facilities is a very efficient method of traffic reduction. It is denounced that this leads to more search traffic - which is hardly avoidable at the beginning of a changeover. Over time, however, people become aware of this and switch to other means of transport.
When minimising parking possibilities, it is important that people with physical disabilities, craftsmen and suppliers are not disadvantaged. But there is also potential here - for example, cargo vans are still rarely used.
It is important to have well-functioning neighbourhoods where there are shopping and leisure facilities and where people can get around on foot or by bike.
For me, a central point is urban planning: living, working and leisure time should be as close as possible to each other.
Another means, which in my opinion still has a lot of potential, is appropriate education.
The bicycle, rather than the car, is becoming a status symbol. People are aware of the consequences of their mobility behaviour and behave accordingly.
Traffic in the city consists, among other things, of traffic coming into the city from outside. What is needed here is a greater awareness of combined mobility. That is, from home on foot, by bike or by car to the nearest train station, by train into the city and in the city on foot, by rental bike or by public transport.