Multiple districts of Berlin have shown interest in a Senate-led initiative that would close streets to cars and other motorised vehicles from May to October 2023.

Car-free Berlin during summer 2023

According to a new initiative by Berlin's Senate for Mobility, many streets in the German city could be car free during the summer months of 2023. 

Speaking to Berliner Morgenpost, Senate representative Sara Lühmann explained that streets that are between 50 and 100 metres long would be blocked to all motorised vehicles. The Senate hope that increasing the number of car-free Berlin streets means that children could play and cyclists could ride more safely. Berliners would also be able to use the space for lounging around in the sunshine.

As was the case with one of Berlin’s main thoroughfares, Friedrichstraße, which was closed to drivers for more than two years, the streets chosen would be furnished with small benches and flower beds.

Berlin neighbourhoods must register interest

The Senate for Mobility is now urging districts of Berlin to register their interest in the summer project. So far, the areas of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Mitte, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Tempelhof-Schöneberg, have expressed interest in taking part.

Areas must express interest because the Senate specifically hopes that districts with "active neighbourhood initiatives” will be included in the project. Encouraging such neighbourhoods is a decision made in the hope that already established initiatives mean locals would tend to the plant beds and set up markets, festivals or other neighbourhood events and activities.

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