Darmstadt has begun reorganizing traffic in the residential area around Lichtenbergstraße in the Martinsviertel. The project will give pedestrians more room by ending the tolerated practice of parking cars partly on sidewalks. The Lichtenbergblock will be renamed the “Heinerblock,” after “Heiner,” a local term for a native of Darmstadt.
Work is due to start this week with road markings, according to the city administration. The plan focuses on the school route along Lichtenbergstraße and Müllerstraße. Mobility councillor Paul Georg Wandrey said the changes do not require major construction work and are also intended to discourage through traffic in the historic residential district.
The block is bounded by Heinheimer Straße, Kranichsteiner Straße and Rhönring. Under the revised plan, streets within the area will remain open to traffic so that properties can still be reached. Emergency vehicles and refuse collection trucks will also be able to enter the neighborhood.
Until now, cars have been allowed to park partly on sidewalks without formal authorization. The city says this has left some pedestrian passages less than 1.5 meters wide, creating difficulties for older people using walkers, wheelchair users and parents with strollers. Bicycles, electric scooters and bins can further obstruct the sidewalks.
With cars parked fully on the road, some streets will not have enough space for two-way traffic. Sections of Lichtenbergstraße, Liebfrauenstraße, Kaupstraße and Wenckstraße are therefore set to become one-way. Cyclists will be allowed to ride against the direction of traffic. Parking will be restricted to one side of some streets, and intersections will be kept clear of parked vehicles to make crossing easier.
The project is a scaled-back version of an earlier proposal. In 2022, Darmstadt’s city parliament considered “superblocks” modeled on Barcelona, where car use within blocks is heavily restricted. A decision last year opted for a reduced approach that preserves access through the neighborhood.
The changes will be introduced in stages, Wandrey said, allowing the city to assess how they work in practice and adjust the plans if necessary. The Verkehrsclub Deutschland (VCD) supports the measures but says they are coming too late, four years after the initial decision in 2022.
Sources: FAZ.