Speeding shock in Afferde: City fights for speed controls!

Speeding shock in Afferde: City fights for speed controls!

The residents in Afferde are fed up. They have been fighting the rage in their neighborhoods for years. At a recent local council meeting, residents expressed their dissatisfaction with the unsustainable traffic situation. One resident even described his street as a “firing line” and “acceleration lane.” Things can't go on like this!

While the city of Hameln has at least purchased mobile speed display boards, they are now lying around unused. The reason: unclear load-bearing capacity of the lampposts, which is currently being tested. This situation was clearly confirmed by local mayor Björn Lönnecker (SPD) at the meeting. Unfortunately, there is no binding timeline for completing this sustainability test, which creates additional confusion. It remains unclear why the statics were not clarified before the devices were purchased.

Need for action and planned measures

The local mayor sees an urgent need for action because speeding is increasing. The local council even offered to take over the installation of the speed displays themselves, but this was rejected by the administration. This is causing additional annoyance among residents who want a quick solution.

Another reason for concern: The upcoming renovation of federal highway 217, which is scheduled to take place from July 21st to August 15th, could further worsen the traffic situation. During this time, parking bans will apply on Hildesheimer Straße. The local council is therefore planning to develop further measures together with the city administration.

Potential of speed displays

The question arises: Why don't we use the latest technology to improve road safety? Digital speed indicators provide precise speed measurements and are easy to install. They are compact, lightweight and are offered in different versions. They also have numerous functions such as brightness control and multilingual support, so they can be used anywhere and in any weather. These displays help reduce speed and thus reduce the risk of accidents, especially in residential areas and around schools, as viatraffic.com emphasizes.

With its “Vision Zero” the BMDV sets a clear goal: zero deaths or serious injuries in road traffic. It promotes numerous measures to increase road safety. Projects such as the national cycling plan 3.0 and the mFUND innovation initiative show that the federal government is ready to invest in the future of road safety. This also includes research projects to improve the traffic situation, which are supported by the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt), which carries out around 260 of its own research projects every year, as reported on mobilitaetsforum.bund.de.

It remains to be seen how quickly those responsible in Hamelin will act. However, residents have had enough of waiting. The pressure to act is growing, and the next meeting of the local council could be decisive in determining whether the speed indicators will soon be installed.