Parent stops instead of parent taxis: Lüneburg closes Schulstrasse!

Parent stops instead of parent taxis: Lüneburg closes Schulstrasse!

From October 27, 2025, everything in the Hanseatic city of Lüneburg will revolve around safety on school routes. The street in front of the “Im Roten Felde Elementary School” will in future be closed three times a day, Monday to Friday, in order to improve conditions for students. This measure is part of a nationwide research project that the city of Lüneburg is carrying out together with a total of six municipalities. It will be tested for a year to see how such school streets can reduce the volume of traffic and thus contribute to safety in front of schools NDR reported.

“The closing times begin half an hour before class, again at lunchtime and in the afternoon,” explains Hendrik Garbers, the headmaster of the elementary school. Only buses and residents are allowed to pass through the street during these times. Parents are required to drop off their children at so-called “parent stops” near the school. On the first day of implementation, most parents adhered to the new regulations, but five drivers had to be stopped by the police and fined.

Local measures for more security

This initiative goes hand in hand with the planned conversion of Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Straße to Schulstraße for the 2025/2026 school year. Bastian Hagmaier, head of the mobility department, reports on the selection criteria that led to the decision: “Important factors were the appropriate number of students and the often conflict-filled situations caused by drop-off and pick-up traffic,” he explains. This street was specifically chosen because it is located away from large commercial areas, which means regular delivery traffic is less relevant.

The project aims to make traffic in front of schools safer and reduce the number of so-called “parent taxis”. “We want to give the children more space to move,” emphasizes Hagmaier. Providing residents with information at an early stage is an important part of taking concerns and worries seriously from the start.

An example for other cities

Lüneburg is the only city in Lower Saxony that is involved in this innovative research project by the Federal Highway Research Institute. The focus is not only on increasing traffic safety, but also on a paradigm shift in traffic planning that takes the mobility transition into account. Similar initiatives in cities like Cologne or Berlin show that school streets are not only theoretically feasible, but also bring practical benefits for the community, like the action group Changing Cities shows.

With this pilot project, Lüneburg not only wants to improve traffic safety, but also serve as a role model for other cities. The evaluation of the measures is planned for the summer of 2026 to determine whether the new regulations really bring the desired changes. Those involved have a good hand when they work together to improve the quality of life for the smallest road users.