The new pilot for descreasing vehicle access in the old town of Bielefeld has been receiving wide attention. “Bielefeld tests car-free old town area”: in many different versions, this sentence could be read in local and regional news on the city. The new pilot project, which is part of CIVITAS ReVeAL, has indeed drawn a lot of attention in the last few months, and especially over the May’s last weekend, as the city publicly announced its will to implement the temporary pilot in the old town. The project has started in June 2021 and will end in February 2022. During the test phase, and after, there will be comprehensive evaluation, including citizen surveys, to evaluate the impact of the new measures. During the test phase, no vehicles will be allowed to drive in significant parts of the old town and some streets will become one-way-streets. In addition, some parking spaces will be reallocated for bicycles and pedestrians or outdoor seating and greening. With these solutions, the city aims to reduce through-traffic, improve road safety, air quality and overall life quality in the area. More (in German): https://www1.wdr.de/mediathek/video-bielefelder-altstadt-ohne-autos-100.html https://www1.wdr.de/nachrichten/westfalen-lippe/rat-bielefeld-Entscheidung-autofreie-Altstadt-100.html
