Many people in Frankfurt certainly dream of a car-free city centre. Now a small part of the city centre could actually be freed from car traffic. At least, if it goes according to the will of planning department head Mike Josef and traffic department head Klaus Oesterling. In a joint statement, they have proposed that the Grosse Hirschgraben become car-free and a pedestrian zone.
"We want to open up the city centre for people. For me, this includes designing the public space from the point of view of pedestrians and cyclists and reducing car traffic. With the establishment of the pedestrian zone in the Grosser Hirschgraben, the Goethehaus and the Romanticism Museum will also receive an appropriate environment," Josef said.
The street today has no through traffic and could easily be shut down for car traffic, said Transport Director Oesterling.
The two department heads see the pedestrian zone Großer Hirschgraben as another step to win back the city center for pedestrians. The responsible local council 1 had also advocated the conversion of Hirschgraben into a pedestrian zone.
"The pedestrian zone is a success story in Frankfurt and it is impossible to imagine life without it. We are working on bringing more quality of life to the city centre through smaller and larger measures. For us, this includes more gastronomy and more cooling urban greenery in addition to the quality of stay. In Braubachstraße we have converted parking spaces into gastronomy areas, in Großer Hirschgraben we are creating space for strolling on a former street," the two department heads explained.
