The so-called Blue Lane during the IAA Mobility 2021 was a flop. The lane between the exhibition center in Riem and the city center should actually only be reserved for low-emission vehicles or those that are occupied by at least three people. Drivers didn’t stick to that, which is why the mobility department didn’t even want to introduce the lane at this year’s IAA. The effort is not justified.
Now, at least a shorter version of the Blue Lane is to be implemented during the trade fair, from September 5th to 10th, provided that the federal Autobahn GmbH sets up such a lane on the A94 as well. The Mobility Committee decided on Wednesday against the votes of Die Linke/Die Party and the ÖDP.
The city would set up a Blue Lane on Einsteinstrasse in the bus lane between Riedenburger Strasse and Vogelweideplatz, if that is legally possible, for about 350 meters. Together with the route on the A94 to the Riem trade fair, the privileged lane would then be around six kilometers long, i.e. half shorter than in 2021.
What could still fail: The city council insists that this time the motorway junctions remain open. That was not the case in 2021, the Blue Lane ran on the emergency lane, the access roads were therefore closed and there were traffic jams on the detour routes in the city area.
Autobahn GmbH should now check again whether a Blue Lane could be set up in the left lane. She had initially rejected this as unfeasible. The city has not yet made contact with Autobahn GmbH, as can be found there. However, the time could be tight with the Blue Lane. Since the capacity of the A94 would be halved, a traffic study would first have to be put out to tender, as well as agreements with the Federal Highway Authority in Leipzig and the German Traffic Center in Frankfurt.
The traffic test for a privileged lane in 2025, which was also decided, seems more realistic. It should last at least three months and could take place on the A96 between Freiham and the end of the motorway, for example, or on the Mittlerer Ring.