Years of dispute

Less traffic in City remains a pipe dream

The two politicians are no longer friends: SPÖ City Councillor for Transport Ulli Sima (left) and Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens)(Bild: Krone KREATIV/PID/ Christian Jobst)

Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) has been delaying a prestigious project in the city for years, Vienna City Councillor Ulli Sima rages

And the groundhog greets us daily. No political project is better suited to this well-known phrase than the traffic-calmed city center. Apart from the Lobau Tunnel, perhaps. The opponents on both sides have also been the same for years. Monday was the day again. Transport Councillor Ulli Sima (SPÖ) appeared before the media in a now familiar setting. Flanked by City District Head Markus Figl (ÖVP), a data protection report that is now two years old was presented.

It's a real shame, because the traffic-free city center could have been implemented long ago! All the arguments put forward by the Green Minister had the sole purpose of delaying this project.

Verkehrsstadträtin Ulli Sima (SPÖ)

Conclusion: data protection was never in danger. As Nikolaus Forgó, university professor at the University of Vienna, also confirms. Traffic calming, including effective control through camera-based access controls, would therefore be legally possible.

Councillor Angelika Pipal-Leixner (Neos), City District Head Markus Figl (ÖVP), City Councillor for Transport Ulli Sima (SPÖ) and Councillor Erich Valentin (SPÖ) are calling on Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler to act immediately.(Bild: Zwefo)

"Demonstrators must not be photographed, this is clearly regulated in the current proposal! It is therefore not necessary to impose or switch off the cameras at every demonstration in the 1st district for data protection reasons and, with around 1800 registered demonstrations a year, it is also not practical!", Sima criticizes the Ministry of Transport's proposal for a law.

Ministry passes the buck
"The draft law for camera-monitored access controls was already submitted to the coalition partner in October 2023 and has been undergoing internal government coordination since then," the office of Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) said coolly. So the dispute on the backs of the city's residents continues.