April 2008
Fresh Air for the City Center
a new environmental zone will be established in munich
s temperatures rise and spring fever sets in, environmental statistics have become a regular feature of the daily news. Rising levels of ozone, dust, and free radicals, according to reports, can induce headaches, respiratory difficulties and other physical problems. Munich in particular is frequently mentioned as one of Germany’s most problematic areas. The concentration of
Feinstaub (dust) recorded at a measuring point at Landshuter Allee frequently busts the standards of the European Union. According to EU regulations, there may be more than 50 micrograms of Feinstaub per cubic meter of air on only 35 days each year. Munich, however, annually exceeds this limit on approximately 100 days.
To counter this environmental problem Munich has banned the transit of trucks through the city. Since February, about 8000 trucks each day have been rerouted on the motorway ring around Munich. Only vehicles heavier than 3.5 tons delivering within the city area are allowed to enter Munich. Still, this new traffic restriction will not entirely solve the problem; the city continues to explore means of re-purifying the urban air. A project is in the making that will be more far-reaching than the latest regulations concerning truck traffic.
By October 2008, the city plans on establishing an
Umweltzone (environmental zone). Spanning the area within the
Mittlerer Ring, the zone will cover a seventh part of Munich, home to the city’s densest population: more than one third of Munich’s 1.3 million citizens. In the Umweltzone, new emissions regulations will require that each car entering the zone—no matter if it is registered in Germany or any other country—will have to display an environmental sticker.
There will be three different colors of stickers classifying each vehicle’s emission standards: A red sticker with a “2” on it will be for diesel cars that meet the emission regulation “Euro 2-Norm,” or “Euro 1-Norm” plus a diesel particulate filter. Diesel cars classified as “Euro 3,” or “Euro 2” plus a diesel particulate filter will be labeled as “3” and will get a yellow sticker. The best classification “4” (green sticker) will be
applied for diesel cars higher than “Euro 3,”
electric cars, hydrogen vehicles and all other gas-fueled cars with catalytic converters. Old diesel cars or gas cars without a catalytic converter will be categorized as “emission class 1” and will not be permitted to enter the Umweltzone. Until 2010, the classification of your car will be secondary as long as your car meets the standards of one of the three stickers. After that, cars with red stickers also will be banned. To find out which of the three stickers suits your car, check the
Emissions-Schlüsselnummer (emission key number) on your vehicle registration certificate. The last two numbers in field “1” on the certificate or field “14.1” on newer copies will signify the emission category to which your car belongs. Classification charts
are available at
www.umwelt-plakette.de.
Here, you also can buy stickers for
€ 8.90, plus € 10 mailing expenses. Stickers also are available for just € 5 (the official fee) at the
Kfz-Zulassungsstelle
(car admission office) at Eichstätter Strasse 2
or at all repair shops that do emission inspection (Tüv or Dekra, for example). When purchasing the sticker, you will have to present your vehicle registration certificate. Even though you will not need the sticker until October, it is advisable to purchase one early, especially if you are planning on driving to
Berlin, Cologne or Hannover, where environmental zones already have been established. Entering an environmental zone in a car without a sticker will incur a fine of € 40 and one penalty point at the national traffic administration office in Flensburg. (Penalty points are registered for two years; if you have gathered 18 penalty points during that time, you will lose your driver’s license.)
Of course, critics of the new environmental zones have already emerged. The ADAC—Germany’s largest motor vehicle association—claims that millions of car owners are obliged to purchase an environmental sticker, only to inhibit a minority of cars from the city center. Some also doubt that the environmental zones will improve the Feinstaub problem. It is true that car traffic is Germany’s largest emission source of particulate matter, but a work study of the
Umweltbundesamt (National Environment Administration) has shown that fumes from cigarettes, fireworks and extensive barbecuing in summer are also sources that should not be neglected. In addition, some studies suggest that after 2010, when car motors have been improved, particulate matter will be produced by the abrasion of breaks, wheels and pavement.
The city of Munich, however, considers the establishment of the Umweltzone as one important action among many others to improve the air quality in the area. The city council has already issued a new fuel edict for stoves in private households and there is constant work on the extension of the public transportation system. Considering the inescapable stress that a drive to the crowded city center often causes, there is also the possibility of a healthy and environmentally friendly alternative—riding a bike! <<<
