Inner-City Mobility for the World of Tomorrow

Aachen's city center is a magnet for locals and visitors alike. It is many things all at the same time: a shopping center, a place of work, a place of residence, a place in which to enjoy culture, and a place to meet friends: 50,700 people live in the neighborhoods and squares within the ring road. Many visitors come to Aachen from the local area, the border region, from elsewhere in Germany, and from far away.

Regardless of their reasons for being in Aachen, they all want to move around and get from A to B. One person may need to take their child to nursery, another may want to get to know the city as a visitor and others may wish to enjoy their retirement and simply watch the hustle and bustle of the city.

The traffic infrastructure that is required for this is now being organized in a better way – especially for those people who choose environmentally-friendly options: people who walk, take the bus, cycle, or use low-emission cars and freight vehicles.

The city of Aachen is already a city that you can get around pretty quickly. Thirty percent of journeys in Aachen are made on foot. However, the adjacent districts and surrounding green areas are also going to be connected to the city center using especially inviting premium footpaths. The use of bicycles has increased noticeably in recent years. The priority cycle routes will help to make cycling safer and more comfortable. Grabenring is going to take on the new role of a bicycle distribution ring around the old town. Buses are being converted to utilize emission-free drives, and the bus service is being expanded upon. In a few years, the Regiotram will connect other neighboring cities directly with the city center and the main train station. This will return Aachen to having a streetcar service, much like the one that was discontinued in the 1970s, much to the chagrin of many residents at the time.

New routes through the city center

In order to organize all modes of transport in a safe, environmentally friendly, and convenient way, the city of Aachen has developed an integrated concept entitled “Inner-City Mobility for the World of Tomorrow.” Mobility needs to be fair and safe, and the city center should be easily accessible for everyone. Within the ring road, the streets have been divided up into five development areas since August 2024. What is new there is that cars must now first change onto the ring road further out in order to get from there to the next area. Another new feature is that Karlsgraben, Templergraben and Driescher Gässchen are now bicycle lanes, although cars are still allowed to drive along them at 30 km/h. The means that traffic moving through the town is shifting towards the outer areas. In the city center there is more peace and quiet and a better quality of life. Children can play safely. Everyone can enjoy a healthy and pleasant working and leisure environment. At the same time, the city center will remain easily accessible.

How it all came about

This idea of a new traffic routing system in the city center is part of the overall “Inner-City Mobility for the World of Tomorrow” package that the Aachen city administration has been working on since 2022. This was preceded by council motions in 2019 and 2020 that expressed a desire for fewer shortcuts and for a more liveable city center. Aachen's politicians adopted the overall concept “Inner-City Mobility for the World of Tomorrow” in October 2023. However, the initial plans for a sustainable city began to take shape much earlier. Aachen launched a transportation development plan back in 2012 that included involvement by the general public. This gave rise to Vision Mobility 2050 in 2014 – which provided us with a first glimpse into the future.

Since then, many events have offered people the opportunity to obtain information and get involved in the process. Public meetings with municipalities that have successfully introduced similar traffic management systems were informative and illustrative. One of these was in the Belgian city of Ghent, which claims to have “the largest traffic-calmed area in Europe” in its city center.