Dispute over street lighting
Boris Palmer writes a burning letter to Habeck


12/13/2022 at 8:51 PM

Boris Palmer is very interested in saving electricity. The mayor of Tübingen turned off the street lights at night. This earned him a reprimand from the State Department of Transportation. In response, Palmer turns directly to Economics Minister Habeck.

According to a media report, the mayor of Tübingen, Boris Palmer, wrote a fire letter to the Federal Minister of Economics, Robert Habeck, expressing his discontent with Baden-Württemberg’s Green Transport Minister, Winfried Herrmann.

The reason for this is Palmer’s ambitions to save energy, according to “SPIEGEL”. Accordingly, the street lights in Tübingen remain off for hours at night. This may end soon for legal reasons. Palmer Habeck announced that the university town had received a letter from the Tübingen Regional Council. For traffic safety reasons, the lighting at zebra crossings should not be turned off at night, it says there. Exceptions are not planned, and “energy saving intentions” cannot be indicated.

Palmer, who had been suspended from the Green Party, was distraught. Tübingen’s 11,000 lamps were linked in groups of 100 street lamps each. The mayor argues that switching on zebra crossings alone would not be technically possible.

Palmer continued in his letter, “I am happy to take responsibility for unlit crosswalks at night because I know the real danger of this decision is close to zero and people can take enough responsibility to walk around at night before crossing the street.” . They cling to “outdated systems” and “throw clubs among those who act.” This is how “progress in the expansion of renewable energies or the digitization of our country has been constantly prevented.”

According to the report, the Vice-Chancellor, who said every kilowatt-hour saved, should speak his mind. “If you, as the responsible minister, come to the conclusion that the contribution of Tübingen described to the energy saving goals you have formulated is irreplaceable, I will be happy to follow through.”

According to “Spiegel”, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport says: “We welcome this when cities and municipalities use legally compliant methods of energy saving via street lighting. Various technical options are available for this. We have indicated to which city of Tübingen the legal norms apply. Head Municipal Palmer is responsible for his decisions.”