BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The FDP is calling for a pro-car traffic policy and largely rejects the conversion of streets into bicycle and pedestrian zones. City centers should become more attractive again for car drivers by offering free parking or low-cost flat-rate parking. This is according to a resolution passed by the FDP executive committee. "We don't want an ideological mobility policy," emphasized FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai afterwards. The car should not be deliberately disadvantaged.

"A one-sided cultural struggle against the car is a cultural struggle against the reality of people's lives, especially in states such as Brandenburg and rural regions," said Brandenburg FDP leader Zyon Braun. He is to head a working group set up by the Liberals on transport policy.

Free parking against "bleeding city centers dry"

With the push for free short-term parking or a nationwide parking model along the lines of the 49-euro ticket for local public transport, the aim is to "counteract the bleeding of the cities", said Braun. However, he conceded that the federal level could only ask local authorities to take such measures because the parking issue falls under their jurisdiction.

The SPD criticized the coalition partner's paper. Its transport politician Detlef Müller reiterated that the car is and remains the "cornerstone of mobility", especially in rural areas. "With its decision, however, the FDP wants nothing more than to exploit the issue populistically with a view to the state elections. It is pitting modes of transport against each other and showing that it has returned to the 1970s in terms of transport policy." What is needed is an "intelligent mix of all modes of transport".

Working on construction sites around the clock

The FDP's list of demands also includes allowing young people aged 16 and over to drive under supervision. Green waves should become more effective through digitalization and artificial intelligence. For construction sites, the FDP demands work at weekends and at night as well as three-shift operation. Their catalog also contains well-known positions such as the renunciation of a general speed limit on freeways and the EU Commission's alleged plans to decommission millions of diesel vehicles. However, Brussels has declared that it is not pursuing any such plans.

The ADAC welcomed the push for accompanied driving from the age of 16 and the call for better digital traffic management. However, the automobile club was not enthusiastic about the FDP's proposal to give cars priority over bicycles in city centers. Bicycle lanes would make a good contribution to separating traffic more and thus increasing the safety of all road users, it said in a statement. And: "Where traffic problems already exist today due to a lack of space, pull effects for cars should be avoided."/sk/DP/jha