Citizens' jury on Westschnellweg modernisation
In November 2024, the Lower Saxony State Office for Road Construction and Transport (NLStBV) invited people in and around Hanover to take part in the citizens' jury on the modernisation of the Westschnellweg. More than 2,000 randomly selected people from the districts of Linden, Limmer or Herrenhausen, the wider urban area and the Hanover region received an invitation in their letterboxes.
The Westschnellweg, which was built beginning in 1950, is a four-lane motorway in Hanover and part of the B6 federal highway. Together with the Südschnellweg (Southern Expressway), the Messeschnellweg (Trade Fair Expressway) and other motorways, it is part of the concept developed by the city planner at the time, Rudolf Hillebrecht, to route long-distance traffic around the city centre.
Bridges in need of renovation
Planning for the B6 motorway from the Hanover districts of Stöcken, Herrenhausen, Linden and Limmer to the Landwehr roundabout is still in its infancy. However, according to the state's Ministry of Transport, 14 bridges in serious need of renovation will require construction work in seven to eight years. The Westschnellweg is to be modernised as part of this process.
Planners have to reconcile climate protection, transport transformation and safety during the modernisation. It is not yet clear, for example, how the slip roads will be remodelled and whether a tunnel could replace bridges and a section of the road. Widening the road and creating an additional hard shoulder are also being considered to improve safety.
Informing and involving citizens
There were fierce protests against the expansion of the Südschnellweg, although there was a public dialogue at the time. According to Christian Budde, spokesman for the state Ministry of Transport, lessons were learnt from this. This time, the ministry wants to organise the process even more openly, inform citizens and involve them.
The "WESTprotest" alliance is calling for more transparency and the inclusion of climate targets in motorway planning. Independent experts should ensure this. The Greens also criticise the project: Involving citizens' juries only makes sense if the planning is also open. However, the foundations for the expansion have already been laid. They are calling for the motorway to be renovated and not extended.
Overall society issues in the citizens' jury
The citizens' jury one the modernisation of the Westschnellweg will consist of 35 randomly selected residents of the Hanover region. They will deal with the topics of climate protection and climate change, traffic and mobility, urban life and green spaces, as well as nature and the environment.
The task of the mini-public is to discuss and formulate framework conditions for the Westschnellweg planning - based on the life experience and expertise of its members. The assembly is composed accordingly. The citizens’ jury should reflect the society in Hannover. For this reason, people are represented in the mini-public according to the criteria of age, gender, education, place of residence and migration background in proportion to their share of the population.
Recommendations for NLStBV and the Ministry of Transport
The jury will meet for three weekend sessions between January and March 2025. The body will develop recommendations that will be submitted to the NLStBV and the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economics, Transport, Construction and Digitisation. These recommendations will address the overarching topics. The guiding question is: What should be considered when modernising the Westschnellweg in relation to the respective topic?
The NLstBV and the Ministry of Transport will review the recommendations and comment on them. The focus is on the possible feasibility, i.e., the incorporation of a recommendation into the specific planning for the Westschnellweg. The recommendations of the citizens‘ jury will be published.
Citizens’ jury is part of the public participation process
The mini-public is part of the public participation process that the state authority is conducting for the Westschnellweg planning. The participation began with a kick-off event in October 2023 and a subsequent online survey. This resulted in a dialogue concept that was presented in May 2024.
Another important element of the participation is a so-called dialogue forum. It involves residents and a wide range of interest groups in the planning process over a period of several years. The dialogue forum will start in spring 2025.