Citizens' jury on Westschnellweg modernisation
In the German city of Hanover, a Citizens' Jury is discussing the modernisation of the Westschnellweg since 24 January 2025. The participants deal with the topics of climate protection and climate change, transport and mobility, urban life and green spaces as well as nature and the environment.
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.
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.
Overall society issues in the citizens' jury
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. 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. 95 invitees had expressed an interest in participating in the mini-public.
The citizens' jury consists of 35 randomly selected residents of the Hanover region. 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?
Several experts will be on hand to provide the Citizens' Jury members with information and answer questions. These are Prof Dr Udo Becker (TU Dresden - Chair of Transport Ecology; 1st and 3rd session), Prof Dr Thomas Richter (TU Berlin, Head of the Department of Road Planning and Transport, 2nd session), Alice Balbo (German Association of Cities, Climate Impact Adaptation Officer), Dr Frank Scholles (Leibniz University Hannover, Methods of Spatial and Environmental Planning), Prof. Dr Christina von Haaren (Leibniz University Hannover, Institute for Environmental Planning) and Prof. Dr Reinhard Koettnitz (TU Dresden, Chair for the Design of Road Traffic Facilities).
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 February 2025.
Alliance criticises ‘alibi event’
The ‘WESTprotest’ alliance criticises the Citizens' Jury on the Westschnellweg as an “alibi event”. The remit of this mini.public is not really open-ended, explains WESTprotest. The question posed to the Citizens' Jury by the state authority is no longer about whether the Westschnellweg should be “modernised”, i.e. expanded, but only about “discussing the framework conditions for modernisation”.
The alliance also criticises the fact that the moderation of the mini-public is not neutral and independent, but that the “ifok” institute commissioned with the moderation is obviously working closely with the NLStBV. There is also no guarantee that the Citizens' Jury will be advised by independent experts.
Climate justice and quality of life demanded
A Citizens' Jury would only make sense if it could advise on how the mobility needs in the Hannover region could be met in a climate-friendly way. And for this, the mini-public needs more time than the planned three meetings until March 2025. The top priorities must be climate justice in transport planning and the quality of life of the people in Linden, Limmer and Herrenhausen and not wider roads for faster and increasing car traffic.
The Greens also criticise the project: Involving mini-publics only makes sense if the planning is also open. However, the foundations for the extension have already been laid. They are calling for the motorway to be renovated and not extended.
ifok refutes criticism
The participation service provider ifok rejects the criticism voiced. The openness of the results is guaranteed. The Citizens' Jury is part of a larger participation process that is based on a dialogue event and a public online survey, among other things.
As the Citizens' Jury takes place early on in the planning process, the NLStBV had plenty of room for manoeuvre when it came to shaping the framework conditions. Therefore, the term ‘modernisation’ does not automatically imply ‘expansion’. The participants also discuss the question of whether the Westschnellweg should be upgraded at all. However, modernisation of roads and bridges in poor condition is necessary.
The claim that ifok lacked independence was unfounded. It is customary for the company carrying out the work to liaise closely with the client in order to promote the exchange of information and the implementation of the Citizens' Jury's recommendations. This is particularly relevant as the client is also the authority carrying out the work on the Western Expressway. A total of six independent experts would also be available to citizens throughout the entire process.
Requested topics part of the discussion
Fundamental transport needs for the future in and around Hanover, as well as climate justice and the quality of life of neighbouring residents, are part of the discussions and are of course an important basis for the development of the results by the members of the Citizens' Jury.
A participation process can also run over a longer period of time. However, it is important to find a solution that also takes into account the time capacities of citizens and the economical and prudent use of taxpayers' money. In order to ensure long-term support, a dialogue forum will be held to involve local residents and various interest groups in the planning process over several years. If necessary, the dialogue forum can convene members of the Citizens‘ Jury for consultation even after the mini-public has ended.