7 November 2007

Follow Up

By

Public Space

Mr Udo Arndt of the precicely titled “Verkehrslenkung Berlin (VLB) zentrale Straßenverkehrsbehörde Baustellenkoordination”, was kind enough to reply to my enquiry about the three green men of Torstraße. He explains:

“The changes to the crossing at Torstraße / Schönhauser Allee mean that a left turn from Torstraße into Schönhauser Alle is now possible. A left turn into Choriner Straße could therefore be cut off. In the period of the next few months the crossing [over the tram line] on Torstraße will be closed. The result is a different pedestrian crossing situation which opens up new possibilities beyond the vehicular left turn. This has resulted in the beneficial effects which you mentioned.”

The means that for car drivers a large part of Prenzlauer Berg is now cut off from Torstraße, turning it and Schönhauser Alle into bigger, throbbier arteries than they already were. Expect midnight drag-racing in Mitte some day soon, and just a stone’s throw away, snoozily car-light sidestreets.