Boris Palmer is very particular about saving electricity. The Lord Mayor in Tübingen has the street lamps switched off at night. That earns him a rebuke from the State Department of Transport. 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 displeasure with the green Minister of Transport in Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Hermann.
The reason for this is Palmer’s energy-saving ambitions, reports the “Spiegel”. According to this, the streetlights in Tübingen stay off for hours at night. This could soon be over 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 must not be switched off at night, it says there. Exceptions are not planned, “energy-saving intentions” cannot be referred to.
Palmer, whose Green Party membership is suspended, is stunned. The 11,000 lights in Tübingen are interconnected in groups of 100 street lamps each. Switching on only those at zebra crossings would not technically be possible, argues the mayor.
In his letter, Palmer continued: “I’m happy to accept responsibility for unlit crosswalks at night because I know the real risk of this decision is close to zero and people can take enough responsibility to look around at night before they Crossing the street”. They cling to “outdated regulations” and “throw truncheons between those who act”. This is how “progress in the expansion of renewable energies or the digitization of our country has been consistently prevented”.
According to the report, the Vice Chancellor, who said that every kilowatt hour saved helps, should speak his mind. “If you, as the responsible minister, come to the conclusion that Tübingen’s described contribution to the energy saving goals you have formulated is dispensable, I will be happy to follow that.”
According to the “Spiegel”, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport says: “We welcome it when cities and communities use legally compliant ways to save energy via street lighting. There are various technical options available for this. We have pointed out to the city of Tübingen that what legal rules apply. Mayor Palmer is responsible for his decisions.”
