City center mobility concept

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On July 3, 2026, the political groups comprising the new council majority—the CDU, SPD, Volt, and FDP—submitted a motion to further develop traffic management in the city center. On July 15, 2026, the City Council referred the motion to the relevant departments for processing. The city administration is now developing a framework and proposals to inform future policy decisions.

Among other things, the motion calls for reducing through traffic on the Grabenring by modifying traffic routing, directing car traffic specifically toward parking garages, and ensuring attractive connections for cyclists. For the Karlsgraben/Jakobstraße area, the administration is to propose an effective alternative to the existing traffic control point in the near future. As soon as such a measure can be implemented, the traffic control point is to be taken out of service (City Council motion of July 3, 2026).

Background

In response to a City Council motion from December 2020, the city administration developed a plan to reduce traffic in the downtown area. This plan was presented and adopted in 2023 following public information sessions, consultations with representatives from business and commerce, and a meeting of the Traffic Development Planning Steering Committee. Part of the plan involves improving the quality of the public space and conditions for pedestrians, enhancing safety for pedestrians and cyclists through a bicycle distribution loop on the Grabenring, the expansion of public transportation in the city center in anticipation of the Regiotram, while maintaining access to the city center for private vehicle traffic and commercial traffic.

Based on the "Inner City Tomorrow" activation project, the mobility concept for the inner city was named "Inner City Mobility for Tomorrow".

Goals

These targets were set for inner-city mobility in 2023:

Easily accessible city center

Everyone can easily reach the cultural, gastronomic, educational and shopping facilities in the heart of Aachen. The city center is well served by all modes of transport.

Fair and safe transportation

The interaction is considerate and relaxed, there are no serious accidents.

Good neighborhoods

The neighborhoods are quiet, children can play and people can enjoy each other's company.

Key Projects: Pedestrian Traffic

In 2012, the concept of premium walking paths was adopted as part of the downtown development plan. The goal is to connect the historic district with the green spaces surrounding the city via comfortable walking paths. Most recently, Jakobstraße was redesigned accordingly.

Currently, plans are underway to open up Paubach Street to the public, which will involve redesigning the street spaces on Rennbahn and Klappergasse. An ongoing project is the replacement of cobblestones with cut pavers in the pedestrian zones (most recently on Krämergasse and Pontstraße).

As part of the redevelopment of Büchel, the network of pedestrian zones is set to be expanded.

A level plaza is to be created between Schildstraße—which has since been redesigned—and Lothringer Straße, a bicycle-friendly street, in order to make this intersection of premium pedestrian paths and priority bike routes as safe as possible.

Learn more about the Büchel pedestrian zone under the Büchel Traffic Plan | City of Aachen   

More about the premium footpath concept at www.aachen.de/premiumwege

More about the Bachoffenlage project at Klappergasse/Rennbahn | City of Aachen

Key Projects: Bicycle Priority Routes and Bicycle Distributor Ring

In 2019, it was decided that there should be a safe and convenient route into the city center from every outer district. To ensure that the desired increase in cycling does not come at the expense of pedestrian traffic in the old town, it was decided as part of the priority cycle network that the Grabenring should be redesigned as a cycle distribution ring connecting all priority cycle routes.

Bicycle lanes have been established along the 3-kilometer-long Grabenring between the RWTH main building and Jakobstraße. Planning for the remaining sections has not yet been finalized.

The Haaren priority bike route is next in line for implementation: The downtown area is affected by adjustments to Blondelstraße and Promenadenstraße.

More on the concept of priority cycle routes at www.aachen.de/rvr 

Key Projects in Public Transportation

For several years now, the possibility of expanding the Euregiobahn network to create a high-quality, high-speed connection between Baesweiler and downtown Aachen has been under consideration. Currently, on behalf of the political bodies in Baesweiler, Alsdorf, Würselen, and Aachen, plans are being drawn up for the concrete implementation of the project within the proposed road corridors.

In 2022, many measures were approved to expand bus service, including an expansion of the express bus service and increased service on loop lines 3 and 13. So far, only a small portion of these measures has been implemented.

More about the Regiotram concept at www.regiotram-aachen.de

Traffic Management in the City Center

Aachen’s color-coded parking guidance system forms the basis for the traffic management plan. Since the 1990s, the parking guidance system has been directing vehicle traffic to the parking garages in four color-coded zones within the Alleenring. In addition, there is currently an area at Kaiserplatz with two parking garages on the edge of the city center and the Adalbertsteinweg parking garage. Using the existing color scheme, a fifth zone in purple was added; however, since it does not contain a public parking garage, it has not been included in the parking guidance system until now. The zones have been given new names, each featuring a central street name within that zone.

The plan calls for directing car traffic directly from the Alleenring into these five areas, each distinguished by color and name, in order to minimize traffic in the city center and prevent through traffic. To achieve this, the concept of traffic diversion points was adopted in 2023. These points—at the three marked locations—are intended to redirect traffic from the respective areas back to the Alleenring, supplementing existing restrictions on car traffic at Templergraben and Elisenbrunnen. To date, the Karlsgraben traffic diversion point has been implemented in 2024. Due to construction sites at Theaterplatz and Pontstraße, the implementation of the other two approved traffic diversion points has been postponed.

Mobility forum for inner-city mobility

The City of Aachen and Initiative Aachen e.V. jointly organized a series of events titled “Mobility Forum” on downtown mobility. All presentations are available here as video recordings. The findings were incorporated into the downtown mobility plan adopted in 2023.

City center walk

Our transport development planning coordinator Dr. Armin Langweg explains the "Inner city mobility for tomorrow" concept at specific locations in Aachen's city center. The video was filmed in September 2024.

Links to topics of the city center tour

Aachen Navi - Our routing service for all people

Here you'll find current transportation options, parking garage information, and car-sharing services.

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