Objections are justified

May 23: “Why Hamburgers are suing the U5s. They criticize the ‘devastating climate balance’ according to their calculations and consider the project to be ‘completely oversized'”

It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for Hamburg’s politicians to admit that several generations of their profession have made several mistakes on the subject of trams and light rail and made bad decisions with far-reaching consequences. The abolition was a mistake, the two burials of ready-to-implement concepts because of protests from vociferous minorities (which, strangely enough, are never taken into account elsewhere in the city) a provincial farce that one would not expect even in small towns or villages beyond the woods. Against this background, the objections of the three gentlemen are more than justified and also technically well-founded, but they will die down. The mayor just made it very clear that he was clueless about modern light rail concepts. Incidentally, he has also attested to other municipalities that have made the opposite decision, a certain naivety or even stupidity.

Andreas Kaluzny

A gem in Hamburg

May 23: “Traditional boat rental Silwar threatened with closure”

When I read in the evening newspaper that the “traditional boat rental Silwar is threatened with closure”, I became very sad. I stored my old wooden canoe there for many decades until I had to give it up for reasons of age. The boathouse is a gem in Hamburg, for me one of the most beautiful boathouses on the Alster canals. It is almost hidden and you can only get there by boat by paddling or rowing under a pedestrian bridge. I have always been treated kindly and everyone has always been very helpful as I was unable to get my very heavy boat in the water by myself. A cousin’s canoe is still stored there. I very much hope that the city will extend the lease agreement with the Silwar family – after all, they have had this agreement since 1874. It is therefore the oldest boathouse in Hamburg. Unfortunately, traditions are losing more and more of the appreciation of the city!

Karen Schramm

A climate-damaging block

May 23: “Construction progress: Foundation piles for the Elbtower are in place”

One may well argue about the aesthetics of the Elbtower. It is completely incomprehensible, however, why such a construction should be approved at all at a time when sensitivity to the climate is required. Every homeowner is required to have their building CO₂– To make it neutral, whether he has the means to do so or not. With the Elbtower, a block of glass, steel and concrete is being erected, the climate damage of which begins with construction and continues during operation. In times when office workplaces are relocated to the home living area, not more, but less office space is required. For this reason alone, we do not need vacancies in commercial real estate, but apartments.

Heinrich Stueven

This concept is not enough

May 23: “Politicians want to do more for seniors. CDU presents 15-point plan, Senate plans ‘age-friendly city’. Commissioner names greatest challenges”

The Senior Citizens’ Advisory Board welcomes the Senate’s transport policy: it says it helps “the elderly” with wide footpaths and barrier-free public transport. However, there are always different mobility restrictions to consider. A wide footpath and barrier-free local transport alone do not help if for some people trips by public transport and distances on foot are simply too strenuous and too long and they therefore need their own vehicle to maintain their self-determination and independence. The accessibility of utilities and authorities by car and the parking space there must also be part of the concept of an age-friendly city. A car service for seniors could also be considered.

Annette Kuch

Who is right on this question?

21./22. May: “Drosten wins professorial dispute in court. The Hamburg physicist Roland Wiesendanger is still not allowed to claim that Drosten misled the public about the corona virus.

The legal decision on the professor dispute was foreseeable. The much more interesting question of which of the two is right – namely whether the virus originated in a laboratory accident or in a natural way of…