Torstrasse in Berlin: When old trees should make way for a cycle path

Z+ (subscription content); Torstrasse in Berlin: When old trees should make way for a cycle path

In Berlin, 32 linden trees have to be felled because a street is being rebuilt. The dispute over this has become a political issue that represents a much larger conflict.

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A dispute breaks out over 32 trees in Berlin's Torstrasse. Residents and restaurateurs have been protesting for months against the planned felling of old lime trees as part of a street renovation because they ensure shade, cooling and quality of life in times of increasing heat. The conflict expanded into a political symbolic dispute over traffic, climate adaptation and the car-friendly line of the CDU-led Senate after new plans called for more car lanes and weaker cycle paths. When the district office refused felling permits, the Green district mayor demonstratively planted a young linden tree herself, while experts emphasized that old trees are ecologically and economically far more valuable than new plants. After the election and the threat of legal action, the Senate agreed not to cut down any trees in 2026 for the time being, and the initiative is now hoping to have a say in new planning.

Get out of the U8, take the path up to Rosenthaler Platz, up into the evening sun, watch the rushing traffic, the partygoers. Into Torstrasse, where two police buses are blocking the street. Four lanes leading to the square are closed. Soon there will be damage here in the middle of the capital. Those doomed to die stand motionless, marked with red ribbons and growing towards the light. There are old linden trees that are to be replaced when the street is renovated. Crimean linden trees. Winter linden trees. Silver linden trees. They are the actors of a dispute from the category: distribution conflict.