紐時賞析／柏林限車爭議 引爆左右派對決

Contentious Berlin Issue:Right to Drive in the City

柏林限車爭議 引爆左右派對決

Germans, so the old stereotype goes, love their cars. But traffic in their capital is driving many of them mad—albeit for contradictory reasons— and has become a surprise hot-button issue in a Berlin election year.

德國人很愛車是傳統的刻板印象。不過，他們的首都如今卻因交通問題讓不少人快抓狂，而且各有不同理由，意外成為柏林選舉年裡的熱門爭議議題。

The right insists that driving restrictions to limit congestion are an attack on people’s freedom, and the left counters that change is needed to protect the environment and the quality of life.

右派堅稱，限制駕駛以紓解壅塞，等同於攻擊民眾的自由；左派則反駁，認為必須改變現狀，才能保護環境與生活品質。

Berlin has long embraced environmentally friendly initiatives, with its many bike lanes, carpooling services and extensive public transport. In recent months, green-minded Berliners have moved to take that to the next level, with tens of thousands signing a petition to limit most private vehicles’ ability to enter the traffic-snarled city center, down to just 12 visits per person per year.

柏林長期以來相當支持環保措施，包括大量自行車道、共乘服務，以及完善的大眾運輸系統。近幾個月來，講求綠色理念的柏林人更進一步行動，數萬人連署提案，要求限制大多數私家車進入交通壅塞的市中心，每人一年最多只能進城12次。

Those who fought the petition also resent the city’s congestion, but they have a radically different suggestion: Pare back bike lanes and other environmentally friendly innovations that they say make the traffic worse.

反對連署案的人同樣對柏林塞車很不滿，但解方完全不同：縮減自行車道以及他們認為只會讓交通更糟的其他環保新政。

That drive to put the ban to a referendum ultimately failed, but the disagreement over traffic is not expected to let up. It has already become a talking point in campaigns for city elections in September.

希望將禁車提案送交公投的行動最後失敗了，但圍繞交通問題的分歧預料不會就此平息。這個議題已經成為9月柏林邦與各區議會選舉競選活動中的重要話題。

The Green Party, which helped run the city for over six years in the last decade, is campaigning for more bike infrastructure and car-free roads.

綠黨過去10年間曾參與柏林市政超過6年，如今則主張擴大自行車基礎建設，並推動更多道路改為無車通行。不過，連向來被視為自由派大本營的柏林，這波推動也遭遇強烈阻力。

But even in famously liberal Berlin, that push faces strong resistance.Conservatives and the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, are finding traction in the municipal election campaign by promising to keep Berlin safe for motorists. It is a strategy that relies on bringing out more conservative voters who live in the city’s far corners and commute to work, effectively pitting them against a central-city population that is historically both more open to green policies and better served by public transportation.

保守派與極右派「德國另類選擇黨」則在地方選舉中以承諾保障開車族權益打開局面。他們的策略，是動員住在柏林邊陲、每天開車通勤上班的保守派選民，實質上把這群人與市中心居民對立起來。後者歷來較能接受綠色政策，也享有更完善的公共運輸服務。

The city of Berlin does not make congestion data readily available, but statistics from the TomTom Traffic Index show levels of congestion almost as high as those in New York City, even though Berlin has roughly half as many people.

柏林市政府並未公開提供容易查詢的交通壅塞資料，但TomTom交通指數顯示，柏林的壅塞程度幾乎與紐約市一樣高，儘管柏林人口約只有紐約市的一半。

The petition drive trying to restrict cars in the city center needed roughly 174,000 residents to trigger a referendum.It fell some 34,000 signatures short.

這項推動限制汽車進入市中心的連署案，必須取得約17.4萬份連署，才能啟動公投程序，最後距離門檻仍差約3.4萬份。

文／Christopher F. Schuetze and Tatiana Firsova，譯／國際中心

說文解字看新聞

【張佑生】

報導說，控制車流是一個原本沒想到會成為焦點，卻突然在柏林引發熱議的敏感議題(“a surprise hot-button issue”)。作者要表達的是，這個議題本身是一個意外(surprise)，而不是這個議題令人驚訝(surprising)。

簡單說，surprise hot-button issue = 出乎意料成為焦點的敏感議題；surprising hot-button issue = 令人驚訝的敏感議題，未必有「意外暴紅」的語感。形容詞 hot–button永遠擺在名詞前面：The budget is a real hot-button issue right now.當名詞像是a political hot button.

But even in famously liberal Berlin,that push faces strong resistance.

這句重點在even in famously liberal Berlin，照理說最可能支持，結果也不埋單，常見的反差寫法。

報導出現的find traction，強調「終於找到施力點或突破口」，比較少見；更常見的gain traction 強調「正在逐漸擴大影響力或支持度」：In our digital age, it takes less time for new words and phrases to gain traction than it did in the past.