Ebertplatz Cologne: Urgent closure of entrances due to drug crime!

Ebertplatz Cologne: Urgent closure of entrances due to drug crime!

Ebertplatz has been a hotly debated topic in Cologne for years. Not only is it an architectural remnant of the 1970s, but also a known location for crime and drug trafficking. The city of Cologne is now planning to take a clear step towards improvement and will therefore soon close three entrances to the West Passage at Ebertplatz.

However, the project will be subject to delays because the necessary construction work must first be put out to tender and awarded. According to Express, this closure could come into force between October and December 2025 at the earliest. The hope was previously that the measures would be completed in July after the city council released 175,000 euros for the renovation.

Urgent security measures

The decision to seal these entrances at Ebertplatz was considered urgent to increase public safety. NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul even goes so far as to describe Ebertplatz as the “largest drug department store in NRW”. The administration has classified the West Passage as “particularly critical” in terms of crime prevention. Before work can begin, however, broken escalators and the now poorly preserved work of art must first be removed.

The entrances at Sudermanplatz, at the Heinemann bakery and at the corner of Ebertplatz and Neusser Straße will be covered with reinforced concrete slabs after they are closed. The sidewalk above will then be repaved while the corridors will be bricked up. These measures are part of a broader strategy by the city to counteract the inglorious reputation of Ebertplatz.

A long-standing topic of debate

But the renovation of Ebertplatz does not only raise acute safety concerns. A redesign of the square has been debated for over 20 years. The 2008 downtown master plan characterized the place as “unattractive” and a place of fear. The police and the city had already proposed closing the passage in 2017 after a fatal incident, but this was prevented by the city council.

Attempts to make the square more interesting through initiatives such as catering containers and fountains were unsuccessful. The complete renovation of the square, which according to the city will not take place before 2030, could also serve as a long-term solution to the challenges facing Ebertplatz.

Overall, it will be exciting to see whether and how the planned measures to increase security are actually implemented, and whether they can ultimately help make Ebertplatz a place of encounter and not of fear again. The city of Cologne is reacting to the increasing crime on Ebertplatz, and with the new measures there could be a ray of hope in sight, even if the road there is still rocky.