Follow Up
Mr Udo Arndt of the precicely titled “Verkehrslenkung Berlin (VLB) zentrale Straßenverkehrsbehörde Baustellenkoordination”, was kind enough to reply to my enquiry about the three green men of Torstraße. He explains:
“The changes to the crossing at Torstraße / Schönhauser Allee mean that a left turn from Torstraße into Schönhauser Alle is now possible. A left turn into Choriner Straße could therefore be cut off. In the period of the next few months the crossing [over the tram line] on Torstraße will be closed. The result is a different pedestrian crossing situation which opens up new possibilities beyond the vehicular left turn. This has resulted in the beneficial effects which you mentioned.”
The means that for car drivers a large part of Prenzlauer Berg is now cut off from Torstraße, turning it and Schönhauser Alle into bigger, throbbier arteries than they already were. Expect midnight drag-racing in Mitte some day soon, and just a stone’s throw away, snoozily car-light sidestreets.