For days on end pedestrians in Berlin have had a difficult time moving around the German capital.
Exceptionally wintry weather has turned many sidewalks in the German capital into skating rinks – and little relief is possible as the city has banned the use of road salt.
As one Berliner told Brussels Signal today: “You cannot leave the house anymore without risking slipping on ice that is inches thick. It is all over the pavements and cycle paths and the city is doing very little to fight it with a bit of grit.
“People with disabilities are dependent on external help because they can no longer leave their homes. I have also had several close calls. It is pure luck that nothing has happened to me so far.”
Man muss das schon festhalten: Dieses Eis in Berlin ist nicht neu dazugekommen, sondern tritt sich seit Tagen fest und sieht schlussendlich so aus. pic.twitter.com/78x5XjNQUG
— Gerrit Seebald (@garstigergerrit) January 29, 2026
Not everybody has been so lucky. According to media reports 30 to 40 people have needed to be treated daily for “accidents caused by slippery conditions” in Berlin’s largest trauma hospital alone – primarily for broken wrists and hand bones as well as concussions.
A spokesperson for the hospital recommended Berliners use the “penguin walk”, shuffling about in very small steps like the Antarctic animals, to avoid accidents.
Spikes for walking shoes sold out in the capital, according to Nils Busch-Petersen on January 31, manager of the Berlin Trade Association. Some Berliners are now pulling socks over their shoes to improve their grip on ice.
The slippery malaise is compounded by a long-standing ban on the use of road salt.
Berlin’s Nature Protection Law from 2013 expressly forbids the use of road salt or other defrosting agents throughout the city. The ban covers pavements and driveways as well as public roads.
There is derogation from the ban in Berlin’s Street Cleaning Act in case of “extreme slipperiness” but it only applies to roadways and cycle paths. Pavements are not covered by the exemption.
“Road salt is a real danger for trees,” the City of Berlin explains on its website. “Anyone who wants to clear paths of ice and snow by using road salt, accepts that this will irrevocably damage the trees.
“The salt accumulates in the soil and then in the roots of the trees which are no longer adequately nourished and die.”
Infractions of the ban carry fines of up to €10,000.
On January 30, Berlin’s city senate announced an emergency rule allowing the use of road salt on sidewalks despite the legal ban. The intended liberating move, though, was immediately challenged as the Berlin Greens party. Influential environmental NGO Nabu announced it would examine whether the emergency regulation was even legal.
The exceptionally cold weather that has the German capital in its grip is expected to last for another week at least.
Berliners who want to escape the dangers of walking by taking the bus or the subway are in for a tough time too: yesterday, a strike by union Ver.di shut down the city’s public transportation system almost completely.
