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Innsbruck: On September 16, exactly at the beginning of the “European Mobility Week”, the three-week test phase for the “City Center” meeting area in Innsbruck begins. Yesterday, however, the city announced a surprising change in this regard: Innsbruck’s first meeting area will initially comprise only three streets: North Wilhelm-Greil-Straße, Meraner Straße and Erlerstraße.
The originally planned Bozner Platz, however, remains out of the area for the moment: the reasons given by Mobility Advisor Uschi Schwarzl (Greens) are, on the one hand, “imponderable” with regard to the behavior and frequency of pedestrians due to to the large construction site on the adjoining Adamgasse. In addition, the company does not want to anticipate the results of the architectural competition for the redesign of the square, and also to take seriously “entirely understandable objections.”
The city’s ÖVP and Chamber of Commerce President Christoph Walser accused Schwarzl of a “failed action” and expressed concern that the planned narrowing of the lane in the northern part of the square, including the temporary central island , it could cause traffic jams. There was also strong criticism from the FPÖ and the Gerechtem Innsbruck. Transportation committee chair Mariella Lutz (ÖVP) was delighted yesterday that “our public criticism of this senseless traffic experiment” had apparently caused Schwarzl to back down.
20 km / h speed limit
In the three aforementioned lanes, the test phase of the meeting area begins as planned. A speed limit of 20 km / h is intended to create the prerequisites for the joint and considerate use of traffic areas. The roadside meeting zone signs and pictograms should make this clear, as well as the fact that crossing the street is “permitted and desired” everywhere.
On October 8, the municipal council will decide the continuation of the meeting area. In addition to this first zone, others are planned in front of the new Messe S-Bahn station and, based on the results of the competition from the previous period, also in Mariahilf in the medium term, says Schwarzl. The city is also committed to prioritizing pedestrians, bicycles, and public transportation. (TT, md)
