The municipal ÖVP and the Greens have now been able to reach an agreement in the protracted Vöcklabruck town square cause.
“After the disappointing citizens’ information event on November 21, 2022, there was no decision in sight for the time being,” says Deputy Mayor Elisabeth Kölblinger. So that a decision can finally be implemented from this spring, there is now movement in the discussions between the parliamentary groups. “The sticking point in almost every discussion is always the town square,” says Kölblinger. “The all around doesn’t seem to be all that important, but it contributes significantly to the functioning.” Environment and mobility councilor Sonja Pickhardt-Kröpfel from the Greens adds: “There were many discussions. Nobody wants the status quo. An agreement between the parliamentary groups and a decision by the municipal council are therefore overdue.” Your faction sticks to the demand for a pedestrian zone on the town square, which, in contrast to the current mini variant, also deserves this name on summer evenings.
3,000 cars drive through the town square every day, two-thirds of which use it as a thoroughfare. One solution proposed by the experts from Trafility would be to reintroduce a pedestrian zone on the upper town square in the warm season, with accompanying measures for the back town and parking spaces in the lower part. The ÖVP proposal for a real year-round pedestrian zone in the back town from Kirchengasse to the town square was highly praised by Trafility, says Kölblinger.
The two parties were able to agree on the following key points: The meeting zone on the entire town square and in the back town will remain in place all year round. There will be a winter and a summer version. In the summer variant (April 15 to October 15), the upper part of the town square would be free of motorized vehicles at certain times of the day. “The design of the meeting zone on the town square must follow as a logical next step,” demand Kölblinger and her party colleague, city councilor for regional planning, David Soucek-Hofmann. This includes seating, marked parking spaces, bicycle racks and parking spaces for mopeds and motorbikes. “A solution is urgently needed, especially for the coming warm months.”
