Freising remains with the small pedestrian zone concept: a compromise!

Freising remains with the small pedestrian zone concept: a compromise!

Freising, Deutschland - In Freising, the city council's planning committee has now made a decision regarding the pedestrian zone after years of discussions. The city will not show a continuous pedestrian zone, but will remain with the existing traffic concept. This provides for a "small" pedestrian zone between Schiedeck and district court alley. In many traffic zones, such as the upper and lower main street as well as the General-von-Nagel-Straße and Heiliggeistgasse, it remains with a traffic-calmed area where driving continues to be allowed, which, for example, results in wild parking.

The decision was made with a narrow majority of 8: 6 votes. Greens, Left and the ÖDP urged a complete pedestrian zone in the old town. Concerned retailers, restaurateurs and doctors fear negative effects for the availability of their business. Residents who have parking spaces in the city center require exemptions, which is an additional challenge. A positive element of this planning is the reduction of car traffic in the city center by around 90 % compared to 2013, as a traffic count showed.

traffic calming and meeting zone

The city pursues the guiding principle of a level of the same level for all road users, which should benefit the encounter zone in particular in the core of the old town. The aim is to reduce through traffic, which once made over 50 %. Within the proposed Authorion, it will not only enable cyclists, but also city buses and delivery traffic during specified times to drive the car -free core zone. The streets in the old town are limited to the other traffic at walking speed.

pedestrian zones are widespread in many cities in the world and promote a safe and pleasant environment for shopping and strolling. What many do not know: The first pedestrian zone in Germany was built in Oldenburg in 1953. This form of urban design is now a tried and tested solution to increase quality of life and to reduce environmental pollution.

development and security

A focus of the city of Freising is on improving safety in traffic. According to the accident commission, 87 traffic accidents have been registered since the traffic concept was introduced, with most of them only being trivial. Nevertheless, there were 39 accidents due to collisions with obstacles such as stone blocks and benches. In order to minimize such incidents, these obstacles should be better marked.

The Mayor Tobias Eschenbacher was relieved about the consensus in the city council. The city also plans an information campaign to make the citizens understand what the new traffic routing in the city center looks like. The accessibility of the stops is also being improved, especially on Marienplatz and District Michping. This is part of the redesign to improve the accessibility of the city center and to make bus driving more intuitive.

With a clear focus on the needs of pedestrians and cyclists, Freising wants to create a friendly and inviting urban space. The linking of traffic planning and urban development shows that you have a good hand here for the design of a downtown life worth living.