Comment: The traffic turnaround is progressing too slowly – Munich district

The paragraph in the traffic light coalition agreement on the subject of cycling is five lines long – and it is accordingly meaningless: the cycle path network must be modernized and expanded, the municipal infrastructure strengthened, the financial resources until 2030 would be secured. However, the turnaround in mobility, which is also and especially aimed at in the district of Munich, cannot be achieved with these generalities. Rather, approval procedures must be simplified and accelerated, as the example of the Radschnellweg from Munich to Garching and Unterschleißheim shows.

The planning for the mammoth project, which will cost well over 30 million euros, has been going on for seven years now. A few weeks ago, work was started on a few hundred meters of the route in the area of ​​the state capital, and the first short section in Garching is to follow next year. The main reason that progress is only made with this bite-size tactic is that the majority of the cycle expressway in the district of Munich is treated like a federal highway and has to go through a planning approval process. But that takes an incredible amount of time and is extremely complicated because of the objections, complaints and lawsuits to be expected. A major rethinking of transport policy is needed. The federal government must classify cycle highways – especially in conurbations – as projects of outstanding public interest in order to facilitate the acquisition of land, if necessary with expropriations.

But the Free State must not be left out either. Above all, the state building authorities need more staff in order to get such projects off the ground much faster. Engineers, traffic planners and architects are essential for the traffic turnaround. Once completed, Bavaria’s first express cycle path in the district of Munich will have an appeal far beyond the region. However, his planning also shows that such projects are currently taking far too long.

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