Haar’s mayor raises many questions with his proposal to rule out Leibstrasse for the tram.
It is hard to believe how ill-prepared and downright negligent the municipality of Haar threw itself into the debate on Tuesday evening about one of the most important transport projects of the decade. The extension of the tram line from Kreillerstraße/St.-Veit-Straße in Berg am Laim to Haar has been on the agenda of the district council and in Munich for more than a year. Now it was on the table for the first time in Haar. And what happens? The municipal councils do not receive any in-depth documents in advance so that they can familiarize themselves with the complex process. Several even claim to have been taken by surprise by the planners’ presentation. And then they find themselves confronted with a mayor who demands, in an almost ultimatum, that a route alternative via Leibstrasse be ruled out by municipal council decision.
Such an approach is questionable. And it’s not necessary at this point. Rather, it would be a fatal mistake in a project whose importance for the traffic infrastructure in Haar cannot be overestimated. It is questionable because an information offensive would actually be necessary first of all. Then a fundamental debate could follow. Both were canceled on Tuesday. In addition, the mayor did not justify his request – at least publicly – in the municipal council. It can be assumed that he is concerned with parking spaces in the street and its character as a shopping street. But he didn’t say it.
It would also have been premature to say no to a tram in Leibstrasse, because the planners themselves are still only in the process of sketching and evaluating routes. It will be many years before the tram comes along, if the federal government even recognizes it as a sensible, eligible project. The exclusion of the route via Leibstrasse to the train station, as demanded by the mayor, would have been downright fatal, because the planners believe that this route promises the highest passenger volume. The train station would thus become a transport hub. Ultimately, the whole project can depend on this. The mayor has once again caused a shake of the head by going it alone.