Hard to overcome: the wide strip of asphalt at the corner of the Jagdfeldring. At least there is a pedestrian bridge nearby.
(Photo: Angelika Bardehle)
Cars and trucks rush past at high speed. The traffic is heavy. And that in four and sometimes up to seven lanes, if there are turning lanes: the B304 in Haar is a thoroughfare where pedestrians can feel very small. She is formidable and dangerous. Even young and healthy people find it difficult to cross the street. For the elderly and people with disabilities, it is an almost insurmountable barrier. Fritz Kerber’s grandson is blind. He has to cross the street on the way to work at the Isar-Amper-Klinikum. Often in the dark too. “That is life-threatening,” says Kerber and demands that something be done.
Fritz Kerber has been a member of the Disability Advisory Board in Haar since it was founded in 2018 and recently retired for reasons of age. As a farewell, he made two issues public, on which he finally wants to see progress. For a long time he has been campaigning for more disabled parking spaces to be created at the station square. There is only one available, although there are at least five major general practitioners ‘and specialists’ practices in the area. A handicapped parking space is also necessary on Leibstrasse by the pharmacy, says Kerber. He had already warned the predecessor of Mayor Andreas Bukowski (CSU). But so far nothing has happened.
One of Kerber’s particular concerns is to defuse Wasserburger Strasse for pedestrians. The Wasserburger Straße or B304 is a headache for many. The CSU repeatedly insists on reducing the top speed from 60 to 50 km / h. Bukowski has just declared at the town hall that he once again bit granite at the district administration and the state building authority in Freising with this demand. And that, although right behind the city limits in Munich on the B304 Tempo 50 has long been valid. Bukowski assured him that he would stay tuned. He also wants to campaign for traffic lights for the blind, he now emphasizes on request.
The Disability Advisory Board recently put the issue on the agenda. The deputy chairman of the committee, Peter Schießl, reports that the matter is on the table with building authority manager Josef Schartel in the town hall. He has an appointment with the state building authority. Schießl, like Mayor Bukowski, assures them that things will be dealt with now. That is obviously also necessary. Because Kerber says that so far it has been said again and again that the community could not move anything on the federal highway. She could very well do that.
The mayor believes that something can be done. He says that when it comes to new building projects, it is always asked what needs exist. And there would of course be a point that such a road must also be easy to cross for people with disabilities. Traffic lights for the disabled, which accompany a green phase with an acoustic signal, would of course be set up there. It is also about, says Bukowski, that green phases are long enough to enable people with disabilities to cross the street safely. If there are deficits in an existing road, it is extremely important that someone point them out, says Bukowski. That is why the Disability Advisory Board is a great help. The thing with the disabled parking spaces “can be taken up again”.
At least there is a pedestrian bridge at the level of the grammar school and the Poststadel
One point that could of course thwart the hairdressers is the fact that there is a pedestrian bridge at the level of the grammar school and the post office. Peter Schiessl points this out. But it is also the only one on a several kilometers long inner-city route with many crossings.
The concerns of blind people will continue to be heard in the Disability Advisory Board. Alexandra Schlotterer is blind herself and is a member of the committee. Kerber says, “at the age of 80 it is time to make room for the younger generation”. The strength runs out faster, and he needs it for his family. The Disability Advisory Board will accept applications for the vacant space until the end of January 2022. “If you also live in Haar and have reached the age of 18, write to us,” says chairwoman Bettina Endriß-Herz. “Work with us to break down barriers in the place and in the mind.” The activity is voluntary and non-partisan.
Anyone who has a handicap, looks after a close relative, has someone with a disability in the family or is a member of an organization that works with the disabled can participate in the advisory board. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 089/46 46 17.