SZ: Mr. Steurer, is Munich’s pedestrian zone still up to date?
Tobias Steurer: Even after 50 years, Munich doesn’t have to hide its pedestrian zone. It is one of the largest in Europe and continues to develop. We have the task of thinking beyond the pedestrian zone into a car-reduced old town.
How does the city center become more attractive?
The demands are huge compared to the limited space: better quality of stay, consumption-free zones, monument protection, climate adaptation, more space for pedestrians, but especially in the mornings there is also an enormous delivery traffic. You have to weigh all of this against each other, section by section. The result will look different in individual cases than in the past. But it doesn’t always have to be a pedestrian zone.
What do you mean by that?
We have to think bigger: the pedestrian zone connects spaces and picks up on historical structures. It has many adjoining passages such as the “Fünf Höfe”, the Theatinerpassage or the Hofstatt. They should also lead people to hidden locations so that the stream of passers-by is not concentrated on a few routes.
Not all connections have been successful: the Kaufingertor leads to a less attractive backyard. How long will the Georg-Kronawitter-Platz parking lot remain?
We want to upgrade this place and create a pedestrian zone – with more green than today. This creates a link from Kaufingerstrasse to Hofstatt and Sendlinger Strasse. A number of City Council decisions are required beforehand.
Sendlinger Strasse has already been redesignated as a pedestrian zone. Do you see any other options?
The Frauenplatz is currently being redesigned and expanded into the Löwengrube. In addition, there are many requests from politicians and citizens: Max-Joseph-Platz, Maximilianstrasse, Tal, Herzog-Wilhelm-Strasse, Prannerstrasse, Westenriederstrasse and Hildegardstrasse. We don’t know yet whether these will all become pedestrian zones. Today we talk less about pedestrian zones and more about upgrading, which then goes hand in hand with reducing traffic and redesigning the street space.
Do you mean a “shared space” that is shared equally between pedestrian, bicycle and car traffic?
Basically yes. But traffic law sets limits. In Germany there is no shared space or, like in Italy, temporary pedestrian zones. Unfortunately, in Germany we cannot easily try out new ideas that we see in other countries.
What’s your alternative?
These are traffic-calmed business areas. The difference to “Shared Space” is that with this instrument, car traffic still has priority over pedestrians. The most prominent example of this are the streets around the Pasinger Marienplatz.
What speaks against all road users sharing the space and showing consideration for each other?
This only works if pedestrians have a good overview of the traffic. Visibility is at risk where parking spaces are required, for example for delivery traffic, as in the valley. Then it becomes difficult.
What else is stopping the expansion?
In the old town, the construction site for the second trunk line is a major constraint. That means we can’t intervene in the valley or on Maximilianstraße because there’s still construction traffic.
How does it look beyond the city?
There are also requests to calm traffic in the neighboring districts, be it the Gärtnerplatzviertel, Haidhausen or Lehel. There are also plans to limit motor vehicle traffic on the Altstadtring. Car traffic is very important there at the moment, but at the same time there is great potential for other uses, be it Isartorplatz or Sonnenstrasse.