With a renovated playground in the middle, additional space for pedestrians and cyclists, new surfaces and lowered curbs, the “Am Glockenbach” triangle in the heart of the district of the same name is to be upgraded from spring 2023. The majority in the district committee of Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt is convinced that the road conversion proposed in 2016 will be in the interests of the local residents. However, CSU representatives in particular fear that the loss of 38 parking spaces could trigger protests, especially since the building department has not scheduled extensive public participation.
In a fundamental discussion about mobility behavior in the district, the buzzword “Fraunhoferstraße” was mentioned several times. Just like with the bike-friendly conversion there, which is now often considered a communication disaster, the administration threatens to offend the citizens if they send the excavators without intensive consultation, warned Rudolf Cermak (CSU).
According to the motto “convince instead of just informing”, his party colleague Martin Ruckert also emphasized that mere announcements were not enough. The chairwoman of the traffic subcommittee in the BA, Claudia Lowitz (Greens), rejected the accusation of one-sided traffic policy, according to which the car owners have become a minority there with 25 percent of the residents.
According to Lowitz and other Greens and SPD representatives, it is too late for public participation in dialogue. If the current planning window were to close again due to workshops and discussion rounds, the project would be set back by two to three years. For Florian Petrich (Greens), there is “no clearer and more comprehensive public participation than elections” anyway, and in 2020 these would have given the order to make the district “more beautiful, quieter and safer”.
The road triangle should lose parking spaces, but gain in quality of stay.
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
On the initiative of the FDP, the district committee finally decided to ask the administration whether citizen participation could be organized without delaying the project. If this is not possible, the committee suggests at least one information event.
After consultation with the building department, there is no risk of delay through the incorporation of a BA wish list, which includes, among other things, further advanced sidewalks, as well as additional trees, benches, wheel brackets and parking spaces for cargo bikes. In addition, the planned barrier bollards are to be replaced by plant pots. The district committee also wants such green barriers at the north end of Arndtstraße, which would then become a dead end coming from Auenstraße. At this point, Arndtstrasse had been completely closed for two years due to a private construction site, which did not disrupt the flow of traffic in the district, according to an SPD motion that was unanimously accepted.