“The summer roads were a success overall,” said the urban mobility department. However, this assessment does not seem to be that uncontroversial; it is not shared everywhere. If you ask in different parts of the city, the picture is quite different when it comes to the use of streets and squares for meetings, games and fun. The action was not a hit everywhere.
The city authority bases its statements on a balance sheet study commissioned by it. Of the 517 participants, 72 percent found that the “summer roads are good for our city”, according to the report. The “comprehensive final report”, as the people of Munich assess the project, will not be available until next year. The district committees (BA) can now wish for streets to be built again for the coming summer, which can then be used alternatively.
The Kurfürstenstrasse was not visually recognizable as a traffic-calmed street
Not everyone wants that: “To be honest? That didn’t work at all,” says Svenja Jarchow-Pongratz (Greens), chairman of the committee in Maxvorstadt, about Kurfürstenstrasse. In this case it was a restricted traffic area. However, it was “not at all visually visible”. In addition, motorists would have ignored the temporary stopping bans. You yourself and other BA members have been there a few times to talk to local residents. The reactions were rather sobering. “The classic feedback was: Which summer road?” That is “a shame”. But even if the concept is basically “really good”, the committee has decided not to make any more suggestions for the coming year and rather to forego a summer road.
The Nietzschestrasse in Milbertshofen received similarly little attention. The part that adjoins Curt-Metzger-Platz in front of the Dankeskirche has not really gained popularity due to the traffic calming. “It was always dead when I was there,” says CSU parliamentary group leader Thomas Schwed. And Jutta Koller (Greens) put it: “There is a flower pot and a chair. That is not communicative. That is not nice. That is not appealing.” Now one wants to think about how the concept could be improved. The local politicians agree: art and culture in summer – the area around Nietzschestrasse and Curt-Mezger-Platz could actually do well with that.
Ideally, the traffic calming order in Westenriederstrasse will be extended.
(Photo: Stephan Rumpf)
On the other hand, there are streets that have been particularly well received. This includes, for example, Westenriederstrasse in the old town. It is praised by the local committee, but also by residents and hosts. Therefore, so the mobility department explains, the traffic calming will be extended there “until a traffic attempt is connected to a pedestrian zone”.
In addition to the paths that vehicles are only allowed to pass slowly in warm months, there are the so-called “play streets”. Cars are not allowed to drive or park there. Last summer, for example, this affected Kuglerstrasse and Schneckenburgstrasse in Haidhausen. That, as shown in the most recent district committee meeting, was received differently. The temporary closure of the bypass around the playground created a “place of encounter and communication,” praised a local resident. “And in places where you normally just had to be careful because the cars drove by.” It sounded completely different with a second resident, who also spoke up at the meeting. “At 10.30 p.m. there was Remmidemmi, which is not particularly nice when the bedroom and children’s room windows face the street,” said the man. Both critics and supporters had collected signatures for and against a proposal by the SPD to convert the street permanently. The local politicians have postponed a final deal with the complex for the time being.
The principle was well received in Nymphenburg, but there were also protests
The reactions at Südliche Auffahrtsallee in Nymphenburg were similarly different. It was also well received, but there were also complaints there about disturbances of the peace.
So: success or failure? It cannot be said clearly, especially with regard to the traffic-calmed sections. In the inner city districts as well as further out, they are sometimes better, sometimes worse. In most cases, the play streets are used a lot. At the same time, they create more resentment among local residents. That was also the result of the survey by the mobility department. The feedback was “overall positive, but also more conflictual due to the higher usage”.