It’s a pity that there aren’t any specifically Franconian betting shops. They would certainly have an answer to the question of whether the historic running gag project “crossing-free expansion of the Frankenschnellweg” will one day be realized – or not. The result of a completely unrepresentative SZ survey is: There are people from Nuremberg who would bet their pets that the time would come soon. And others who set their household against it. And both come from the same demographic, choose and think similarly.
This Tuesday, the Frankenschnellweg chronicle, which covers several decades, will be expanded by another chapter, the Verkehrsclub Deutschland (VCD) wants the administrative court to prevent the expansion. As always with such lawsuits, in-depth legal and engineering knowledge would be helpful in order to be able to understand what is being argued about. But you can also take the appointment as an opportunity to ask fundamentally why exactly this route is significantly dividing urban society – and, as I said, even groups that basically get along well with each other.
It’s like this: There are those who call a de facto motorway with traffic lights a contradictio in adiecto, a contradiction in terms that has lasted for decades and a unique selling point for Central Franconia. Who do not consider it obtrusively logical and not overly ecological when about 60,000 people are reliably stuck in traffic jams on a road (or, at least as badly, their alternative routes) every day. And who see a reasonable alternative in a tunnel with the promised “district park” on the cover.
And there are others who always thought it was grotesque to route national traffic across the big city, or even (if you add Fürth) two big cities. Who see the idea of luring even more bodies there as an extended madness from the mothball of traffic planning. And who may see a possible cementing of the real existing district for the currently targeted 660 million euros as pretty much the last thing that this city, which is not particularly burdened by wealth, urgently needs.
After all, both sides want to have one thing: more nature! However, some would like to see the green on the planned tunnel – others in a new district that replaces the route. Also on this point you shouldn’t come together too quickly.