Where cars are currently parked, Prunus sargentii, Prunus padus or Sophora japonica are to be planted on the street in Augsburg from spring. These are tree species that also exist in times of climate change, and they are selected for planting in large troughs that are intended to beautify the newly created pedestrian zone in Augsburg’s boulevard Maximilianstrasse. The Swabian metropolis is expanding its pedestrian zone, a project that has been under discussion for years and is part of a Bavarian-wide trend.
Nuremberg, for example, also only built again this summer in its pedestrian zone, which is already one of the largest in Europe – the Franconians are proud of it. In Augsburg they are now taking smaller steps, the pedestrian zone is being extended to a length of around 300 meters between Moritzplatz and Herkulesbrunnen, including the adjacent Wintergasse, Dominikanergasse and Apothekergäßchen. For the Greens in the town hall coalition, this should only be a first step towards a car-free city center in which many more streets will be closed to cars. Mayor Eva Weber (CSU), on the other hand, emphasizes that this is only an attempt. After the test phase from May 2022 to April 2023, the city council should decide how to proceed based on an evaluation.
“The testing of a car-free Maximilianstraße is more than a matter close to our hearts, it is a symbol of the mobility turnaround, with the aim of making the city center available again to people instead of cars,” says Verena von Mutius-Bartholy, leader of the Green Party city council faction. 50 parking spaces will be eliminated in the pilot test, nine in the adjacent streets. Instead, the roadway is to be equipped with plant troughs and upgraded with lounge areas, i.e. with seating for passers-by. The city envisages an “avenue-like expansion”, whereby delivery traffic should continue to be allowed in the morning. There are also exceptions for residents who are still allowed to drive on the street at walking speed. The hotel guests of “Maximilian’s”, the leading hotel in Augsburg, are also allowed to drive up to the entrance just behind the Hercules fountain for loading and unloading.
Director Theodor Gandenheimer is positive about the extension of the pedestrian zone, “because we had been hoping for a beautification of the street for a long time.” Like other gastronomic establishments, the hotel is allowed to expand its outdoor gastronomy, similar regulations were already well received in the Corona summers. Although not all local companies are as euphoric as Gandenheimer, there are definitely critical voices, says Mayor Weber. They worry about a lower frequency of pedestrians and poorer accessibility. These are arguments that can be heard in similar projects in many cities. In Nuremberg, however, city politicians are hoping for impulses for trade and a revitalization of the city center. Passers-by can now walk from the main train station through the entire old town to the Kaiserburg – undisturbed by cars.
The mayor says: “We have to go step by step.”
“I think it will work well in the summer, I’m looking forward to the winter,” says Mayor Weber about the test in Augsburg. She believes that feedback will come not only from local residents, but also from the surrounding area and tourists. She too has observed that pedestrian zones in other cities have had positive effects. But she also says: “We have to make sure that the city works.” For their coalition partner, the Greens, the traffic test in Maximilianstrasse is just one element of a new use of public space. “The next step is the closure of Augsburg’s old town to through traffic, which has already been decided,” says parliamentary group leader Verena von Mutius-Bartholy. Perspectively, she wants to talk about Karlstraße as a traffic-calmed green mile – Karlstraße is an immensely busy aisle that separates the city center from the cathedral district.
“We have to go step by step,” says Weber, who included the extension of the pedestrian zone on Maximilianstrasse in her election platform. “Augsburg is a city that is more than 2,000 years old and has grown, so you can’t throw everything into one heap overnight.” But now you have to have the courage to start and see how it is accepted. CSU parliamentary group leader Leo Dietz reminds that everyday life in downtown Augsburg would be different if through traffic were still allowed in the current pedestrian zone in the direction of Königsplatz and the main station. “Overall, we see the pilot project as a real opportunity to upgrade our magnificent mile in the heart of the city,” says Dietz. However, the resulting space must be used with viable concepts – just leaving the cars and leaving the space to yourself is not an option.