A roundabout could be built at the entrance to Schondorf. The roundabout would slow down car or truck drivers.
(Photo: Nila Thiel)
More than 16,000 vehicles a day pass through Schondorf on state road 2055, and the trend is rising. A year and a half ago, the municipality therefore commissioned a detailed investigation of the St 2055, and the results are now available. Klaus Schulz from the Office for Urban Development and Open Space Planning in Munich handed over a thick 270-page folder to the municipal council at the most recent meeting. In addition to many conversation logs, counts and survey results, it also contains many different suggestions to reduce the load and to redesign the state road traffic area, which pedestrians and cyclists classify as “unsafe”.
There were different assessments in the municipal council as to whether the extensive investigations were really of any use. While the first mayor Alexander Herrmann (Greens) and the second mayor Martin Wagner (CSU) look positively to the future after a conversation with the Weilheim road construction office, Bettina Hölzle (CSU) painted a bleak picture. In their view, many of the proposals cannot be implemented in practice. The discussion also showed that details such as the required road width are important. If the community can achieve a speed reduction to 30 kilometers per hour for through town, then a narrower street would suffice, and space could be diverted for combined pedestrian and cycle paths or shared spaces. The municipality has now joined the noise action plan. During the meeting, she commissioned legal support from an experienced law firm.
In the study, the people of Schondorf also have their say. A “relative majority” spoke out in favor of the speed reduction in a survey and called for a “fair division of the road space for all road users”, reported Claus Grimm from the Red Deutschland GmbH team, which had interviewed residents. It was also noticeable that public transport was not used much despite the rail connection and that the offer could be expanded. On average, every household in Schondorf owns two cars.
“If the result is a roundabout, a crossing aid and a combined footpath and cycle path, that would be a great benefit,” said Marius Polter (Greens) very pragmatically. And in fact, the odds are not bad at all. Wagner reported that the Weilheim road construction authority had not given suggestions a categorical no as before. “We went into the conversation with a colorful bouquet of measures,” said Herrmann. According to him, these included roundabouts for the northern and southern entrances to town, small roundabouts that could be driven over within the town through-road, shared space zones, speed tunnels, tree plantings, detours and other exit regulations. Slowing down traffic at the southern entrance to the town due to a roundabout was raised several times in the municipal council, perhaps also because Mayor Herrmann had previously announced from the closed meeting that a new large day-care center would be built on the Bergstraße, which would branch off from this roundabout.
Rainer Jiinger (CSU) took the opportunity to point out the solution he favored, a large bypass of the place. But the majority of the municipal council have a different opinion on this, as Helga Gall (Greens) noted. “The Great Bypass is only fueled by a council,” she said. Sabine Pittroff (Greens) campaigned for a more attractive and barrier-free train station. Which of the suggestions will now lead to the object planning will still be discussed. One advantage for Schondorf is that the municipality can currently receive around 60 percent of the costs as grants if it is implemented via urban development funding, said Schulz.