The Nidau station area is to be redesigned. This project is by no means new, but has been sought by the community for over 30 years. However, previous attempts have failed. In the first project, the main investor withdrew, in the second the population refused a necessary loan. Things got moving again in 2018: Because Aare Seeland Mobil (ASM) has to renew its infrastructure in the affected area, the municipality also wants to seize the opportunity and give the unattractive entrance gate to Stedtli a new look – with a new building, among other things with apartments, offices, a wholesaler and underground parking lots.
Meanwhile, ASM wants to make the station free of obstacles and improve safety. In future, pedestrians will no longer be able to cross the tracks at Nidau station, and an underpass with ramps and lifts will be built instead. In addition, ASM wants to extend the platforms from the current 60 to 90 meters. Furthermore, as part of the redesign of the station area, a new roundabout on the main road is planned, from which the Aalmatten district, the new residential development on the Zihl and later possibly the Balainenweg Süd area are to be developed (the BT reported).
A year late
In the last four years not much has happened again. Only an information board at the BTI bus stop tells the population what is to change. In autumn 2021, ASM then announced that the work should start a year later than originally planned, namely in 2023. After an objection was raised against the award of external services, it was no longer possible to meet the planned schedule, ASM wrote in a message.
Yesterday, the Nidau city council once again dealt with the project. He approved a loan of 1.47 million francs for the city to share in the cost of the infrastructure for the expansion of the station and for the fulfillment of contractual obligations. These include a land swap with ASM: the city will now be the sole owner of the station forecourt between the main road and the tracks. This is strategically very important for Nidau, said municipal councilor Tobias Egger (SP). Today, this area is home to the eye-catching blue building housing a travel agency, as well as mobility parking spaces. Not exactly the best calling card for the Stedtli, but this should change in the future due to new uses.
The project was undisputed in the Nidau Parliament yesterday. The parties were united behind the loan and so there were no dissenting votes in the vote. A few admonishing votes in the direction of the municipal council were not missing. For example, Dominik von Aesch (SP) said that the city council should be involved in the design of the station district. On behalf of his party, Markus Baumann (SVP) encouraged the government to refrain from using unnecessary, costly prestige innovations in the design – just as they had been done unnecessarily elsewhere. And Martin Fischer (FDP) emphasized for the bourgeois parliamentary group that they wanted to be informed about individual projects and their status. Carmen Stalder
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