Oberer Mainkai in Würzburg will be closed to traffic on a trial basis

The Planning, Environment and Mobility Committee of the Würzburg City Council discussed a proposal from the Green City Council parliamentary group on Wednesday evening and finally decided to modify it. In the end, only a majority of one vote was decisive. The councilors of Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen had requested that the road between Alter Mainbrücke and Wirsbergstraße be temporarily closed to car traffic and that a traffic-calmed area similar to a pedestrian zone be set up instead.

Promenade always pedestrian zone on Sundays

The recently redesigned promenade offers a unique view of the fortress, Käppele and Main. Due to the traffic, the atmosphere in this section is affected by the constant car noise. Traffic calming would increase the quality of life considerably, it is said. The area will initially only be closed or traffic-calmed in trial operation: on Sundays between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. and until October 31. The modified decision was a proposal by the SPD parliamentary group.

Traffic is diverted

The civil engineering and transport department now has to implement the plan “as quickly as possible”, ie put up signs that mark the closure and indicate diversions. City planning officer Benjamin Schneider had raised traffic law concerns at the meeting because such a temporary blockage was not provided for in the road traffic regulations. “There were similar concerns about the one-sided closure of Zeller Strasse. I think you have to take it,” commented Konstantin Mack from the Green parliamentary group.

Initiative of the Greens in the city council

The Green City Council points out that such traffic calming was already provided for in the traffic development plan of 1993 in order to ensure a better quality of stay on the Upper Mainkai. “For us as the Green parliamentary group, this is a huge success. We are pleased that we received a majority for our application – even with a CSU vote. Hopefully the area on the Main will now have a good deal more quality of stay.” With its resolution, the committee decided against the recommendation of the civil engineering department to reject the application.

Skepticism in the civil engineering department

The department had pointed out that the offer to stay on the road would probably only be accepted when the weather is nice and that a blockage would not make sense depending on the weather, “since no road user knows whether and when he can use the part of the road or not”. In addition, rescue services, fire brigade and police would have to use the blocked section on Sundays with restrictions, otherwise they would have to accept considerable time delays, the reason goes on to say.

A closure is also not sensible from a purely planning point of view: Temporary closings lead to wrong-way or detour trips, even in streets where turning maneuvers can be dangerous.

–