Plans for the redesign of the Wiener Praterstern have been around for a long time. Now things are moving. As a first step, the mighty pole construction around the Tegetthoff memorial will be removed from the end of the month, announced district chairwoman Uschi Lichtenegger (Greens) in an APA conversation. In 2021, the square will be upgraded with numerous trees, a water feature and market areas.
The several meter high pole pergola was part of the most recent redesign of the area between the monument and the station building, which was led by the architect Boris Podrecca 2008 was realized. It consists of 29 columns and runs in a semicircle over a length of 330 meters. Lichtenegger had long been a thorn in the side of the artificial (visual) barrier – now the dismantling is fixed.
“Next week, the preparatory work will begin, among other things, with the dismantling of the billboards. On August 31, parts of the roadway will be blocked, a large crane will come and begin the demolition,” reports Lichtenegger. After two weeks – in the middle of September – the Stangen wall is said to have disappeared. The large plant cages on the square itself should also disappear, albeit later. Because of the ongoing construction site for the new police station on Praterstern, which will probably be completed at the beginning of next year, that is not yet possible.
Further projects before the Vienna election
The green district chief sees the removal of the Podrecca stilts as a first step towards the planned redesign of the entire area. It is to be implemented in 2021. “The plans for this should be presented in autumn – I hope before the election (on October 11th, note). But what I can already say is that the entire square is surrounded by a green ring, 45 additional trees, a water feature and get an area for market and cultural events “, announced Lichtenegger.
In addition to improving the visual axes, the district generally wants to raise the quality of stay at the traffic junction, which has sometimes fallen into disrepute as a social hotspot: “The Praterstern was never perceived as a place of well-being, but it’s actually a great place.” How much the overall project will cost has not yet been definitively determined, according to the director.
Aside from the start of the renovation of the “Stern”, there are a number of other projects in the district ahead of the Vienna election. This includes the speed reduction in some streets. “Obere Augartenstrasse, Heinestrasse, Mühlfeldgasse, Prater-Hauptallee and a part of Vorgartenstrasse will become Tempo 30 zones. The signs will be posted by the end of September,” Lichtenegger said. In the near future, she would like to see a nationwide limit of 30 for the district anyway – as City Councilor for Transport Birgit Hebein recently announced for districts 4 to 9.
Tempo 30 for Praterstrasse delayed due to Corona
Speaking of Tempo 30: this has been planned for a long time for the busy Praterstrasse. The district’s application is still in the “testing phase” of the authorities, says Lichtenegger: “There still has to be a traffic count. This has not yet been possible due to the coronavirus and will now take place in September. Then there will be a result . “
The long-announced redesign plans for Praterstrasse, about which there were repeatedly unfriendly disputes between the SPÖ and the Greens at the district level, are still a long time coming. But now it should actually be ready soon: “As far as the redesign concept is concerned, the specialist departments are still busy with small adjustments. Our goal is to present the redesign in September – in detail between Aspernbrücke and Nestroyplatz. This is the area to be the first to be rebuilt. “
The district chief is sticking to the plans to remove one of three car lanes out of town in favor of wider bike and footpaths: “From my point of view, nothing speaks against it.” The pop-up cycle path on Praterstrasse has shown in recent months that this works well. By the way, she would like the two temporary bike lanes – the second is on Lassallestrasse – to remain in place and not expire at the end of August as planned, says the green politician, referring to the sharp rise in the number of cyclists.
News for cyclists
But there is news for cyclists in Leopoldstadt anyway. From mid-September, the first bicycle street in the 2nd district will be built in Scherzgasse and the adjacent Castellezgasse up to Klanggasse. “That means that bicycle traffic has priority, motorized traffic is only allowed to drive in,” explains the district chief.
She is “very confident” that she will continue to hold this position after the Vienna election, she says: “But I campaign for every vote. I know it will really be very close.” In the 2015 district council elections, the SPÖ was actually able to win the Leopoldstadt, which had been red until then. The polls were successfully contested, however, and had to be repeated in 2016. Surprisingly, the Greens emerged as the winner with top candidate Lichtenegger. They reached 35.3 percent – and were thus more than seven percentage points ahead of the second-placed SPÖ. (apa)
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