The car shouldn’t be demonized, and Münster’s city center shouldn’t be cordoned off. District Administrator Dr. Olaf Gericke was strong in the local election campaign last year. One who followed the discussion critically is Thomas Lins from Freckenhorst, Chairman of the Verkehrsclub Deutschland (VCD), Regionalverband Münsterland.
Lins interprets the fact that cars can drive as far as possible to the shops in Münster’s city center as “a policy from the 1960s, when politicians and traffic planners were planning a city that was suitable for cars”.
Focus on WLE reactivation
From Lins’ point of view, there is talk of expanding local public transport – for example in connection with the district development program. “But that often has an alibi function. Far too little has happened. ”The district of Warendorf is relying above all on reactivating the Westphalian State Railroad (WLE) – from Sendenhorst to Münster. Apart from this project, which will be implemented in four or five years at the earliest, hardly anything will change.
But many offers for bus and train could already be significantly better, said Lins, who made his suggestions to District Administrator Dr. Olaf Gericke and the parliamentary groups in the district council. “In the past few years, the VCD has made a number of suggestions on how bus and rail transport between the Warendorf district and the city of Münster can be made more attractive,” said Lins. Unfortunately, hardly any of this has been implemented.
“But we can’t just wait for the WLE.” Because there is little creative work in terms of transport policy, the impression arises that the circle is not interested in easy-to-implement traffic improvements outside of the WLE topic. Lins lists the suggestions of the VCD Regionalverband Münster:
Easy to implement suggestions for improvement
- Extension of the S20 express bus line also Monday to Friday to Warendorf train station: The express bus now ends at the indoor swimming pool, explains Lins. But it should go to the train station to save the passengers from having to change trains. “The fact that buses and trains do not have a common terminus is a decision that dates back to a time when buses and trains were viewed as competition.”
- Increased frequency of the express bus line S30 Beckum / Münster: “The bus should not run every hour, as is currently the case, but every half hour.”
- Extension of the S30 express bus line beyond Münster Central Station. Options are: To the old town north (Wendeschleife Hörsterplatz) possibly further to the center north (with 6000 workplaces). Or via Bült to Schlossplatz.
- Introduction of a climate subscription (annual commuter ticket) at a greatly reduced price: “The RegioKarte in the Freiburg / Breisgau urban region is something comparable. The area is structured in a similar way to the Münsterland. ”
- Extension of price level 0 (Münster city area) to the first municipal ring with Telgte, Everswinkel, Sendenhorst, Drensteinfurt in the Warendorf district: “After all, there are not only commuters who drive from Handorf or Wolbeck to Münster. Many Telgter or Drensteinfurters also work in Münster. ”
Lins is aware that additional offers cost money. Traffic improvement should not fail because of this. Especially since there are subsidies from the state – for example for the development of the express bus service.
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