Traffic congestion and disputes over transport restrictions in Tyrol

“Locals want the number of trucks on the roads to decrease, politicians in Vienna, Berlin and Rome want transport not to be disturbed, but officials in Brussels would like to see this problem disappear by itself,” – this is how “Politico.eu” describes the current situation.

Florian Riedl, mayor of the town of Steinach, near the Brenner Pass, says the ever-increasing traffic flow is no longer sustainable. Noise, exhaust gases, and finally the fact that residents have to wait a long time to cross the highway – all of this seems unacceptable to those living in the small town. Once upon a time, like in many places in Europe, a bypass road was built around Steinach, but now the city has spread far beyond its borders, and the problem has come up again.

The authorities of the Tyrol region, in response to complaints from residents of the Steinach area, have already taken several decisions that could eliminate the problem. Trucks are prohibited from driving at night, and on certain days it is often stipulated that no more than 300 trucks from Germany or Italy can cross the Brenner Pass per day. However, traffic jams on the highway have become commonplace, as the total number of cars has not decreased since the restrictions came into force.

Officials in Berlin and Rome have expressed dissatisfaction with the restrictions set in Tyrol, stating that in this way Austria violates one of the basic principles of the European Union – the right to freedom of movement. Italian Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said that the government is currently preparing documents to sue the Austrian government in the EU court. At the same time, the minister emphasized that he would like to agree with the Austrian government on a solution acceptable to all parties, but the consultations, in which European Commission officials also participate, have unfortunately reached a dead end. The President of the EC, Urzula von der Leyen, expressed her hope that the negotiations will be resumed.

The mayor of Steinach, Riedl, has emphasized that the lifting of restrictions will lead to very serious consequences, warning of the onset of a “traffic collapse”. He explained that the flow of cars will have to be reduced in one way or another, because several highways, which are most often used by freight carriers, have already served their time and need serious repair.

Data from the Austrian Statistical Office show that 2.5 million trucks and another 11 million cars used the Tyrolean roads for transit last year. Routes through Austria seem attractive to German and Italian carriers for several reasons. Firstly, it is the shortest route, but secondly, Austria’s neighboring country, Switzerland, imposes a higher toll for using the roads. Austria wanted to increase this fee, but the EC opposed it.

The restrictions imposed in Austria do not satisfy freight carriers. The manager of an Italian company, Aleksandrs Ehler, who is also often behind the wheel, told “Politico.eu” that driving through Austria is always stressful. “Just a couple of years ago, you could get from Bolzano to Munich in four, at worst five hours. Now we have to expect that the trip will last at least eight hours,” he said.

2023-09-26 08:01:27
#Freight #transport #inconvenient #Tyroleans