The verdict was made yesterday, the one-way signs were immediately removed: on the old Salzach bridge between Burghausen in Bavaria and Hochburg-Ach (Braunau district), driving is again permitted in both directions. The Munich administrative court agreed with an Austrian commuter who filed a lawsuit because he had to take a detour on the German side. The only way back to Austria was over the other Salzach bridge a few kilometers further.
One-way only from half of the bridge
As reported, the city of Burghausen had issued an ordinance on a trial basis that states that cars on the Old Salzach Bridge can only go in the direction of Burghausen. The bizarre thing: theoretically, the one-way only applied to the Bavarian side, i.e. only from halfway across the bridge.
Burghausen’s mayor Florian Schneider (SPD) liked the regulation. In his opinion, this has increased the quality of stay in Burghausen’s town square. The bottleneck on the Hochburg-Acher side towards Bavaria has also been relieved. But not everyone was happy with the new one-way, and there was loud protest, especially on the Austrian side: The traffic back to Hochburg-Ach led along the Salzach via Weilhartstraße, which was (also) not designed for this, which meant more traffic and more noise for the residents resulted. They founded a citizens’ initiative and called for protest actions. The lawsuit filed by the Austrian commuter finally helped them to succeed.
“I’m not happy with the court’s decision because I think the regulation is good and correct, but that’s the way it is,” says Mayor Florian Schneider in a first statement. He wants to continue thinking about how safety and the quality of life in the old town can be increased and noise protection improved. “There are certainly ways that we can find together. We won’t rush anything, think things through calmly, involve people,” says Schneider.
Hochburg-Ach Mayor Martin Zimmer (VP) is surprised that the court actually repealed the ordinance. “I just hope that there won’t be more accidents, because many no longer expect oncoming traffic,” says Zimmer, and speaks above all of the confusing eye of the needle on the Acher side.
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Source: Nachrichten
