The district parties of the SPÖ and the Greens want to take to the streets next Thursday to demonstrate for the realignment of the “Türkengraben” bus stop in the Haselgraben. As reported, the Türkengraben stop was closed in spring 2019 during bridge renovation work along the B126 and was then no longer opened.
“More than two million euros are being invested in the current work on the road. There should be a solution for the bus stop inside,” demands Rainer Lenzenweger, district spokesman for the green Urfahr environment. “Unfortunately, this example shows once again how much public transport and thus the mobility of all people in rural areas is worth to the state government – namely nothing,” puts SP district chairman NR-Abg. Alois Stöger after. He is also the traffic spokesman for the SPÖ in the National Council. The demonstration next week is the first joint, public action by the two parties at the district level.
Rally at Speichmühle
The rally next Thursday is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Speichmühle parking lot. After the rally, the participants are invited to go to the abandoned bus stop with the residents. “The district administration urgently advised us not to walk along the B126 to the bus stop. There are safety concerns. For the responsible state council, however, commuters can be expected to walk to the bus stop,” explains Herbert Enzenhofer, co-initiator of the rally from SPÖ Zwettl .
When the road was renovated four years ago, the stops and passenger numbers on the B126 were also analyzed. It turned out that the Türkengraben stop was hardly used and was also approached without permission. “Of course, an alternative solution was sought. Unfortunately, in this case, it was not possible to cope,” said State Councilor for Infrastructure Günther Steinkellner (FP) on request.
Two options for a replacement bus stop were pursued: In one case, the necessary property could not be redeemed, and a second option could only be built at immense expense. Therefore, in consultation with the local communities, it was decided not to pursue the project any further. Steinkellner: “Money doesn’t grow on trees and we have an obligation to use taxpayers’ money efficiently. Building a stop for zero to two people boarding and alighting in the millions would not have corresponded to this principle of economic efficiency.”
Source: Nachrichten
