After the citizens of St. Leonhard im Pitztal voted against the project with a narrow majority in a referendum, the Pitztaler Gletscherbahn withdrew from the project: “We are certain that we will not continue the Pitztal-Ötztal merger project that has been planned since 2016 and has since been shut down will be pursued more.”
The “Glacier Marriage” has faced fierce headwinds for years. An alliance consisting of the WWF, Alpine Club and nature lovers vehemently opposed the merger. A petition from a citizens’ initiative with around 168,000 signatures was only handed over to the Tyrolean state government at the end of April.
With an investment volume of 130 million euros, three new cable cars and 60 hectares of additional slopes were planned. However, the oral environmental impact assessment (EIA) originally scheduled for January 2020 had already been postponed twice at the request of the project operators. If the proceedings had continued, the documents would have had to be renewed.
To the question “Should the ski area merger Pitztal-Ötztal be built?” 353 voters answered no on Sunday, 348 were in favor (voter turnout: 59 percent). The mayor of St. Leonhard, Elmar Haid, was combative in the online edition of the “Tiroler Tageszeitung” and referred to a valid municipal council decision for the project. However, the Pitztaler Gletscherbahn has lost interest in continuing the project.
“Right from the start, the consent of the local community was the basic requirement for us to consider and plan a merger with the Ötztal Glacier or with the Sölden ski area,” said the railway. The result of the referendum will of course be noted.
For Tyrol’s ÖVP chairman and state election top candidate Anton Mattle, the decision of the St. Leonhard population was also “definitely acceptable”. If there isn’t even a very clear commitment to this project locally, “it shouldn’t be held on to any longer,” Mattle said.
The WWF Austria spoke of a “huge success for nature conservation”. Austria now needs glacier protection without exception instead of new ski areas and constructions. The end of the glacier marriage was also welcomed by the Greens. “The people in St. Leonhard have shown courage and made a reasonable decision,” said Greens club chairman Gebi Mair.
Source: Nachrichten
