“Our center needs to be greener”

How and in what direction should Traun develop as the fifth largest city in Upper Austria? Answers to this question and thus to the future “marching plan” presented Mayor Karl-Heinz Koll (VP) this week at his spring reception. The basis for the package of measures is the results of the large citizen survey, the course was set in part even before it was available.

A major topic is the redesign of Traun’s city center. “Our center needs to be greener”says Koll, who feels encouraged in this attitude by the survey and the expressed desire for more green spaces.

need for a hotel

The announced multi-stage design competition will start this year. In addition to planning with a landscape gardener, an architectural competition is planned for the area between Trauner Volksheim and Spinnerei. This should show where and how projects and densification make sense here. A potential hotel location is also an issue here.

“We need a hotel”, says Koll with a view to business tourism and the cultural sector. There is still a lot of potential at Traun Castle in terms of seminars and wedding parties. It is also planned to initiate a citizen participation process in terms of inner city development, in addition to citizens, tradespeople and property owners are to be involved.

City bus as a challenge

Modifications or renovation work are also pending in the childcare facilities. The general renovation and expansion of the St. Martin elementary school will also begin this year. It is also being examined whether a new, larger location is required for the Traun elementary school. According to Koll, the current building is one of the few listed buildings in the city. If the worst comes to the worst, part of it would be suitable for housing the city history museum. This can currently be found in the Steinhumergut.

In addition, investments in road infrastructure (also a key point in the survey) are planned, and the city police’s new radar car is expected to be in use from September.

However, it will be a long time before the city bus will be on the road with a more compact timetable and an extended area of ​​use. The necessary decision in the municipal council should be made this year, but there are still many unanswered questions due to the new federal procurement law. This stipulates that a certain contingent of electric buses would have to be purchased, but from the current perspective there is no model that can cover the necessary mileage, says Koll.

Other projects on the agenda are the conversion of street lighting to intelligent LED systems and the continuation of the photovoltaic offensive on a total of 5000 square meters of roof area.