Stadtbahn: Green light now also from the city of Linz

There was a long struggle about this, but now the financing agreement for the light rail and the new Linz trolleybus line 48 is dry. After the state, a few minutes ago the local council (with the exception of the KPÖ) also, as expected, gave the green light for what is often referred to as the project of the century.

The contract stipulates the mutual obligations: The city of Linz is participating in the light rail (the estimates for the Linz section are currently 667 million euros) with 7.5 percent or a maximum of 50 million euros. In return, the country pays
40 percent of the almost 60 million euro trolleybus project. The state contribution is capped at 23.7 million euros.

For the light rail, there is still no agreement between the state and the federal government; as reported, this should cover 50 percent of the costs. The negotiations are ongoing and there should be a conclusion before the summer.

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“The financing agreement now fixed by the state of Upper Austria and the city of Linz through this local council resolution represents a milestone and breakthrough for public transport in Linz. I would like to thank all parties who supported this decision and the state of Upper Austria, which enables us to make local transport in the greater Linz area more attractive in this way,” said Mayor Klaus Luger (SP) through the Linz regional light rail and the trolleybus line 48, future-oriented alternatives would soon be created for the people of Linz as well as for the thousands of commuters.

“No alternative for Linz”

“People have had to wait far too long to be able to get to their workplace and back home without traffic jams and stress. Now that the discrepancies of the past year between the city and the country have now been resolved, hopefully all players will continue to pull together the expansion of public transport and therefore also for climate protection,” says climate councilor Eva Schobesberger (Greens) about the decision.

The tenor of City Councilor for Security Michael Raml (FP) is similar: “The light rail and the trolleybus are indispensable for Linz. Both many Linzers and countless commuters will benefit.” The FPÖ has always worked to reach a common and constructive solution at the end of the day, despite all the emotional debates.

The climate neutrality concept was also given the green light in today’s meeting; the FPÖ, Linzplus and MFG local councilor Schachner abstained. The concept paper defines seven areas of action and is intended to help the city achieve its goal of being climate neutral by 2040.

PV system on a field: majority against rezoning

There was a lot of discussion and no majority on the application to rezone an agricultural area of ​​around 13 hectares near the Franzenhausweg industrial area. In order to realize a planned photovoltaic project, the green area would require special dedication. Both urban climatology and nature conservation classify the area as unsuitable. Ultimately, only the SPÖ voted for the rezoning.

For climate councilor Schobesberger, the local council’s no was consistent: “PV ground-mounted systems may only be built on suitable properties. This is not the affected area. Both urban climatology and nature and landscape protection have left no doubt about this.” PV systems should be built primarily on roofs, parking lots and already sealed areas, she notes.

Planning councilor Dietmar Prammer (SP) sees it differently. He comments on the decision with the words: “Unfortunately, the majority did not recognize the signs of the times. With the ground-mounted PV systems, we would have had another opportunity to take an effective measure for climate protection and to phase out fossil fuels in favor of renewable energies to accelerate in our city.” This is a setback and shows the discouragement of the other parties.

“No smoking” in playgrounds

The ÖVP’s proposal for a smoking ban in city playgrounds was also discussed at today’s meeting. As reported, the announced nationwide regulation is still a long time coming – the ÖVP’s request not to wait any longer and to take action as a city itself was unanimously assigned to the Safety and Health Committee.

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