Four MPs from the Bavarian SPD parliamentary group paid a visit to Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Wednesday. On the Zugspitze, you can find out about climate change in the Schneefernerhaus. In doing so, they formulate demands on the state government with regard to traffic problems in the Alpine region.
- SPD members find out about climate change in the environmental research station
- Appeal to the Bavarian state government for a better expansion of local public transport
- Schneeerner decline a symbol for climate change
Garmisch-Partenkirchen - Florian von Brunn looks almost sadly at the Schneeerner. “The last time I was up here, the glacier looked very different. Much bigger. ”The alpine political spokesman for the Bavarian SPD is astonished to note this picture, which is presented from the terrace of the Schneefernerhaus. “Climate change,” he sends afterwards. One reason why von Brunn and three colleagues from the parliamentary group took a trip to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The delegation, which also includes State Parliament Vice President Markus Rinderspacher, visits the environmental research station Schneefernerhaus on the Zugspitze. The politicians wanted to get an idea of the local situation.
Before the managing director of the station, Peter Marton, speaks about climate change, however, it is also about the influx of visitors to the Bavarian Alps. The SPD parliamentary group is now reacting to the ever-increasing problems and requests the Bavarian state government to analyze the situation and present possible solutions.
Florian von Brunn demands: Protect nature and home
Von Brunn gets straight to the point: “The situation is dramatic. We have to act now and protect our home and nature, ”says the man from Munich. For the Social Democrats, one point is at the top of the to-do list: the expansion of local public transport in the Alpine regions. Your main focus is on the expansion of the Werdenfelsbahn. There is currently one train per hour on the single-track route between Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. If the rails cannot be used due to flooding or construction work, passengers often have to switch to overcrowded buses, which also only run every hour. Von Brunn therefore demands: "We urgently need a second track for the Werdenfelsbahn as well as a more frequent cycle." And adds: "The Free State is called upon here, it has to do more!" to send to Deutsche Bahn for the expansion. Rinderspacher adds: "The traffic on the streets can only be reduced if the connections in local public transport are improved."
In order to make switching to public transport more attractive for people, Rinderspacher calls for an increase in parking fees. He believes that there are mental games of offsetting the expensive parking tickets with discounted ski passes to be the wrong approach: "Why aren't offers instead simply created in which train tickets are automatically included in the price of ski passes?" This step would make train travel more attractive for people .
Too few police officers to control the tourist crowds
After the meeting on the Zugspitze, the politicians tested what the problems in the Kochel / Walchensee region were like. In addition to the traffic, the wrong behavior of many tourists in dealing with nature is particularly common this year. The pollution is rampant in many places. Von Brunn considers it difficult to control the masses of visitors: “Unfortunately, we don't have that many police officers.” Agricultural politician Ruth Müller sees a first step in educating people about dealing with nature. She has an example for the ignorance of many people: "In the Berchtesgaden National Park the most frequent question to the staff is where the rides are?"
The decline of nature in recent years can be seen particularly clearly in a natural phenomenon in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district: the Schneeferner on the Zugspitzplatt. In the past 50 years, its area has halved. If the conditions do not change, the glacier will have completely disappeared by the turn of the century at the latest, according to Peter Marton. For Florian von Brunn, this is a clear sign that people have been watching inactive for far too long: “If you don't take climate change seriously, you should watch its consequences here on site. We must continue to fight climate change during Corona. ”The expansion of public transport is a first, important step in the right direction.
