Annette Heinloth (Greens), Third Mayor of Wolfratshausen, comes to the interview with our newspaper - and reveals that she considers the car “in and of itself” to be a “brilliant invention”.
Our newspaper met with Wolfratshausen's Third Mayor Annette Heinloth (Greens) for an interview.
She states: The Greens are not against cars, but against fossil fuels of all kinds.
According to Heinloth, a lot can still be done for cyclists in Wolfratshausen.
Wolfratshausen -
In the opinion of the Wolfratshauser Greens, a “real traffic turnaround” is essential for the energy transition.
But this can only succeed “if motorized individual traffic is pushed back in favor of local public transport and non-motorized traffic,” reads the local association's website.
Our newspaper met for an interview with Annette Heinloth, Third Mayor and Green City Councilor.
The 52-year-old came to the editorial office by bike and talked about an “in and for itself” ingenious invention and bicycle protection strips.
And she answered the question whether the Loisachstadt rightly bears the title “bicycle-friendly municipality”.
Ms. Heinloth, what do you have against cars?
I have nothing against cars.
Cars are actually a wonderful invention, a milestone in mobility.
The car has made it possible for many people to get from A to B whenever they want.
In addition, when it comes to cars, many people still have feelings such as freedom, fun and control.
The car is in and of itself a brilliant invention.
What kind of car do you drive?
Strictly speaking, I only have half a car because I share it with my partner.
An ancient Mercedes A-Class with a diesel engine - but the car is now finally being exchanged for an electric vehicle.
We only have one problem: We don't have an e-charging station on our doorstep or nearby.
But personally, I drive extremely rarely in the car.
Although you work in Munich ...
...I agree.
I ride my bike to the S-Bahn, then on by train and at my final stop in Munich I have another bike.
I also drive it through Munich - and with enthusiasm.
Because you can see how the bicycle infrastructure is improved almost monthly.
Is it just angry tongues claiming that the Greens want to ban driving?
The Greens want to move away from fossil fuels of all kinds. The Greens want to stop climate change.
And that will only succeed if we say goodbye to fossil fuels.
Mankind has known this for 40 years.
Driving the traffic turnaround does not mean that we just like to hug trees or we like it green, but because it is a necessity for human survival.
You know that from Mr. Söder.
If it makes sense in terms of election tactics, he is happy to take long-term green suggestions and sell them as his own. "
Annette Heinloth, Third Mayor of Wolfratshausen
Then you are not hugging trees right now, but Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder, who has spoken out in favor of a ban on the approval of fossil combustion engines from 2035?
You know that from Mr. Söder.
If it makes sense in terms of election tactics, he will happily adopt long-standing green suggestions and sell them as his own.
On the one hand, it is gratifying that he has recognized that there is an urgent need for action.
On the other hand, it is a bit bitter that he only notices it because from his point of view it makes sense in terms of election tactics - and that Mr Söder only notices it at five past twelve.
According to critics in Germany, saying goodbye to fossil combustion engines will cost millions of jobs.
If scientific knowledge about climate change had been taken seriously 40 years ago, it would have been possible to switch to alternative drives without great effort.
Now we are at a point where this switch is immensely expensive, because almost all of our industry, almost all of our mobility, is based on fossil energy.
Now turning around is associated with an enormous investment of money and resources.
German engineering could have achieved a great deal in the past 40 years.
But this shift will cost jobs. Is it a trade-off between cutting jobs and stopping climate change?
A transformation into an ecological modernity must succeed.
We don't want to go back to the horse and cart.
And this transformation will create new jobs.
It is clear that this will not be unproblematic and that it entails a lot of transformation and further training.
But there are also huge opportunities in this.
What energy are you betting on?
There will be a widening of the supply, away from the fossil combustion engine as normal.
The form of mobility must also change, that is, it must end that a single person is individually traveling in a sheet metal shell weighing several tons.
This includes strengthening local public transport and cycling.
In terms of private transport, e-mobility is a good alternative, but in my opinion it is not the philosopher's stone.
Why not?
We know that e-mobility, for example due to the extraction of rare earths such as cobalt, brings with it certain problems.
In addition, electricity storage is still not technically mature.
Isn't it then absurd to set up e-charging stations across Germany?
I think the next few years will have to focus on building parallel systems.
Hydrogen is also an interesting technology.
As in evolution, there will be branches that will eventually no longer be followed up.
At the moment, the main thing is to find alternatives to the combustion engine and private transport.
And: we have to drive less cars overall.
According to the report, Wolfratshausen mainly suffers from inner-city vehicle traffic.
Yes, domestic traffic is a big problem.
This means that people drive from Wolfratshausen to Wolfratshausen by car, for example from Waldram to the old town.
The aim here is to replace the need to drive.
Citizens must be invited to use other forms of mobility.
Means: change to the city bus or bike more often.
What has been done over the past few years towards this goal?
Our city bus has developed quite positively, but I would like to see significantly more improvements.
A dynamic passenger information system is coming, which means that in future you will see on a display board on the Wasen, for example, that the next city bus will be arriving in five minutes.
That can change a lot in the awareness of people who only have the car on their screen to get around.
The Greens have also been campaigning for cyclists in the city for years. But the protective strip along Sauerlacher Strasse has sparked protests.
Incidentally, the protective strip there was not a requirement of the Greens.
But the controversial debate makes one basic problem clear: These and other measures to protect cyclists disturb many motorists in their conviction that the public space, i.e. the streets, belongs to them, the motorists.
This is the result of decades of privilege for car traffic by politics.
Since the 1970s, the public space has been designed almost exclusively for motorists.
Many drive their cars knowing that this has to be the case and that it is correct ...
Under the motto: my territory?
(laughs) Right!
As a cyclist, you are sometimes hooted at or even insulted, although you absolutely comply with the provisions of the road traffic regulations.
Because the driver does not have the feeling that he has to share “his” space with other road users.
A rethink is required, because public space can only be allocated once.
In densely built-up cities like Wolfratshausen in particular, the public space is a finite resource.
If I want to expand bicycle traffic and create more quality of stay in the city, then that can certainly happen at the expense of car traffic.
In some places it can be slowed down or directed through traffic-calmed zones.
That is also to be expected of a car driver, because he is an adult, intelligent person.
The Green Senator for Transport in Berlin called for all cars with internal combustion engines to be banned from the federal capital ...
I think it's an unstoppable process in big cities.
There will be more and more car-free zones.
This development will - slowly - also be felt in small towns.
But that's not something that happens overnight.
In any case, it must be carefully checked in advance what makes the most sense for the common good.
Because there are still needs for individual transport.
A village population cannot cope without a car and many citizens of a small town need a car every now and then.
Or care services, people with disabilities and, of course, rescue workers.
"Change"! Only this appeal will presumably not bear fruit.
Right.
It is the task of politics and municipal administration to create incentives and create the infrastructure for them.
Keyword infrastructure: In the middle of the mayor's election campaign you declared that you refused to build a parking garage on Hatzplatz.
That is not right.
From the start of the debate, I was against building a large parking garage at the site and voted against it.
In the meantime the general tenor in the city council is that building a parking garage in the middle of the historic old town is not in keeping with the times.
Is the Hatzplatz location a no-go? Or have parking garages in city centers generally fallen out of time?
From my point of view, it would be important to redesign the Hatzplatz in a safe and compatible manner.
If more parking spaces come out, that would be welcome.
But hand on heart: It is not the case that you never find a free space on the Hatzplatz or the Loisachhallen parking lot.
We need a sensible parking space concept.
The idea is to create parking spaces on the outskirts of the city as much as possible and create easily manageable paths so that everyone can easily get to where they want to go in the city.
And: the closer I park to the city center, the more expensive it should be.
It is a fallacy to think that if I offer parking spaces in the city, customers will come. "
Annette Heinloth, Third Mayor of Wolfratshausen
Where in the periphery could such a parking lot be created?
Due to the topography, mountain forest and Loisach, our options are known to be limited.
A solution is quickly found on the drawing board - but it is not easy to implement.
I think realistically small, decentralized solutions have to be considered.
The Wolfratshauser List has suggested building a large parking garage behind the former Isar department store in the old town.
It is a fallacy to think that if I offer parking spaces in the city, customers will come.
Current studies show that people value a quality of stay more highly.
Commerce flourishes in those inner cities where there are few cars.
What still needs to be done specifically for the cyclists in the Flößerstadt?
We hardly have any real bike lanes, many of them are provisional, the cyclists suffer from - let's say - suboptimal conditions.
This is also often due to the topography and the narrow development.
The city council can only try to find compromise solutions by weighing them up.
And that includes bicycle protection strips ...
They are justified in many places.
Also to signal to the driver that there are other road users on this section of road besides him.
We also have to think about bicycle streets, which are already numerous in Munich.
Motorists are allowed to use these roads, but cyclists have priority.
Admittedly, this is still a novelty in small towns.
In my opinion, Geltinger Strasse would be very well suited to converting it into a bicycle street.
Even if Wolfratshausen will hardly ever become a bicycle paradise, there is still plenty of room for improvement.
For example, I would like a continuous cycle route from Waldram to the city center, which is color-coded accordingly.
The bottom line is that intelligent solutions are needed for all road users.
That includes braking cars and trucks?
Due to the noise action plan approved by the city council, we are now in a lot of areas with speed 30. But the monitoring is not working yet.
If there are no controls, putting up signs makes little or no sense.
It is a task of politics to protect the weakest in our society - not least in road traffic.
In my opinion, more activity could be developed in this context in Wolfratshausen.
But: It is not uncommon for supra-local authorities to fail.
Here, the top management must continue to struggle to improve Wolfratshausen.
But it was also true for authorities such as the State Building Authority for decades: private motorized traffic has priority, it must flow.
Everything else is of secondary importance.
Fortunately, a rethink is now taking place here.
The legal basis is also changing.
Wolfratshausen has had the “Bicycle-friendly municipality” award since 2018. Right in your eyes?
(hesitates) Many steps have been taken on this path in the past few years.
It is an assessment of the working group for bicycle-friendly municipalities in Bavaria that Wolfratshausen has earned this title.
Do you share this assessment?
(hesitates) There is still room for improvement.
Also read: Cyclists in Wolfratshausen now have to pay attention to this.
