The citizens were again asked for their opinion on the planned renovation of the station in Dachau.
And during the online round, a lot of questions and suggestions, but also a good opinion poll, came up.
The planned large building in particular, but also traffic issues, were discussed intensively.
Dachau
- will the historic station building still be visible? How will the Frühlingstrasse function as a traffic-calmed business area with an adjacent bus station (ZOB)? Is the long ZOB barrier-free, are the distances to the train station too long? How will the “new” spring road be integrated into the traffic in the city? Is the ZOB concept future-proof? Many details about the planned renovation of the train station were discussed during the online public participation on Saturday afternoon.
A good 40 citizens had logged in to the three-hour event, already the second on the urban project. And while architect Sebastian Hermann from Astoc was explaining the current status of the planning, the first comments and questions popped up in the chat. The interest is understandable. Because the renovation of the station will massively change the appearance and functionality of this central area.
As is well known, spacious commercial buildings are being built along the eastern spring street, with a central bus station (ZOB) below and in front of it.
A large commercial building will be built on the vacated station forecourt opposite the old station building.
This is what the already “readjusted” design by the Cologne architects Astoc provides, which won the urban design ideas competition at the end of 2020 and is now commissioned with the further planning.
At the online event, architect Hermann was then confronted with requests and questions in two thematic "forums" together with a dozen other planners, representatives of the city, municipal utilities and Deutsche Bahn who were involved in the project.
A central topic that the city councils had already dealt with was the question of the planned “solitaire” opposite the old train station. Will the historic building remain visible? How high will the planned new building be? In the concept, the old train station “looks inconspicuous”, summarized BR journalist Tillmann Schöberl as a moderator some questions.
The two Dachau architects Christian Stadler and Emil Kath from the Dachau Architecture Forum once again presented their alternative concept, which was discussed earlier in the planning phase, which frees up the station square. Oliver Hall from the Obermeyer planning office involved and Moritz Reinhold, head of the building authority, stayed with it: The planned new building would be a little higher than the historic building, but would appear to be “not overwhelming” from a sufficient distance. The line of sight from the city to the historical building will be preserved, "this was taken into account in the most recent revision of the plan". And a huge free space may appear more “monumental” than a sequence of smaller free spaces. The specific architecture as well as the use on the ground floor are decisive for the effect.
Not all citizens consider the old train station to be that important.
It has long since lost its meaning, "one could break away from this relic," wrote one participant in the chat.
Transport issues were also discussed.
Will it be possible to bypass the train station when coming from the west, and will the ban on turning left at the Münchner Straße intersection be lifted?
That will be checked, emphasized the building authority manager.
Cyclists want the bike garage planned in the basement to be clean and safe.
But will the central bus station work well for users?
According to the criticism, the distances from the northern stops to the train station are too long.
Busy lines will stop near the train station, explained Mathias Fay from Stadtwerke.
A resident asked about the noise.
In fact, the planned business buildings parallel to the tracks would dampen rail noise, and buses in the future will run more on gas or electric, "that's quieter than diesel," says Fay.
The aim of the concept, as Ariane Jungwirth from the building authority emphasized, “is a good quality of stay not only for travelers, but for everyone”.
At the end of the intensive exchange, the citizens praised “transparency, openness and closeness to the citizen” when asked, but gave planners and the city 35 key points as a suggestion.
Lord Mayor Florian Hartmann said he was “enthusiastic about the creative ideas and the good quality of the proposals”.
Suggestions are now coming to the city council
How does it go from here?
The suggestions for public participation are documented and discussed in the city council.
If the committee develops change notices for the planners, these will be incorporated.
The revised concept is then the basis for the construction management process, which will take two to three years to complete.
At the same time, the necessary contracts are being drawn up with the railways, then the central bus station is being built first, and then the station area is being redesigned, said Moritz Reinhold, Head of the Building Department.
It will be a few more years before Dachauer can change trains at the central bus station or stroll across the redesigned station forecourt - “ten more than five”.