No to the Schlossbichl bridge for cyclists: the span would be enormous - now other options are being examined

Created: 03/30/2022, 08:02

By: Wolfgang Schörner

The height required for a bridge over the "Am Schlossbichl" street was recreated last year, with the Schlossbichlpark in the background.

© City of Penzberg

Nothing will come of a bicycle and pedestrian bridge over the busy street "Am Schlossbichl".

With its span, it would put all the bridges in the city area - including the Edenhofer Bridge - in the shade, the city building office explained in response to a proposal by the PM parliamentary group.

Other options are now being examined to defuse the position.

Penzberg – The group of “Penzberg Together” submitted the proposal for a bicycle and pedestrian bridge to the city last summer.

According to the faction, a bridge could create a better and safer bike connection from the Schlossbichlpark near the high school and the secondary school over the busy road to the future family pool and sports stadium.

At that time, the PM faction asked the city to examine the bridge idea (we reported).

The result is now available.

It would be a "very complex building," explained city master builder Justus Klement at the most recent building committee meeting.

In terms of span, it would "dwarf all the bridges in the city, including the Edenhofer Bridge," he said.

According to him, the height of the structure had already been shown last summer with a provisional bridge profile.

The clear height above the street, he said, would be 4.50 meters - so that trucks could drive through below.

Then there would be the bridge construction.

The access ramp on the Schlossbichlpark side would be around 90 meters long so that cyclists can reach this height with a suitable incline and that accessibility is also guaranteed.

On the northern side, the ramp would be above the planned barrier structure on the dam, it said.

PM: "We don't want anything impossible or unaffordable"

"We don't want anything impossible or unaffordable," admitted Marin Janner (PM).

But one should keep an eye on the purpose of the application, he added: In order for bicycle traffic to become a real alternative to motorized traffic, axes with few crossings are needed in all directions.

You spend a lot of money on the flowing car traffic.

As far as new bike connections are concerned, there are only plans for the “Bahnbogen”.

Janner therefore called for the crossing at Schlossbichl to be significantly improved, with an additional zebra crossing.

City master builder Klemenet had previously suggested optimizing the crossing by moving the edge of the road to the north.

Improve crossing of the busy road

Johannes Jauß, deputy head of the public order office, confirmed that the transition was heavily frequented, especially by schoolchildren.

From a traffic law perspective, it would meet the requirements.

But one would like to check whether a zebra crossing is possible, says Jauß.

He did not comment on the chances of success.

He pointed out that the specialist authorities are also involved in the examination.

In the past, he explained, such situations tended to be resolved with a traffic light.

Schlossbichl crossing: traffic lights or zebra crossings?

A prospect that John-Christian Eilert (Greens) did not like: "Traffic lights are loose-loose situations." Both sides would lose because either drivers or pedestrians would have to wait.

He sees that a bridge is very expensive, says Eilert.

But there are municipalities that spend 300 euros per year and person on cycling.

You can also build bridges that are less complex.

Against this background, he asked whether the Schlossbichl ridge could be included.

According to Klement, this would happen at the expense of the “valuable trees on the historically important ridge” there – which meant that the proposal was off the table again.

However, Ludwig Schmuck (CSU) was not very enthusiastic about a zebra crossing.

People would mistakenly think it's the safest thing, but the safest thing is a traffic light, he said.

In the end, the committee unanimously decided to examine the possibilities for improving the crossing.

The zebra crossing variant is also to be examined.