Penzberg: Bridge over Schlossbichl for pedestrians and cyclists rejected

Created: 04/07/2022, 14:24

By: Andreas Baer

The crossing aid at Schlossbichl remains - but is to be improved.

Crosswalks are also checked.

©Andreas Baar

Penzberg - It would be too complex and too expensive: A bridge for pedestrians and cyclists over the busy street Am Schlossbichl in Penzberg is off the table.

The background was an application by the Penzberg Miteinander (PM) city council group: the administration should check whether a bridge connection on the Am Schlossbichl road in a north-south direction is possible.

This would replace the crossing aid at park level and create a connection to the old railway embankment and the new family pool.

In the summer of 2020 there was an on-site visit including empty scaffolding, and now the project was on the table in the building committee.

Result: Building a bridge at this point would be “a very complex structure”, as city master builder Justus Klement made clear.

The basic problem is the necessary height.

A bridge alone would have to have a required passage height for traffic of 4.50 meters.

Plus superstructure, the structure would end up towering 5.50 meters above the road, which would be just slightly below the northern edge of the railway embankment.

According to Klement, in order to connect the path to the southern green area - not too steep for cyclists and barrier-free - you would have to build a ramp of at least 90 meters in length into the Schlossbichlpark.

"That would overshadow everything," warned the city master builder - according to the administration, the bridge would be the most complex structure in the city to date in terms of construction and maintenance.

For planning and cost reasons, the building authority advised against the project.

"Don't want the impossible"

An argument that ultimately convinced the applicants.

"We don't want anything that is impossible and hardly financeable," explained committee representative Martin Janner (PM).

However, he made it clear that the traffic situation for pedestrians and cyclists had to change.

The crossing aid should be "significantly improved", Janner demands.

– and brought additional crosswalks into play.

Transition heavily used

A request that is checked by the regulatory office.

The crossing is "already heavily frequented," explained the deputy head of department Johannes Jauß, but: The system meets the requirements, Jauß said.

The bridge is "a very nice idea", John-Christian Eilert (Greens) noted - but at the same time had to admit that it was "difficult to finance".

However, Eilert could not resist a dig at the town hall: There are cities that would spend the equivalent of more money on their cyclists.

In the end, the construction committee decided unanimously not to pursue the bridge plans any further.

But there is homework for the administration: they should examine alternatives at the crossing and zebra crossings.