Kochel – Residents and the community in Kochel suffer from noise and speeding on the Kesselberg route.
The mayor calls for new solutions for the route.
It was only in July that Kochel's mayor Thomas Holz (CSU) took up the issue of motorcycle noise in the community at the citizens' meeting.
Now the Kesselberg was again on the agenda in the municipal council.
In view of the series of accidents that had been going on for weeks, Holz declared the structural measures to have failed and called for more effective regulations.
At the end of the year, the head of the Kochler town hall wants to emphasize his demands at the meeting of the accident commission.
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The Kesselberg in Kochel as a racetrack: In addition to motorcyclists, the curves also attract sports cars.
© Christine Weikert
Lots of motorcycle accidents
This summer there will soon be a motorcycle accident every second or third day on the Kesselberg, with drivers sometimes seriously injured, Holz noted.
This means an enormous burden for the rescue workers of the Kochel volunteer fire brigade and the first responders of the Walchensee water rescue service.
"Not only in terms of time, but also psychologically, depending on the severity of the accident," said the head of the town hall.
Some motorcyclists see the Kesselberg as a private racetrack, the community suffers from the side effects.
"They turn it up as soon as you approach the Pessenbacherhöhe, you can hear the noise throughout the community," said Kochel's mayor.
“But now you can say that the structural measures have not had the desired effect.
Kochel's Mayor Thomas Holz on lane dividers and rumble strips
No longer watch "bustle".
Again and again, citizens and holiday guests demanded: “Do something.” Kochel as a municipality is not responsible for the B11 federal road, Holz explained again, but he is in constant contact with the police and district office in Bad Tölz.
A lot has happened in recent years - for example, an overtaking ban on the entire route and various structural measures.
"That should actually have made the Kesselberg unattractive as a racetrack," Holz said.
He understands that the specialist authorities took a while to look at measures such as rumble strips and lane dividers.
"But in the meantime one can say that the structural measures did not have the desired effect," stated the mayor of Kochl.
Now you can "watch the hustle and bustle no longer".
Rejection of bans on thinking
In his opinion, there are no other structural measures that are effective.
"We will have to go other ways and make other arrangements," said Holz.
At the end of the year he will bring this up at the meeting of the accident commission.
When asked by the Rundschau, the head of the Kochler town hall explained more about this.
"You know what time of day the problems are, so there has to be not only more intensive monitoring, but really targeted monitoring," he says.
Kochel will certainly not get more police, but the motorcycle control group could perhaps be staffed with more people.
An extension of the closing times will also have to be considered, "there must be no ban on thinking," emphasizes Holz.
Complete ban for bikers rejected
However, a complete closure of the B11 at Kesselberg for motorcyclists was rejected five years ago by the Ministry of the Interior.
With reference to the applicable case law of the Bavarian Administrative Court (VGH), the ministry explained that a complete blocking was only possible as a "last resort" if all other, less drastic alternatives were unsuccessful.
Incidentally, the decision on a road closure lies with the Tölz district office, the lower road traffic authority is, according to Holz, "completely self-sufficient".
In addition to the district office and the police, the accident commission also includes the state building authority in Weilheim, which pays for the federal road.
In order to ensure legal certainty, the government of Upper Bavaria and the Ministry of the Interior have also been brought to the table, says Holz.
Flash and pull out
Incidentally, the head of the Kochl town hall does not see an effective measure in setting up speed cameras, which he is often asked about.
The motorcyclists would brake in front of the speed camera and then step on the gas again, so you would have to “pave over” the entire route, which was not financially feasible.
Hand measurements with laser pistols are more effective.
"Flash and pull out immediately," says Holz - and again regrets that the confiscation of motorcycles is no longer possible after a court decision a few years ago.