Crossing Ottostraße/Fürstendamm in Freising: pedestrian traffic lights remain an option

Created: 12/19/2022, 08:00

A marking to optically reduce lane widths should contribute to a speed reduction at the Ottostrasse crossing.

© Archive: Lehmann

A road marking should ensure more safety on the Ottostraße/Fürstendamm crossing in Freising.

At first they only think about a traffic light.

The pedestrian crossing Ottostraße/Fürstendamm: probably everyone in Freising knows this place.

Because the street is heavily trafficked, but at the same time many pedestrians and cyclists cross it, a cross-party application from the FDP, Freisinger Linke, the Greens, ÖDP and SPD for the installation of a traffic light system with a request button was on the table at the most recent building committee meeting. But installing a traffic light there is not that easy, as Torsten Köhler from the Office for Public Safety and Order explained - moreover, a traffic light could actually worsen the status quo.

According to cross-party application "potential danger point"

The written argumentation of the cross-party application was as follows: "The cycle and footpath connection from the municipal building yard through Parkstrasse to Ottostrasse and further via Ottostrasse to Fürstendamm is one of the most intensively used cycle and footpath connections in Freising.

It connects Lerchenfeld, the fairgrounds, the Fresch swimming pool, the ice rink and the Isar cycle path with the western old town, Gartenstraße, Goldberg, the campus area and Vötting in a safe and direct way.

When there is heavy traffic, the crossing over Ottostraße is an obstacle to moving quickly and is a potential danger point, not only in the autumn and winter months, but especially for older people and small children.”

Köhler was not enthusiastic about the cross-party traffic light request.

The reasons: As early as 2016, after a traffic census, a traffic light was not considered advisable because the necessary installation space, especially on the footpath and cycle path on the railway side, is missing.

Mutual obstructions and conflicts, longer waiting times for crossing pedestrians and cyclists, and increased red light violations would be the consequence, according to Köhler.

In plain language this means: either a central island or a traffic light, both are not possible according to Köhler.

What speaks in favor of the central island: Video evaluations have shown that due to the central island, mutual consideration works and, above all, that this has long been established.

Traffic was counted in 2016 - with a positive result for the central island

The figures from the traffic census from 2016: In the morning peak, almost 300 crossings were counted, 83 percent of which were cyclists.

Over 35 percent were able to cross the road in one go, 80 percent of cyclists had to wait less than 10 seconds, and only 5 percent had to dismount for longer than 20 seconds.

In addition, according to Köhler, the central island has proven itself as a crossing aid from the police point of view, and it is also not an accident black spot. But there were also figures on this: since 2010, six accidents have occurred in connection with the crossing island.

However, there was no accident between a motor vehicle and a cyclist or pedestrian, but mostly rear-end collisions.

What Köhler also pointed out: if you install a traffic light there, it has to be compatible with the traffic lights on Ottostrasse,

Münchner Straße and Dr.-von-Daller-Straße, which in turn could result in longer waiting times and possible ignoring of the red phase.

If, on the other hand, the traffic lights were to be given priority, motorized traffic along the entire street would come to a standstill.

And the cost of such a traffic light was also not entirely uninteresting for the councilors given the tight budget situation – it amounts to around 270,000 euros.

(By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)

What the administration suggested instead: road markings to optically reduce lane widths in the area of ​​the existing center island, which "narrows" the existing lane width from 3.75 meters to 3.25 meters and can thus contribute to a speed reduction.

270,000 euros for a traffic light: the costs are "already steep"

"270,000 euros, that's steep," said Werner Habermeyer (Greens), who also wished for one thing - namely a current traffic census in the coming year in order to be able to better assess the situation.

Mayor Tobias Eschenbacher also wants to wait for another traffic count before the subject of traffic lights comes up again.

Because the administration is certain: for unsafe road users, such as children, a pedestrian protection system is definitely to be endorsed.

Jürgen Mieskes (CSU), on the other hand, did not like that very much, he wanted the passage about a possible traffic light to be completely deleted from the paper – but without success.

The majority voted for marking in the near future, including a later traffic light option.

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