For 30 years, the Mühltalberg in Straßlach down to the Isar has been closed to cyclists in the upper, steep part.
It will probably stay that way.
Straßlach-Dingharting
– After an inspection of the local conditions on Wednesday, the Munich Administrative Court is tending to dismiss a cyclist's complaint against what he considers to be a disproportionate driving ban.
The final decision will be made today, then it will be clear who will have to bear the costs of the procedure.
The 1.2 kilometer long paved road, which also leads down to the "Mill", a very popular inn, which is also a driveway for some residents, is really treacherous - in the upper part it has a gradient of 18 percent.
Something happens there again and again, alone, since a cyclist died there in 1992 in a fall, seven more accidents have occurred, the municipal administration reported at the on-site appointment.
People were seriously injured at least twice.
Simon Lutz from Munich complained, who also came to the appointment after the community put up a banner in the car park a year ago - to also point out the hardly noticed cycling ban.
Massive incline
The conditions, said the presiding judge Dietmar Wolff after inspecting the street, are indeed "special" here, he judged the incline in the upper area as "massive".
After the many accidents that have happened here, it was "compulsory" to do something.
The tenor was that the blocking for cyclists was justified.
And the municipality, reported Mayor Hans Sienerth (independent), tried in the past to defuse the danger point in other ways.
The route was even completely closed to cars, "but then the innkeeper complained".
The permissible speed was also limited to 20, but: "Everyone kept to it, except for the cyclists." And: "In winter, cars can't get up there at 20." Tempo 30 now applies, but it can be exceeded are hardly punished for cyclists.
Andreas Forster, head of the responsible police department: "Some racing cyclists can reach 70 kilometers per hour here." And then of course they would hardly be able to avoid pedestrians - especially since the winding route is barely four meters wide in some places anyway.
Signed the plaintiff to be accommodating
But Judge Wolff also wanted to accommodate the plaintiff, who repeatedly fights in court for cyclists' rights in Munich and the surrounding area - and instructed the administration to have possible "mitigations" discussed in the municipal council.
The ban on cycling on the steep mountain could be limited to the months from March to November, which have better weather, and it could be announced that the mountain is only partially passable.
In addition, it may be useful to point out that the distance that you ultimately have to push is only about 600 meters long.
The point where you can get on your bike again, where the Isar cycle path meets the mountain, should also be better marked.
Sienerth agreed that the committee would discuss all of this on February 15.
Simon Lutz, supported by the ADFC, who has been criticizing the ban on cycling in Mühltal "for a long time", pointed out that there was no real alternative to the closed mountain.
All alternative routes are not cleared in winter or are heavily used by cars.
"The track here is still the safest," said the 28-year-old.
And shorter than all alternatives.
Rescue helicopter had to land two and a half years ago
Most recently, a rescue helicopter had to land here on July 13, 2020 - on that day the last serious accident to date in Mühltal occurred.
Simon Lutz suggested that the edges of the road should also be better marked, there have been falls, also because cyclists have landed on the verge.
He would like to have the costs waived, he said;
the municipality has made it clear that it does not intend to pay for the proceedings under any circumstances.
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Plaintiff Simon Lutz (r.) and Martin Glas, former Munich ADFC chairman, in front of the banner that refers to the ban on cycling on the mountain in Mühltal.
© Andrea Kästle
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