Admiral-Hipper-Straße will probably be open to motor vehicles again in a few weeks.
Cars can then exit onto the B2 as before.
Several applications for a permanent road block were rejected by a narrow majority in City Hall on Tuesday.
Weilheim
– Motor vehicles have not been allowed to drive via Admiral-Hipper-Strasse to the B2 for almost nine months.
The reason is the town hall construction site: With this bottleneck, car traffic is too dangerous there, the city council said in July 2022.
It was therefore decided to close the road from the Boneberger butcher's shop during the construction period.
Only cyclists are allowed to drive in and out at the town hall traffic light.
Four applications for a permanent road block
This regulation has proven its worth and should be retained when the construction site is finished (probably at the end of April) - this has now been requested in four applications to the city.
"With this measure, traffic in the entire area of the old town has been reduced to the absolutely necessary level," wrote the "Mobility and Traffic" working group of Weilheim's Agenda 21. The city now has the "unique chance of a for the population and the business world equally acceptable, permanent traffic reduction".
The ÖDP, SPD and Greens formulated it similarly in their own motions: the vehicle access block should be retained, some parking spaces should of course be retained on Admiral-Hipper-Straße and cars should be able to turn around there.
At the same time, the quality of stay in this street could be increased, for example with green and quiet zones.
Shops complain about high losses
On the other hand, there is an appeal from the owners of related businesses, who, in a letter and during an on-site visit with Mayor Markus Loth (BfW), vehemently opposed a permanent blocking of Admiral-Hipper-Strasse for motor vehicles.
Even during the construction site period, this led to "high losses" in the shops.
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Loth had convened the building committee and the traffic committee of the city council for a joint meeting for Tuesday to discuss this.
And with this, the head of the town hall also warned of a permanent road block: This would bring "no significant additional profit for the city", said Loth, but "significant problems".
The nine-month closure due to the construction site would have meant a "decrease in frequency" and thus also in business turnover, explained location promoter Stefan Frenzl.
Therefore, a “complication and restriction of access options should be rejected, especially after the difficult Corona years”.
The shops in the old town earn about every second euro from outside customers, according to Frenzl: "They come by car - and stay away very quickly when they can no longer park cleverly".
City administration sees three dangerous places
The Head of the Public Order Office, Walter Weber, also named "three dangerous points" if the closure were to remain in place: the turning area was too narrow for normal cars, and the necessary turning maneuvers would endanger cyclists.
There is a serious bottleneck at the “Lesbar”.
And all car traffic would be permanently rerouted via Hofstrasse and Augsburger Strasse.
ÖDP representative complains about “false claims”
On the other hand, Roland Bosch (ÖDP) referred to opportunities through a blocking and a more attractive design.
Bosch clearly defended himself against "false claims" in the business people's letter: He never said that when he was questioned, all local shops had agreed to a blocking.
And it is not about expanding the pedestrian zone, but only about preventing through traffic.
More customers through a more attractive design?
One does not want to make life difficult for business people, emphasized Alfred Honisch (Greens): "The question is whether one can ensure more frequency through a more attractive design." If one wants to prevent through traffic there permanently, then acceptable solutions would also be found Horst Martin (SPD) is convinced.
And customers who park outside the city walls or come on foot or by bike also bring in sales.
Jan Meyer from the ADFC cycling club also campaigned at the meeting for a permanent road block for vehicles.
For cyclists, this means “more safety”.
It all depended on the vote of the mayor
CSU spokeswoman Marion Lunz-Schmieder is "vehemently in favor of reopening": The situation is currently rather dangerous ("we can be glad that nothing has happened in the last few months"), and business is allowed in the current one "Never endanger" situation.
BfW spokeswoman Brigitte Holeczek agreed that it would be wrong to make this road permanently "a dead end".
Hipper-Straße is "a small cosmos that works great" and offers everything for everyday needs - which the city should be happy about.
Ultimately, both the building and transportation committees rejected the motions to close, each by a vote of 5 to 4.
The majority was formed by the CSU and the BfW, together with the mayor's vote.
The final decision will be made at the city council meeting on Thursday, March 23, starting at 6:30 p.m. in the city hall.
