As of: March 28, 2024, 2:51 p.m
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The fence is coming away again: Merkur reader Detlev Welters got the ball rolling, so to speak, when he sharply criticized the closure of the path in Mühlthal. Now there is a solution that could be implemented in just a few days. © Andrea Jaksch
A quick solution is emerging for the closed section of the foot and cycle path connection through the Mühltal. The State Building Authority wants to take over traffic safety duties for the private part of the path that has been closed for several weeks. Implementation could only take days.
Mühlthal
– For cyclists and pedestrians, the path through the town of Mühlthal in the Mühltal between Starnberg and Gauting has been more difficult and dangerous for weeks. The Würmtalweckverband (WZV) had blocked off a section of the path with a wooden fence, and since then pedestrians and cyclists have had to use the busy state road. The district office had imposed a speed limit there and had warning signs put up - but that's not a good solution. The Weilheim State Building Authority and Rudolph Haux, mayor of Krailling and chairman of the WZV, have now found a solution that can perhaps be implemented in a few days.
According to a report in the Starnberger Merkur, the State Building Authority contacted Haux, who arranged a meeting with representatives of the authority on site this week. As bureaucratic as the closure may seem to some, the solution is unbureaucratic: the state building authority will take over the traffic safety duties for the route from the WZV and then reopen it. Silke Schweigler, who is responsible for the district's building authority, was already working on the agreement required for this on Wednesday. The conclusion could then happen quickly, said Haux when asked. The building authority then wants to open the path again - at least as a sidewalk on which cyclists would then have to push their bikes, or even as a walking and cycling path. That could be the case in a few days.
The traffic safety obligation was the reason why the WZV closed the route. Because: Until the end of January there was a tenant of the building next door, but the contract expired - so the association was obliged to provide traffic safety again. Since there was already an accident with a cyclist there two years ago, the WZV would have been liable in the event of another accident. Since it was not the association's job to operate a route, as Haux said, he cordoned off the area. He was sharply criticized for this, even though many could understand the decision.
Even after the property is sold, the path should remain the same
The change of the traffic safety obligation back to the association has turned the situation on its head, said Silke Schweigler. The path now ends “in an even more unfavorable place,” and the building authority didn’t want to let that happen. A simple sign “Use at your own risk” was ruled out as a solution because, according to lawyers, it was hardly effective in cases of doubt. That's why the solution was quickly found with the takeover by the Weilheim authorities.
The signage plans were already being worked on on Wednesday. Haux also believes that these can be implemented quickly. “The state building authority also saw that this was a problem,” he says of the situation, “like us too.”
After the path was closed, the district office immediately ordered additional signage and reduced the speed to 50 km/h - legally no more was possible. The district authority also kept an ongoing eye on the situation. The situation also brought transport associations such as the ADFC and the VCD to the fore and was the topic of a district council meeting.
A solution has been found for the near future. Since the WZV wants to sell the old mill, the large building next to the path in question, the State Building Authority and Haux have agreed that a buyer must leave the path open. It remains to be seen whether the authority can or wants to buy the land one day. However, the association will not be selling the buildings any time soon because: They used to be part of the Pasinger drinking water supply, and there are still rights from that time - and therefore, according to Haux, many questions still need to be clarified. The sales process is still ongoing, but there are interested parties. The State Building Authority wants to renew the bridge over the Würm in a few years and possibly create a permanent solution for the pedestrian and cycle path through the Mühltal.