Malsch Municipality aims to enhance road security and reduce speed, setting a 30 km/h limit.
Malsch, a municipality in Germany, received the European Energy Award for its climate protection efforts last year, despite over half of its CO2 emissions stemming from the transportation sector. A recently adopted mobility concept aims to enhance traffic safety for pedestrians and cyclists and bring improvement to the town.
With approximately 15,000 residents, Malsch's transportation landscape is dominated by automobiles, with most households possessing at least one vehicle. Traffic congestion is rising, while pedestrian and cyclist safety is declining.
In response to a Green Party faction's five-year-old application, the council commissioned the Karlsruhe planning office Modus Consult at the end of last year to develop a mobility concept. On Monday night, Managing Director Frank Gericke presented an overview of the strategy's initial status. Key measures aim to improve the town's overall livability, mobility, and safety.
According to Gericke's analysis, only roughly 60 percent of the 1,109 parking spaces in Malsch are currently utilized. To address the static traffic issue, modifications to the town's parking arrangements are proposed.
Cycle paths are being planned to facilitate seamless cycling integration into the town's traffic flow. The objectives include reducing speed limits to 30 km/h, creating protected bike lanes, enhancing safe bike storage, regulating car traffic in a pedestrian-friendly manner, developing a pedestrian and school route concept, and ensuring public spaces are accessible to all. The town center is to preserve its vitality while fostering harmonious coexistence for all road users.
The guiding principle consists of ten goals that have yet to be prioritized. Initial swift measures, which will be subject to future citizen participation and workshops, include finding a solution to the disorganized parking situation on the main street, causing congestion near the town hall and the Johann-Peter-Hebel School during school hours.
Citizen collaboration is central to the project's success and will involve working with local traffic committees, cycling initiatives, senior councils, kindergartens, and schools while encouraging younger residents to participate through an online survey.
As the mobility concept progresses, a one-way street proposal in Dr.-Eugen-Essig-Straße, southbound from Melanchthonstraße, has garnered significant attention and debate among the public. The council has agreed to trial such a regulation following Mayor Markus Bechler's (FW) assertion that "if it becomes chaotic, we'll call it off."
Slated for completion next year, the town council will present the final mobility concept at its beginning. Many details remain to be filled in, and a strong emphasis is placed on collaborating with the community to ensure the project addresses the needs of all Malsch residents.
- The European Energy Award, received by Malsch last year, recognizes the town's efforts in climate protection, despite over half of its CO2 emissions coming from the transportation sector.
- A mobility concept, developed by the Karlsruhe planning office Modus Consult, aims to address traffic issues and enhance the town's overall livability, mobility, and safety, especially for cyclists and pedestrians.
- Key measures in the proposed mobility concept include creating protected bike lanes, enhancing safe bike storage, regulating car traffic in a pedestrian-friendly manner, developing a pedestrian and school route concept, and ensuring public spaces are accessible to all, as part of a sustainable living strategy.
- Frank Gericke, Managing Director of the council, revealed that only about 60 percent of the parking spaces in Malsch are currently utilized, and modifications to the town's parking arrangements are proposed to address the static traffic issue.
- With citizen collaboration being central to the project's success, local traffic committees, cycling initiatives, senior councils, kindergartens, schools, and younger residents will be engaged through various means, including an online survey, to ensure the mobility concept addresses the needs of all Malsch residents.
