Giesing Hill Redesign for Cyclists and Pedestrians to Begin Mid-March
Munich, February 26 – The highly anticipated redesign of Giesing Hill, aimed at enhancing safety for cyclists and pedestrians, is scheduled to commence in mid-March. This initial phase will encompass the Giesing Hill section and the Ichostraße intersection, with construction projected to span one year. The project has been a subject of considerable debate, particularly concerning its impact on traffic flow and the allocation of road space.
Long-Awaited Project Moves Forward Despite Political Opposition
The decision to make Giesing Hill more bicycle-friendly was initially made in 2023. However, the specific plans have recently sparked heated discussions, partly fueled by the ongoing election campaign. Campaign posters along Giesing Hill, notably from the CSU, have criticized the project as creating “the next traffic jam trap.” The CSU had actively sought to halt the initiative through an amendment.
Despite this opposition, the bike path will proceed. The Green and SPD parties reaffirmed their commitment to the first section of the project – the redesign along Giesing Hill and the Ichostraße intersection – during a Mobility Committee meeting on Wednesday. A second segment along Martin-Luther-Straße will be addressed separately, likely in the March committee session. A traffic trial with marked bike lanes was previously conducted in this area, and its evaluation is currently under review by the district committees.
Local Support for Improved Safety
The heads of the relevant district committees, Carmen Dullinger-Oßwald (Obergiesing-Fasangarten, Green Party) and Anais Schuster-Brandis (Untergiesing-Harlaching, Green Party), have voiced strong support for the redesign. Additionally, a parents’ initiative from Ichoschule recently advocated for the bike and pedestrian-friendly reconstruction through an open letter to Mayor Dieter Reiter and a petition, emphasizing the need for safer school routes.
Construction Details and Funding
Work is slated to begin on March 16. The project was initially planned for last year but was delayed awaiting federal funding. This wait, however, has been offset by 616,000 euros in federal grants, as stated by the Green Party city council members. They further explained that “a reversal would have been costly for taxpayers, as the city would have had to reimburse the construction companies already commissioned for Giesing Hill up to three million euros.”
The redesign is expected to take one year to complete. Upon completion, pedestrians and cyclists are anticipated to navigate the area more safely. Uphill, where a narrow sidewalk previously existed, separate paths for cyclists and pedestrians will be created. Downhill, the existing bike path will be widened to two meters.
Traffic Changes and Accessibility Improvements
For vehicular traffic, two lanes will remain uphill, but downhill will be reduced to a single lane. Improvements to pedestrian crossings will be implemented at the Ichostraße/Silberhornstraße intersection. The Green Party highlights this as a crucial step for increased school route safety, particularly for children attending Ichoschule. Furthermore, this will create an accessible crossing over the large intersection, which currently can only be traversed via a non-barrier-free pedestrian underpass.
Gudrun Lux, mobility policy spokesperson for the Green/Rosa Liste/Volt parliamentary group, expressed confidence in the project: “Being able to cycle safely up and down Giesing Hill: that is the explicit wish of many Giesing families,” said Lux. “Traffic safety, especially for our children, is non-negotiable.” She criticized the CSU for attempting to stop important projects that enhance traffic safety, even those already underway. “The fact that this would have incurred high costs, completely unnecessarily, is apparently irrelevant to the Christian Social Union.”
Future of the Giesing Hill Bridge Remains a Point of Discussion
CSU parliamentary group leader Manuel Pretzl stated that his party believes it is incorrect to redesign Giesing Hill before a decision is made regarding the future of Martin-Luther-Straße. “A new city council could decide on a plan that would then have political longevity. This opportunity was missed today,” Pretzl commented. He emphasized, “Traffic safety is important to all of us,” which is why his faction advocated for the safest option: a cycling and pedestrian bridge. He suggested that the redesigns of Giesing Hill and Martin-Luther-Straße should be forgone in favor of the bridge. However, “Green-Red unfortunately did not want to spend money on that,” Pretzl added.
Interestingly, the CSU and the Green Party are unusually in agreement on the issue of the long-planned and repeatedly postponed bridge. The Greens recently submitted a motion requesting Mayor Reiter to apply for funding for the bridge’s construction from the federal government’s special fund for infrastructure and climate neutrality.
Source: Abendzeitung München
