Kurt Fischer received a visit from the Ministry of Climate Protection on Tuesday regarding the S18. VOL.AT then met him for an interview.
It has been planned for a long time and nothing has been implemented to date. Now there are new developments in terms of S18.
The Mayor of Lustenau, Kurt Fischer, received a visit from Vienna on Tuesday: the responsible section head of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Climate Protection from Leonore Gewessler (Greens). The final report of the S18 evaluation was presented.
Kurt Fischer in conversation with representatives of the ministry.
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Conversation “extremely constructive”
“The mood is very factual, down to earth,” says Fischer in a first statement to VOL.AT. He describes the conversation as “extremely constructive”. What was particularly exciting was the additional variant that the Vienna visitor had with him.
In addition to the favored CP variant, a bypass for Lustenau, “Lustenau Süd” is now brought into play. This new S18 option is to run south of Lustenau in the direction of Diepoldsau. There are many unknowns here and Fischer makes it clear that the question of how the Swiss side will react to the new variant.
A discussion took place in the council meeting room.
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“I’ll be as old as Udo Lindenberg”
According to the experts, both options are expected to be implemented by 2040, as Fischer explains. “I’ll be as old as Udo Lindenberg or Bill Clinton,” smiles the Lustenau community leader. The main energy in the market community is to look at what will happen in the next few years and decades for a noticeable relief in Lustenau.
The results of the evaluation were discussed.
©VOL.AT/Mayer
“Could have been enforced a long time ago”
There are also so-called immediate measures, which are intended to relieve the burden in the short and medium term: “Here we were presented with a few ideas. They are not incredibly new, they could have been implemented a long time ago,” says Kurt Fischer to VOL.AT. These include speed reduction and a different customs clearance. According to Fischer, there shouldn’t be a 24-hour customs office.
From 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. there was lively discussion and debate on the subject of S18.
©VOL.AT/Mayer
“Wretched condition” must not be
How should a future bridge between Au (CH) and Lustenau be designed? That is the exciting question that arises, according to the mayor. “The bridge must not be built in the dimensions it is now,” he says. This “miserable situation” with the heavy traffic between Switzerland and Austria through the Lustenau residential area should not be. Here he hopes for the support of the organizational team and national politics.
Z variant still Best variant
In an emotional reaction in 2020, Kurt Fischer called the CP variant a “cholera and plague variant” for Lustenau. He always campaigned for the Z variant. The CP option cuts through the place, divides and polarizes, according to Fischer 2020. “It stays that way,” he said after the conversation on Tuesday. The Z variant was presented in greater detail and planned, and it was also rated as the best by politicians and the communities.
It was “a low blow” that she was not included in the game. “It’s still painful,” said Fischer. 15 years after the start of the “Mobile in the Rhine Valley” planning process, a new variant is now emerging “like a phoenix from the ashes,” says the mayor. It is certainly worthwhile to deepen them factually, realistically and as quickly as possible so that you can get a real comparison.
“Intersection” by motorized traffic
“Without a higher-level road connection to Switzerland, it will be very difficult for us to get out of this siege – mainly by heavy traffic – and by motorized traffic in general,” Fischer explains. Looking far into the future, the goal must be that one day we will be freed from “this intersection by motorized traffic” and that people, especially on the route, can breathe a sigh of relief, he emphasizes.
