"Now I drive around the neighborhood three times" City of Zurich cancels blue zone - residents frustrated and angry
Residents in the Brunau district are furious: the city of Zurich is removing many parking spaces. In some places, there is now even a driving ban - some residents can no longer get to their homes at all.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The city of Zurich has removed the blue zone in the Brunau district to make room for the expansion of a cycle route and a new traffic regime.
- This has met with great resistance from local residents.
- Affected residents who are dependent on their cars criticize the lack of information and the lack of alternatives.
- The city defends the measure with reference to road safety and the implementation of a democratically approved cycle path network.
The city of Zurich is pushing through a reduction that is causing problems for many residents of the Brunau quarter in Zurich's Enge district: The blue zone has disappeared or will soon disappear. The reason is the expansion of cycle routes and the announced reduction in parking spaces that the city of Zurich is carrying out in various districts.
Lukas T.* is directly affected: "Right in front of my house, in the side street, the city wants to impose a driving ban. Up on Rieterstrasse, they've already removed the parking spaces." T. and other residents rely on their cars and cannot understand the city's radical move.
Expansion of cycle paths announced as early as 2019
The step that the city of Zurich is now taking dates back to 2020: "The network of preferential cycle routes takes up the mandate of the electorate, which approved the 'Safe cycle routes for Zurich' initiative in September 2020 with an outstanding result." The entire city is affected by the expansion of cycle paths.
This means that a solution must be found on streets where parking spaces or other infrastructure could get in the way of cycle paths. For example, residents should be able to park in nearby parking garages or garages.
On Rieterstrasse in the Brunau district in Kreis 2, the solution was simple: the city abolished the blue zone and the white motorcycle parking spaces altogether. Now a car-wide cycle path characterizes the street through the district - to the displeasure of local residents. This is because they will only find enough parking spaces much further up in the Bellaria district: There are many empty blue zones in the upmarket residential area, where hardly anyone is dependent on residents' parking spaces.
Where should residents park now?
Lukas T. lives in an apartment in the Brunau district. The buildings around Rieterstrasse belong to a cooperative. "The people who live here are mostly middle class and employed," says T., describing the situation. The buildings are from the last century and are located on a slope. As a result, until now you could only park your car in the blue zone. There are very few garages in the neighborhood and in the cooperative.
The residents were not informed by the city that the parking spaces were disappearing. It was only a week beforehand that they were informed by a sign on the street that the parking spaces would be removed. "We had no opportunity to lodge an objection," says T. He believes that the city did not proceed in this way without good intentions. A spokesperson for the city of Zurich told blue News: "The traffic regulations were published in the official gazette on December 4, 2019."
T. noticed this too - but too late. "The city can't demand that residents check the official gazette every day to see which changes affect their neighborhood."
T. says: "I've been cycling in the city for 30 years. But I also need the car. I have to transport materials and, as I'm self-employed, I don't always work in the same place, but sometimes drive a few kilometers out of the city."
Effingerstrasse, where T. lives, will no longer be allowed to be driven on in future. The city wants to impose a driving ban. The city has received objections to this driving ban, which is why the project is now being appealed. T. will therefore no longer be able to drive directly to his house. "I find it incomprehensible that I then have to get permission every time so that I can park my car for ten minutes in the no-driving zone to load my things."
Parking spaces were also used to regulate speed
A playground is being built on the plot of land where T.'s house stands. This is located directly on Rieterstrasse, where "cars are already speeding through at 50 km/h and more instead of the permitted 30 km/h", as T. observes. "Before, the road was relatively narrow because of the blue zone and the cycle path and you had to slow down to at least thirty," he explains.
Lukas T. wants to find a solution - preferably together with the city. "I'm not interested in blaming the city. I want to find a forward-looking solution that works for everyone." What's more, the way it is now is wasted space. "It's well known that we don't have much space in the city. Before, cyclists could ride on the cycle path without any problems, just like now. But there are no parking spaces," he adds.
The alternatives for residents in the Brunau district are limited. "I now have to rely on the surrounding parking spaces, some of which are a few hundred meters away from my apartment. These are usually full. Now I have to drive around the whole neighborhood three times to park my car," says T.
The city does not accept the residents' criticism
When asked, a city spokesperson told blue News: "The previous lane layout was not satisfactory for any of the road users and did not meet today's safety standards."
The city does not accept the residents' accusation that they have to check the official gazette every day to see if anything has changed in their neighborhood. The city spokesperson says: "This adjustment was published in the official gazette on December 4, 2019. The measure could not be implemented earlier due to a delay in building construction." An appeal against the order could have been lodged in writing with Zurich City Council within 30 days of publication.
However, according to the spokesperson, residents need not worry: "Access to the properties, deliveries and collections are still possible."
But what about the speeding cars, some of which also drive on the new cycle lane? The parking spaces were removed last week on November 7. "It always takes a certain amount of time to get used to traffic changes. We monitor the situation and, if necessary, pass on our observations to the city police," says the spokesperson.
Access from the highway to the neighborhood is to be blocked
Another resident, who also wishes to remain anonymous, is also annoyed by the new traffic regulations: "The city wants to block access from the highway into the neighborhood, allegedly because of unwanted slow-moving traffic." This would force all Brunau residents to take a detour through Wollishofen or over the Utobrücke bridge in future.
In addition to additional search traffic due to the lost parking spaces, this will lead to significantly more traffic in the neighborhoods. The current traffic situation in the Brunau district is not a problem at all: "I can't shake off the impression that the red-green government is using the cycle routes and the supposedly urgently needed new traffic regime as an excuse to force citizens out of the city who still own a car."
* Name changed by the editors.
