Bridge renovation in WinterthurDispute over pedestrian bridge divides neighborhood residents
Samuel Walder
16.12.2024
The renovation of the Metzgerbrücke bridge, built in 1881, is causing a dispute in one Winterthur neighborhood. While the city wants to remove the attached pedestrian footbridge for cost reasons, residents want to keep it.
16.12.2024, 21:02
Samuel Walder
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The Metzgerbrücke bridge in Winterthur is to be renovated again after 30 years.
The city wants to remove the pedestrian path across the bridge, which is an important route for schoolchildren and local residents.
The city is considering objections and plans to implement the project in 2027 at the earliest. The conflict over safety and monument protection remains unresolved.
The Metzgerbrücke bridge, which stands over the River Töss in Winterthur, is about to undergo extensive renovation. Built in 1881, the bridge is getting on in years and the central supports in particular are in urgent need of renovation. However, it is not the renovation itself that is causing controversy, but the planned dismantling of the attached footbridge, which has been attached to the bridge since 1970.
The city wants to remove the heavily rusted footbridge without replacement, which is meeting with fierce resistance in the Nägelsee district. This is reported in the "Landbote" newspaper.
Neighbourhood association criticizes safety risks
The city justifies the removal with the high costs of a replacement structure - estimated at CHF 500,000 - as well as the aesthetic justification that the footbridge does not fit in with the historic bridge. Marc Wyler, President of the Nägelsee neighborhood association, vehemently disagrees: "The footbridge is a key link and essential for the safety of the neighborhood residents, especially schoolchildren."
Around 40 children use the footbridge every day on their way to school, as well as over 40 bicycles per hour, according to counts by the neighborhood association. In future, the city wants to bring all road users together on the bridge carriageway and introduce a 20 km/h speed limit, which Wyler believes poses too great a safety risk. "The bridge meets neither the space requirements for mixed traffic nor the railing height for pedestrians," says Wyler.
Lack of space on the bridge - standards not met
According to the cantonal "bicycle traffic standards", mixed traffic requires a road width of at least five meters at low speeds. However, the Metzgerbrücke bridge is only 3.8 meters wide. In addition, the existing bridge railing is too low for pedestrians. The neighborhood association considers the city's proposed solution of keeping cars, bicycles and pedestrians together on the narrow roadway to be unacceptable.
The neighborhood association sent a written survey to 170 members, 66 of whom responded. With the exception of two people, all were against the removal of the footbridge. "We didn't receive any really positive feedback on the city's plans," explains Wyler. A compromise could be a 20 km/h speed limit, but the footbridge must remain, according to the unanimous opinion in the district.
City examines objections
In addition to the neighborhood association, eleven other objections were received by the civil engineering office. According to project manager Pierre Walpen, these are now being examined. A report should be available by spring 2024. The project will then be presented to the public in fall 2025 and formal objections would be possible. Construction is scheduled to start in 2027 at the earliest.
While the city points to cost and monument protection arguments, the Nägelsee district sees the planned removal of the footbridge as a safety risk. "The bridge is an indispensable link for the residents of the district," emphasizes Wyler. Whether the footbridge remains or the bridge is actually converted to mixed traffic will only be decided in the next few years - but the conflict is likely to be a source of discussion for a long time to come.
The editor wrote this article with the help of AI.