Before the city election

Urban policy with ever more conditions for S-Link

(Bild: Tschepp, Tröster, APA, Krone KREATIV)

Alongside housing, transport is the biggest political construction site for the next five years. This is what the mayoral candidates have to say about the most important issues.

"Krone": Should the S-Link, Salzburg's mini-subway, be built?

Florian Kreibich (ÖVP): Yes, it is the backbone of tomorrow's mobility. I am sure that by clarifying the open questions we can convince the population to take part in the public consultation.

Bernhard Auinger (SPÖ): No. We take the clear no to the S-Link in the public consultation very seriously. The cost-benefit ratio in no way justifies this billion-euro investment.

Anna Schiester (Citizens' List): Yes, but only if there is an overall traffic concept, the financing has been clarified and there will be traffic calming as soon as the stage to Mirabell is completed.

Paul Dürnberger (FPÖ): That will be decided by the people of Salzburg in a binding referendum. Under no circumstances should such a major project be decided against or bypassing the citizens.

Lukas Rupsch (NEOS): Yes, as long as it is carried through to Hallein and the costs and benefits are presented transparently to all Salzburg residents.

Kay-Michael Dankl (KPÖ Plus): Only if the project is fully planned, a majority of the city's citizens are behind it and the trolleybus is also extended.

Christoph Ferch (Liste Salz): I was a supporter until recently. As things stand today, however, I am against it. Possible unfavorable effects on the World Heritage Site are my main concern.

In the course of the festival construction work, the Neutor will probably be closed to car traffic.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

Should the Neutor be closed to through traffic in order to achieve traffic calming in the center?

Florian Kreibich (ÖVP): The construction work for the festival will necessitate a temporary closure of the Neutor. We can then consider how to proceed on the basis of our experience.

Bernhard Auinger (SPÖ): We need an overall traffic solution for the whole city, not just for the old town. We need traffic calming in all parts of the city quickly.

Anna Schiester (Citizens' List): We want to relieve the city center of through traffic and massively improve the quality of life between Salzach and Neutor.

Paul Dürnberger (FPÖ): As long as public transport in the city of Salzburg is completely inadequate, it makes no sense to take measures to reduce car traffic.

Lukas Rupsch (NEOS): Yes, the Neutor will be closed to private traffic as part of the renovation of the festival halls. This opportunity must be used for a redesign.

Kay-Michael Dankl (KPÖ Plus): Only if there is an overall concept so that the avalanche of cars does not increase in other parts of the city, for example in Mülln and Maxglan.

Christoph Ferch (Liste Salz): As long as public transport works badly, the Neutor will have to remain open. Not everything has to be closed because of a building site.

More cycle paths instead of parking spaces? Opinions differ on this.

(Bild: P. Huber)

Should parking spaces and lanes for motorized traffic be reduced in favour of cycle paths?

Florian Kreibich (ÖVP): In principle, the different types of traffic should not be played off against each other, especially as public transport often also suffers from the loss of lanes.

Bernhard Auinger (SPÖ): Yes. This can reduce car traffic and achieve traffic calming.

Anna Schiester (Citizens' List): Cycling is still too dangerous for many people. To change this, we need a fair redistribution of the limited space in our city.

Paul Dürnberger (FPÖ): It's not about pitting road users against each other, but about implementing a sensible traffic concept for all means of transportation.

Lukas Rupsch (NEOS): Yes. For the safety of cyclists, more structurally separated cycle paths are needed. Parking spaces and lanes will have to be reduced in favor of these.

Kay-Michael Dankl (KPÖ Plus): Yes, for the road safety of children and families, structurally separated cycle paths are needed wherever possible.

Christoph Ferch (Liste Salz): I would be happy to look at a corresponding concept and do not rule it out in some areas.

What adjustments need to be made to the city's trolleybus network?

Florian Kreibich (ÖVP): We need to tweak the most important aspects: Demand orientation, frequency, travel time and customer friendliness. The local transport plan is already available.

Bernhard Auinger (SPÖ): We need the 10-minute frequency and a network expansion in urban areas without adequate connections. This requires an external evaluation of the entire network.

Anna Schiester (Citizens' List): There needs to be a better frequency (5 to 10 minutes), the summer timetable must be abolished. Salzburg must give priority to public transport.

There is still a lot of work to be done on the trolleybus.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

Paul Dürnberger (FPÖ): The new traffic concept must be implemented quickly. Especially at weekends, before and on public holidays, it would make sense to extend the off-peak times of the timetable.

Lukas Rupsch (NEOS): In addition to a more frequent service, what is needed above all is reliability. If it is uncertain whether a bus will be over-punctual, punctual or late, I have no planning security.

Kay-Michael Dankl (KPÖ Plus): Instead of the miserable 15-minute intervals, we need better frequencies, including in the evenings and at weekends. The trolleybus network should be extended to the surrounding area.

Christoph Ferch (Salz list): We submitted a comprehensive motion on this in 2022, but it was shelved. Experts should be on the advisory board of the new company.

Should a city center toll for private cars be introduced in the medium term?

Florian Kreibich (ÖVP): No, I reject the policy of moral finger-wagging.

Bernhard Auinger (SPÖ): No. There are certainly other approaches to solving the traffic problem.

Anna Schiester (Citizens' List): The priority is to relieve the inner city from through traffic through traffic regulations and construction measures as well as the expansion of park-and-ride lots.

Paul Dürnberger (FPÖ): No, with the Freedom Party there will be no anti-car driver policy. Instead, the offer must be designed in the best possible way for all road users.

Lukas Rupsch (NEOS): We can certainly imagine such a toll with exceptions in the future if the funds from it are used to expand public transport.

Kay-Michael Dankl (KPÖ Plus): No.

Christoph Ferch (Liste Salz): We are not a big city that would benefit from toll machines on all entry roads.