Long-distance pass tunnel

Consultation of Nassereither citizens rejected

The zero hour of the BI foundation on March 28 - significantly in front of the Nassereith municipal office.

(Bild: Hubert Daum)

A newly founded citizens' initiative (BI) is campaigning against the state's long-distance pass plans. It applied for a referendum in Nassereith in accordance with the municipal code, but the local mayor "had to" reject it. Apparently the questions do not concern the municipality's sphere of influence. 

For the municipality of Nassereith, the long-distance pass tunnel with two toll stations, as originally planned, would be a disaster. Within the municipal boundaries, its own citizens would even be ripped off on the journey to "their" Fernsteinsee - as reported by the "Krone" newspaper.

The newly founded citizens' initiative (BI) "Lebensraum Gurgltal" wants to put up massive resistance to the entire project. They found § 62 in the municipal bylaws, which indicates the possibility of a referendum. Such a referendum was also requested from village mayor Herbert Kröll in April, with 455 signatures forming the basis (incidentally, Kröll became mayor in 2022 with 622 votes).

"I had to reject the citizens' consultation"
The following two questions were to be put to the vote

1. Are you in favor of the Fernpass summit tunnel? 
2. Are you in favor of road tolls in the Nassereither municipal area?

"After consulting with the lawyers at the Landhaus, I had to reject a vote with these questions," explains Kröll. According to the municipal code, only "matters within the municipality's own sphere of influence" can be the subject of a referendum, and neither question would fall under this category.

"This could have been seen as a signal to obtain a municipal council resolution and hold the referendum on the day of the European elections," was the idea of Ludwig Gruber from the BI. They will now discuss whether there will be a second attempt with "formally more precisely formulated questions". However, the signatures would then have to be collected again.

New toll variant on Friday?
Something could happen in the toll issue next Friday. It is hoped that the visit by LHStv. Geisler will result in the presentation of a new solution. Originally, two toll stations were planned - one of them in front of the Fernstein area. This caused an enormous stir, whereupon the state agreed to consider an alternative variant.

There will also be plenty to think about on May 16 (7.30 pm) in the Nassereither community hall, where Fritz Gurgiser will talk about his view of the Fernpass package.