Guests stay away

Alpine innkeeper rages: “Parking fee more expensive than my food”

It is mainly families with children and senior citizens who visit the Gleirschalm - in winter for tobogganing. Some of them are now staying away because of the parking fee.

(Bild: Peter Freiberger, Krone KREATIV)

The Gleirschalm, a popular excursion destination especially for families and pensioners in the Tyrolean Sellraintal (district of Innsbruck-Land), is the worst affected by the horrendous new parking fees imposed by the local municipality. The guests and landlady Gitti Unterlechner are outraged.

The "Krone" article about the dramatic price increase for parking spaces for ski tourers and day-trippers in St. Sigmund im Sellrain spoke to many people. Gitti Unterlechner, the landlady of the Gleirschalm, is also stunned by the incredible increase from five to a record-breaking eight euros.

No staggered tariffs
What particularly outrages Unterlechner is that, unlike most comparable places in Tyrol, there is no staggered tariff - for several hours or just half a day, for example.

Some people no longer come to eat every week, but only every 14 days.

Gitti Unterlechner, Wirtin der Gleirschalm

The price increase demanded by Lois Melmer, the owner of the parking lot in Praxmar, which the municipality ultimately implemented at all four of the parking lots it operates, has hit the Gleirschalm (1518 m) particularly hard. No wonder: it only takes around 45 minutes to walk to this destination, which is particularly popular with families and pensioners.

Many don't want to pay the horrendous parking fee
A toboggan run, including a stop for refreshments, hardly takes longer than three hours. And you have to pay eight euros just for parking. Many people don't want to or can't afford this.

Locals predominate among the guests
"The majority of our guests are locals. Some no longer come to eat every week, but only every 14 days," says Gitti Unterlechner. "Parking is more expensive for you than a meal" - she hears these and similar comments time and time again. And whether guests get a free drink when parking is already so expensive.

Landlady doesn't want to feel ashamed of herself 
"I always have to explain that we didn't raise the parking fee or benefit from it," says Unterlechner. Postscript: "I don't want to feel ashamed of myself!"

Hoping for a four-hour ticket
In the meantime, the owner of the Gleirschalm has also taken the initiative and sent a letter to Anton Schiffmann, the mayor of St. Sigmund. "A four-hour ticket would be a solution," says landlady Unterlechner, hoping that those responsible will give in.