Zurich wants to shut the traffic out again
Three streets in downtown Zurich were closed during the summer holidays so that the population could use the space. That should be repeated in the next year.
Pétanque instead of a parking lot: On the Rotwandstrasse, you could play to your heart’s content – and ability – during the summer holidays.
Image: Andrea Zahler
Last summer, there were no cars on Fritschi, Rotwandstrasse and Konradstrasse for five weeks, but people. They used the open street space to meet with neighbors, to relax or to eat together. This was the result of the evaluations of the “Brings uf d’Strass!” Project presented by the Zurich Civil Engineering Office on Monday.
The aim of the pilot project is to test the various possible uses of neighborhood streets. The civil engineering department announced that the majority of the feedback was positive. It is therefore planning to repeat it next summer – provided the municipal council gives the green light within the framework of the 2022 budget. The project is to take place to a similar extent on selected district streets, i.e. not necessarily in the previous locations.
Less littering than feared
During the campaign, the residents held neighborhood festivals, planting campaigns or a silent disco, built pétanque lanes or set up ping-pong tables. The traffic-free streets were heavily used, especially in the late afternoon and on weekends.
The respondents also stated that during “Brings uf d’Strass!” felt safer than normal and the quality of living has improved. According to the survey, the fear that there could be noise and littering has not come true either. On the other hand, the more time-consuming search for a parking space was rated negatively.
–Ping-pong instead of parking: games were also the order of the day on Konradstrasse.
Image: Andrea Zahler
Overall, around a third of those who gave feedback rated the project as negative and did not want to repeat it. The road closure was not particularly well received on Fritschistrasse. The Rotwandstrasse and Konradstrasse locations, on the other hand, were rated “mostly positive”. A repetition is welcomed there.
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