The dispute over the ZKB cable car over Lake Zurich is far from over. The Zürcher Kantonalbank announced today that it is continuing the ruling by the Building Appeals Court. The court approved complaints against the project in December and surprised opponents of the cable car and the ZKB alike.
The ZKB cable car team has now examined the judgment together with external experts. You are confident that the next higher instance, the administrative court, will decide in favor of the ZKB. “We looked at the project in advance with the specialist departments of the city, canton and federal government and were and still are convinced that it is waterproof,” said Martin Scholl, CEO of the Zürcher Kantonalbank. Now you want to have the verdict checked again. Scholl makes a tennis analogy: “We use the Hawkeye, hold up our hands like a tennis player and want to look at the line judge’s decision again.”
survey
Are you for the ZKB cable car project?
Yes, that’s a great thing.
No, Zurich doesn’t need that.
896 votes
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Yes, that’s a great thing.
No, Zurich doesn’t need that.
896 votes
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The construction course court held two main criticisms (Read more about this here). First, the cable car project is insufficiently democratically legitimized. According to the court, it should have an entry in the cantonal structure plan, but has only one in the subordinate regional counterpart. Secondly, the lake enjoys “special protection”, as the judges write. The ZKB-Bahn does not stand up to a needs test.
Study under lock and key
CEO Scholl cannot understand this: “After our clarifications, we believe that there is no need for an entry in the cantonal structure plan and the project is sufficiently legitimate.” In addition, the lake basin is not simply a natural recreation area, but a place that offers a great variety of experiences , as it says in the model of the city’s lake basin. “The Züribahn fits in well there,” says Scholl.
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This is how the ZKB imagines its cable car over Lake Zurich. Video: TA / ZKB
The ZKB says it has the majority of the population in the canton on its side. This is confirmed by a representative survey from the beginning of the year. The result: “Two thirds of the population are neutral to very positive about the cable car.” However, the ZKB keeps the study under wraps. Nor does it provide any further information about the proportion of those who have given a neutral opinion. How big the effective approval is, is therefore not apparent.
Opponents are optimistic
In the meantime, the bank has already invested a single-digit million sum in the cable car project, as Scholl says. If the project comes to fruition, he expects total costs of CHF 60 million, which are to be recovered via tickets during the five-year period of operation. A trip from the Zürichhorn to the Landiwiese would probably cost around CHF 14. However, Scholl makes no prognosis as to when passengers should start gondolaing across the lake for the first time – the duration of the procedure is too uncertain. Originally, the plan was that the train would still be operational in 2020, just in time for the bank’s 150th birthday.
This goal was clearly missed. So why does the ZKB still hold onto the train and accept the legal hackhack? For marketing reasons? Martin Scholl says no. «We are still convinced of the idea and always wanted to implement the train. She was never just a marketing gimmick. »They were always aware that the vision would be difficult to implement and the timetable was« extremely sporty ». However, the vision does not bring down any headwind. And: “We celebrate our anniversary with the adventure garden by the lake,” says Scholl. This adventure park on the Landiwiese will open for 45 days at the end of May. However, this has so far been somewhat neglected in the noise around the cable car.
The president of the IG Seebecken Seilbahnfrei, Martin Maletinsky, is not surprised by the move of the ZKB. “This is not rational, but they announced this project so confidently that withdrawing would have been equivalent to losing face,” he says. He estimates that ZKB’s chances of success before the administrative court are slim. The move on doesn’t worry him.
Created: 1/29/2020, 8:33 AM
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