Without a sidewalk!

Footpath leads over narrow bridge without sidewalk

The residents of the estate criticize the dangerously narrow bridge as the only way to Zwettl Abbey. The Greens are now also raising this issue in the provincial parliament.(Bild: Klaus Schindler)

There are even several bridges leading over the Zwettl bypass that are unreasonable for pedestrians. In extreme cases, you even have to jump over the guardrail at Zwettl Abbey, complain local residents, who are completely cut off from the natural kingdom on the other side of the bridge due to a lack of other paths.

A settlement in Zwettl lies idyllically between the inner-city traffic circle and the famous abbey. A sidewalk leads out of the town, after which there is only a wide, asphalted road in a beautiful forest landscape. In 2017, a new 50-metre-long bridge to the natural kingdom of the monastery was built along with the bypass - directly at the entrance and exit to the bypass and next to an excavation site with plenty of heavy traffic. When two trucks come together, it gets tight on the bridge and pedestrians and cyclists have to get to safety quickly.

There is no question that there has to be a solution. Nowadays, a footpath and cycle path have to be built as well!

Josef Koppensteiner, Anrainer und regionaler Grün-Politiker

Bild: KLAUS SCHINDLER

The city was aware of the problem
However, not everyone can make the necessary leap over the almost one meter high guardrail - and certainly not with a bicycle or baby carriage. Local resident Josef Koppensteiner had already informed the city by letter before the bypass was completed that a connection for non-motorized traffic was absolutely necessary - to no avail.

New hiking trail signs raise tempers
The residents of the settlement, where there is a lively influx of new residents, are up in arms about the new hiking trail signs, which route the Klosterlandschaftsweg around Zwettl Abbey directly over this bridge due to a lack of other options. "It's hard to beat the sarcasm," criticizes Zwettl Green Party leader and MP Silvia Moser. She emphasizes that there is also another such bridge in the course of the bypass near Rudmanns. "It is extremely dangerous for mothers with baby carriages here and there," emphasizes Moser.

Provincial parliament entrusted with "untenable conditions"
The Greens have now tabled a motion in parliament to rectify the "untenable conditions". "There was no separate footpath and cycle path before construction. That's why it wasn't included in the plans," explains city manager Franz Mold (ÖVP), explaining that no such additions are currently planned.