Sidewalk demanded

“Having to walk here is a disaster”

On this main road in the St. Georgen district of Holzhausen, residents are demanding a footpath and cycle path. They say that it is only safe to get to the Lokalbahn by car.(Bild: zVg)

St. Georgen is not getting any land from farmers to build a long-desired footpath and cycle path. Residents are now collecting signatures. They no longer want to accept the situation.

The nearest local train station is around four kilometers away in Lamprechtshausen. Residents of the St. Georgen district of Holzhausen could cover this distance by bike or on foot. If there was a footpath and cycle path, they say. Anything else would be too dangerous.

You can't solve that with money. The farmers are also concerned about liability issues.

ÖVP-Ortschef Franz Gangl

"Many would like to do without a car. But having to walk on the main road is a disaster. The speed limit is 100 km/h," says one Holzhausen resident to "Krone". Residents have recently been collecting signatures for a footpath and cycle path. More than 350 signatures were collected on openpetition.eu within a short space of time.

The crux of the matter is the refusal of several farmers to give up land for the requested path. ÖVP mayor Franz Gangl says: "We want to build the path and have been trying for years, but our hands are tied." It's not about the money. "The farmers are also concerned about liability issues. If they mow or drive tractors and dirt lands on the path, they fear problems," says farmer Gangl sympathetically. Deputy mayor Petra Gillhofer (SPÖ) calls the situation "extremely difficult for us". Perhaps the municipality will receive backing from the state if the petition gets a lot of signatures.