Pedestrian zone

City of Bregenz must hand over documents

No more cars are allowed to drive here: the pedestrian zone in Bregenz city center.(Bild: Noah Hakim Allouche)

The Frener driving school can celebrate a partial legal victory: In the long-running dispute over the pedestrian zone in the city center, the city must now give in for the time being.

The pedestrian zone in Bregenz city center has not brought joy to all residents. The "Frener" driving school in particular has been struggling with problems since the expansion, for example with the parking of school vehicles. Although the company tried to find an amicable solution with the city, this never came about. This is why "Frener" decided to take legal action.

Full access to files
And now the driving school can celebrate at least a partial success, as the business press agency reports, because the Constitutional Court has ruled that the driving school must be given full access to the files. Until now, the city has refused to hand over the documents in which the reasons for the pedestrian zone extension are recorded. Markus Hagen, the lawyer for "Frener", has already expressed concerns as to whether the extension of the zone is legally watertight. He sees a "lack of technical and legal justification for the ordinance".

Our fears regarding a lack of technical and legal justification are coming true.

„Frener“- Anwalt Markus Hagen

If this proves to be the case, the ordinance could indeed be overturned, heralding the end of the pedestrian zone. A decision on the matter is expected in the coming months.