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Viennese monument conservationists in revolt: historic houses facing demolition!
Viennese monument conservationists are alarmed about the planned demolition of historic houses for subway access. Petition against the construction rejected.
Viennese monument conservationists in revolt: historic houses facing demolition!
Vienna is facing a historical conflict: two important old buildings could fall victim to the construction of subway stops. Conclusive, like that crown reports, two listed houses at Elterleinplatz and Währinger Gurtel 41 are to be demolished to make room for access to the new U5 line, which is scheduled to be completed by 2025. This measure has alarmed not only heritage conservationists, but also local residents fighting to preserve the cultural heritage.
The debate about the necessary demolition is sparked by the question of whether modern transport projects can endanger Vienna's historic architecture. Monument and cityscape conservationists have pushed for a petition calling for the new stations to be integrated into the existing historical structure. But this was rejected on the grounds that public transport had priority and that Wiener Linien operated independently. “Public transport comes before aesthetics,” said a source from the city administration, which the initiators of the petition see as a pretextual argument ORF reported.
Planned subway expansion
The expansion of the U5 and U2 subway lines already has a fixed time frame. According to Wiener Linien managing director Günter Steinbauer, the first two sections of the route are scheduled to go into operation in 2023, while the U5 to Elterleinplatz should be completed by 2025. These decisions are intended to help cope with the increasing number of passengers and increase the public transport share of the red-green city government. The continued increase in population requires a well-developed infrastructure to reach one billion passengers by 2020.
The city government also plans to introduce a new mobility card to combine different modes of transport and provide discounts for regular customers, which should further boost the use of public transport. But as transport infrastructure expands, questions remain as to what price this growth will come at, particularly when the city's cultural heritage is at stake.