Wels fights against racers: City Council demands legal changes

Wels fights against racers: City Council demands legal changes

In Wels, the authorities finally have their noses full of frenzied drivers. Speed violations are reported almost every day, but the city often sees itself powerless because it cannot act independently. The traffic city councilor Stefan Ganzert (SPÖ) emphasizes: "In other cities such as Braunau, Ried or Traun, the municipalities can actively act against racers. Only we in Wels are restricted in this regard." Wels now wants to receive more skills to actively help the citizens.

The pressure not only comes from the city itself, but also from the residents who complain about speed violations. But while other cities can carry out radar speed measurements themselves, Wels must take the detour through the police and ask for controls there and there. "This is frustrating," says Ganzert, "we cannot even decide on the positioning of radar devices, even though we pay for it."

Together for more rights

Another person responsible, the security officer Gerhard Kroiß (FPÖ), agrees with his party colleague: "The speed monitoring is often a concern of citizens. It is therefore important that we, as a statutar city, are also given the opportunity to regulate this area ourselves." The claim to the Federal Government in Vienna is clear: The city of Wels wants to take responsibility for its own traffic monitoring.

The Situation is particularly tense when it comes to 30 zones at speed. "The process is complicated because we have to contact higher -level authorities that can overturn our regulations again," explains Ganzert. Despite the legal regulations that already cover many areas, implementation in the city remains a challenge. Around 95 percent of Wels citizens state that the same applies to schools, kindergartens and old people's homes.

Innovative approaches to speed regulation

But all of this wants to start: In the future, he plans to equip entire streets for a regular traffic situation. With a camera system, certain roads, especially near schools, could only be released for selected road users at high traffic. "These new measures would relax the traffic in the city," he is convinced.

The demand for higher places is also supported by the citizens. You want noticeable improvements in Wels traffic management. One way to counteract this would be permission to do their own lightning installation in order to be able to fold more and efficiently into account. The discussions and efforts are the first step in a direction that could increase both security and quality of life in the city of Wels.