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Salzburg's transport transition: referendum on the billion-dollar solution
250,000 Salzburg residents are voting today on the billion-dollar S-Link project, which is intended to solve the city's traffic problems. Is Salzburg facing a once-in-a-century opportunity or a billion-dollar grave?
Salzburg's transport transition: referendum on the billion-dollar solution
In Salzburg, traffic problems have become an increasingly pressing issue over the years. Around 60,000 people commute into the city and the same number back again every day, which puts enormous strain on the roads. If you also take leisure and tourist traffic into account, the situation becomes much more critical. Johannes Gfrerer, the managing director of the Salzburg Transport Association, describes the situation as alarming, especially for drivers who are often stuck in traffic jams during rush hour.
This Sunday, the citizens of Salzbur have the opportunity to vote in a referendum on an important infrastructure project: the so-called “S-Link”. Around 250,000 eligible voters, both from the city and the neighboring regions of Flachgau and Tennengau, are called upon to cast their votes. This billion-dollar project aims to solve existing traffic problems and is described by its supporters as the “opportunity of the century”. An approximately 17-kilometer-long, partially underground extension of the Salzburg local railway is planned, which will run from the main station via the old town to Hallein.
The project and its opponents
The supporters emphasize that the expansion of the railway could contribute to lasting relief. On the other hand, however, there are also numerous opponents who see the project as a “billion-dollar grave”. The SPÖ in particular has been critical of the advantages of the S-Link. The mayor of Salzburg, Bernhard Auinger, fears that the financial outlay for the city could result in immense expenses. An unclear distribution of costs between the state and the city also causes concerns.
The estimated costs for the S-Link are up to 2.2 billion euros. Governor Wilfried Haslauer from the ÖVP emphasizes that it is possible to have 50 percent of the costs financed by the federal government. This could play a decisive role in the vote. Of course, not everything is clearly regulated: Currently there is only a route recommendation for the entire project, although only the underground section from the main train station to Mirabellplatz has actually been fully planned and approved.
In addition to the S-Link, a more comprehensive “Salzburg mobility solution” is also being voted on, which, in addition to the S-Link, also includes two other route branches, for which there are currently no concrete plans. The results of this vote will be announced on Sunday evening and could have far-reaching effects on the future of transport in Salzburg.