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Future of mobility: Traffic expert Knoflacher relies on gentle solutions
Transport planner Hermann Knoflacher celebrates the rejection of the S-Link and now sees opportunities for sustainable transport solutions in Salzburg. He advocates gentle mobility and fewer cars in the city.
Future of mobility: Traffic expert Knoflacher relies on gentle solutions
The rejection of the S-Link project last Sunday was seen as a positive step for the city of Salzburg by Hermann Knoflacher, a recognized traffic planner and professor emeritus at the Vienna University of Technology. He congratulated the population and emphasized that there was now an opportunity to develop a sustainable and future-proof transport solution.
Knoflacher, who has been working on the topic of soft mobility for decades, has clear ideas about how the traffic situation in urban areas can be improved. According to him, it is crucial that cars are kept out of city centers as much as possible in order to make room for more livable urban spaces. “The problems are on the surface and should be addressed there,” he explained, criticizing that massive investments in projects like the subway are not the right solution. Instead, he suggested that the financial resources be invested in real and effective transport solutions.
Sensible measures to relieve congestion in the city center
Knoflacher suggests drastically reducing the number of parking spaces in the city. “If we make cars disappear from inner-city areas, then the cities will begin to come to life,” he explains. He considers a city toll, which is seen by many as a solution, to be ineffective unless parking spaces are also banned from the city.
Parking concepts for the resident population
Another suggestion from Knoflacher concerns the parking regulations in the city. Accordingly, parking in inner-city areas should be reserved exclusively for the resident population, but for a fee. The plan requires visitors and commuters to park their vehicles in park-and-ride areas on the outskirts of the city. This could help reduce traffic in the city center and increase the attractiveness of public transport. In his opinion, this is the only way more people would forego private cars.
Knoflacher repeatedly emphasizes that it is not just about displacing cars, but about creating a livable urban environment that offers attractive options for all citizens. Such changes would be a benefit for Salzburg and could lead to the city being seen as a role model for other urban centers in the future.
In this context, the rejection of the S-Link project is not only a setback for planners, but could turn out to be the starting signal for what they believe is an urgently needed transport transition. For more information on this topic, see the report on salzburg.orf.at.