Working quality: residents protest against construction project in Lienz

Working quality: residents protest against construction project in Lienz

Lienz, Österreich - On June 21, 2025, the topic of citizen participation in urban development has again come into focus. In Lienz, residents expressly authorized concerns about a planned residential construction project on the former Plössnig area car dealership. This development requires an increased level of dialogue between citizens and politics. Citizens are supposed to use democratic instruments to actively contribute to political decision-making processes, such as [Dolomitenstadt] (https://www.dolomitenstadt.at/2025/21/es-ist-essen-miten-ins-spraech-zu- arrival

A petition, initiated by a former employee of the municipality of Lienz, aims to act against the plans. These were published without direct address from the residents. The concerns of the citizens are particularly about the possibility that the quality of living will be significantly impaired by the construction project. The methods of integrating the public must be questioned here, since formal citizen participation is often carried out late in the process, which limits the scope for participation.

Details on the construction project

The construction project itself provides for an L-shaped building that was designed at a distance to the single-family houses in Reimichlstrasse. The top floor is returned and is to be loosened by greening the courtyard and the garage access. Nevertheless, residents fear an increase in personal and traffic. The municipal council unanimously approved the project, but the need for affordable apartments and area -friendly development remains great.

In addition, a citizen participation is planned to take into account the various wishes of the population. This is considered a necessary compromise, especially with regard to the current challenges of urban development, which include comprehensive processes, as civil society.

public participation and traffic problem

Another example of the challenges in urban development results from a petition against the planned development at the Ludenberg Park. This initiative refers to the high density of new construction projects, which are to be built primarily on the Bergisches Landstrasse. In this context, it was criticized that the plans include an increase in the floor heights and the number of residential units, while there is no holistic traffic concept.

The citizens' initiative therefore demands that a maximum of three floors should adjoin existing houses. In addition, the residents require the connection of the new building to the federal road B7 to avoid traffic over the Blanckertzstraße, which is already heavily loaded. An invitation to citizen participation will take place on June 26, 2025 in the parish hall of the Evangelical parish of Düsseldorf-Gerresheim, in order to offer citizens the opportunity to criticize, as well as to express wishes and questions to city representatives.