Post #2578719

Today there was an event at the Kepler bridge organised by Grazer Mitte, showcasing the plan for the street without the through-traffic for cars, just public transport, bikes, and pedestrians. The plan would do the same to all central districts in Graz. And I have to admit, the transformation felt unbelievable, normally I'm quite stressed every time I go through there as the pedestrians and the cyclists going in both directions are squeezed into a narrow space, but this time I was quite relaxed when cycling there (despite more people), could walk comfortably, stop at one of the stalls, talk with people and actually enjoy being there. Having lived in Groningen for many years, and being able to experience human-oriented city design first hand, I'm really looking forward to see the project implemented. It will not transform Graz into a Dutch-like city overnight, but it's an initial low-cost, high-rewards change (they also had plans for the outer districts based on superblocks, similar to Barcelona). The implementation of the plan hinges on the composition of the next city council. The parties supporting the idea are KPÖ and the Greens. more info: https://die.grazermitte.at/ #Graz #urbanism #cycling #Grazermitte #Autofrei #Verkehrswende