Blocked cycle path forces pedestrians onto dangerous road in Großarl

A blocked 500-metre section of a foot and cycle path in Großarl, Salzburg, has forced pedestrians and cyclists onto a dangerous state road, ORF reported. The municipality wants to find a solution as quickly as possible, while the landowners say the closure is a protest against years of arbitrary local government decisions.

The section along the Großarler Ache stream in the Schied district has been closed since Tuesday. Two metal barriers set in concrete block the path, leaving people travelling on foot or by bicycle to use the parallel Großarler Landesstraße state road.

The road is winding, has no pavement and allows speeds of up to 100 kilometres per hour. Mayor Hans Ganitzer of the Social Democratic Party said the situation was dangerous, particularly for pedestrians, mothers with prams and cyclists.

Landowner Georg Seer described the closure as a last resort. He said he and other property owners had been seeking since 2009 to have a hillside plot above Großarl town centre rezoned for development. Although neighbouring hillside plots had since been built on, he said no progress had been made on their application.

Seer said the former mayor had promised that the rezoning would follow the necessary expert reports, drilling and surveying. After the owners commissioned years of measurements, drilling and various reports, he said, the municipality eventually rejected the proposal in a brief statement. “At some point you say, enough is enough,” Seer said.

Ganitzer said the municipality would not give in because of the closure, warning that doing so could prompt demands from other landowners. He said he would decide in the coming days how the municipality would proceed and that several options were available.