Contents
A tunnel is intended to relieve traffic in the city of Zug. So far, all projects have failed at the ballot box.
The center of the city of Zug is plagued by traffic jams. At peak times, vehicles crowd the narrow streets every day. An expansion of the existing connections is not possible for topographical reasons: the lake is to the west and the mountain is to the east. So a tunnel should relieve the center of traffic.
It is not the first time that a tunnel project has been on the table in the city of Zug: There have already been three attempts – the last in 2015. The project back then clearly failed at the ballot box: 63 percent of those who voted said no. An underground roundabout with four tunnel connections in different directions was planned. Cost: almost 900 million francs.
The latest construction project is a “simple tunnel” around two kilometers long, which costs around 750 million francs. Despite the high costs, supporters are confident.
Comfortable location thanks to the canton’s full cash register
They argue that today’s initial situation cannot be compared with that of 2015. While the canton of Zug was in the red eight years ago and implemented an austerity program, today the state treasury is full to the brim: the canton of Zug has over two billion francs in equity. The tunnel in the city of Zug can be financed without outside capital. Since these are cantonal roads, the city of Zug does not have to contribute financially.
The Zug government council, a majority of the cantonal parliament and the Zug city council are in favor of the tunnel.
Around 20,000 vehicles pass through Zug city center every day. “That’s more traffic than on the Gotthard,” says Eliane Birchmeier, head of the Stadtzug building department. Thanks to the tunnel, only 5,000 cars will travel above ground. “We want to give the city center back to pedestrians and cyclists.”
This is our last chance.
“It is simply the last chance to relieve traffic in the congested old town,” says Benny Elsener. He politicizes for the Center Party in both the city and cantonal parliaments and is head of the Pro Committee. He is betting that the accompanying measures will ensure that the city does not simply drown in traffic elsewhere – namely at the new tunnel portal in the middle of the newer part of the city. However, these measures still need to be developed if the tunnel is approved at the ballot box.
Dissenting vote: “A label fraud”
Julia Küng is campaigning against the tunnel in the city of Zug. She sits for the Alternative–The Greens in the cantonal parliament.
The tunnel will not relieve the city of traffic.
“This tunnel is the completely wrong path, a mislabeling,” she says. “It will not relieve the city of traffic, but on the contrary will ensure that even more cars can drive directly into the center.” This will not solve the traffic jam problem, but will simply shift it.
Legend:
Unterägeri bypass
Openstreetmap Contributors/zg.ch
In the future, it will be possible to bypass the village center of Unterägeri with a tunnel that is around 1,800 meters long.
Cost: 308 million francs. The canton can also finance this bypass without outside capital. And here too, the community does not have to contribute.
According to the canton, three quarters less traffic will pass through the center thanks to the tunnel. The western tunnel portal is in Sagenmattli, towards Oberägeri the tunnel ends at Theresiapark. The tunnel has a single lane in both directions.
The bypass tunnel in Unterägeri is scheduled to be built between 2033 and 2036.
The planning and implementation of the two Zug and Unterägeri bypasses will take 18 and 13 years respectively in the best case scenario.
Voting rights complaint pending
However, it is still questionable whether there will even be a vote on March 3rd: a voting rights complaint is pending against the votes.
A voter criticizes a joint information sheet from the city of Zug and the municipality of Unterägeri and the corresponding website. The complainant argues that the text information and illustrations are misleading.