A heated start to a long state parliament session: The first item on the agenda was the possible three-lane expansion of the Pyhrnautobahn A9 south of Graz. Only the Greens opposed it – and were sharply attacked verbally.
“What we hear on traffic radio every morning is now scientifically proven,” said SPÖ traffic spokeswoman Helga Ahrer, referring to a study by Graz University of Technology, the key findings of which were presented at the end of August: The Pyhrnautobahn between Wildon and Graz is already 103 percent full, the traffic is shifting more to the roads in the surrounding communities such as Premstätten or Feldkirchen.Minister rejects expansionThe Green Climate Minister Leonore Gewessler has stopped the expansion plans and has so far seen the Styrian attempts to get the project going again, unimpressed. The Styrian Greens also remain negative. Club chairman Sandra Krautwaschl criticized: “There is a lack of vision and a forward-looking overall view.” Real alternatives and an assessment of the consequences for the climate were not examined in the study. She referred to a letter from the renowned Graz climate researcher Karl Steinigner, which was sent on Monday the state parliament clubs went. He also assumes that the range of options for relieving traffic through town along the A9 is larger. The increase in road traffic due to a third lane should not eliminate past successes in the expansion of public transport in the region, warns Steininger. Third lane “no alternative” However, the state government remains clearly on course “for expansion”: there is “no alternative,” according to the state governor Christopher Drexler (ÖVP). He advised the Greens “not to take an ideology-based justification standpoint and to use this opportunity to become skeptical of science.” Deputy State Governor and transport officer Anton Lang (SPÖ) even spoke of a “scandal” because Krautwaschl described the study as “ominous” (at the same time The point was that the final version will not be available until October 15th and only parts have been published so far, note). Lang formulated the clear goal of moving traffic away from the town centers: “We want more traffic on the motorway!” But he also promised that public transport would be further expanded at the same time. Only the KPÖ tends to side with the GreensAnd the other opposition parties? The FPÖ is of course pushing for motorway expansion, MP Stefan Hermann even accused the Greens of being “hostile to science” because the TU study did not correspond to their ideology. The Neos are also pragmatically in favor of an expansion. Only Werner Murgg (KPÖ) comes up with an alternative suggestion: widen the hard shoulder and, if necessary, open it up to truck traffic using overhead displays. Only if that doesn’t work should an expansion be considered. But Murgg warns: “We must not be left behind when it comes to progress.”
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