It’s actually a positive sign of normalcy: the vacationer shift change on Saturdays again reaches dimensions that are prone to traffic jams, and the Zillertal is a focal point. Therefore, the police and security officers will also check the driving bans on alternative routes next Saturday. Recently there have been hundreds of rejections.
On December 25, the BH Schwaz activated the driving ban ordinance on Brucker Straße (L294) in the Zillertal. Vacationers are therefore not allowed to use this alternative route, which the navigation device is happy to suggest in traffic jams on the federal highway, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. But the security at the neuralgic points stood their feet in the stomach at the start of the season – no rush because of the pandemic. Calm turned to stormIn February the picture changed, the controls by police patrols and security are necessary like in the best tourism times. “On the first Saturday, around 500 drivers had to be rejected at the checkpoints, on the second Saturday there were 560,” says Hans-Peter Astl, head of the police department for traffic matters in the Schwaz district. As in the past, many holidaymakers wanted to use the narrow paths across the fields because they would have been stuck in traffic at the latest before the Brettfall tunnel. Two more Saturdays with strict controls The strict controls and closures will be carried out at least this Saturday and another at certain points – for example at Crossroads at the “Landhaus” in St. Gertraudi or at the Zillertal Info in Schlitters. “In principle, the driving bans apply until April 16,” specifies Astl. The BH coordinates the measures with local tourism (especially according to booking figures). 27,165 vehicles were the peak value at the valley entrance The dimensions of the traffic: The Brettfall Tunnel is used by around 19,000 vehicles per day on average. The peak day was a typical shift change Saturday: March 3, 2019 with 27,165 vehicles. Most of them were out in the morning hours. No wonder that locals complain that they are “locked up” in the valley during these phases and that all errands or shopping become a problem. Similar “alternative driving bans” currently also exist at Kasbach near Jenbach, on the Fernpass route (especially side routes in the area Pflach) as well as on secret paths away from the A12 and the Tyrolean federal highway in the district of Kufstein.
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