Schwabing – The sidewalks on Karl-Theodor-Straße are typically less than 2.20 meters wide. The city administration considers them too narrow. But soon, pedestrians and cyclists should be able to move more safely along this important cross-connection through Schwabing. The city is redesigning Karl-Theodor-Straße. The Public Works Department (Baureferat) is widening the pedestrian and cycle paths, creating safe crossing opportunities at intersections, and installing more bicycle parking spaces. The first construction phase begins on Monday, September 22nd.
The excavators will initially arrive at the western end of Karl-Theodor-Straße, in the area of Luitpoldpark, a spokesperson for the Public Works Department stated. New cycle paths will be created on both sides of the four traffic lanes. They will be 2.30 meters wide, plus a safety separation strip. The sidewalks will be widened to at least 2.50 meters, but mostly to over three meters. To create the space for this, one traffic lane will be removed in each direction, according to the Public Works Department. The city is also redesigning the parking bays. The current perpendicular parking spaces will become parallel parking spaces.
Redesign of Karl-Theodor-Straße in Munich: What’s Planned – More Space for Pedestrians at Intersections
“This is much better for such a heavily trafficked street,” explains Undine Schmidt (Greens), head of the Mobility Subcommittee on the local district council for Schwabing-West. Although parking spaces are being lost—only 135 of the previous 191 spaces will remain—Schmidt explains that parking areas along Karl-Theodor-Straße will be assigned to resident parking permit zones. “So there will actually be more parking spaces for residents.” Additionally, the new 2.20-meter-wide parking bays should also allow delivery vehicles to stop more easily, the city administration announced. This will be more relevant for the eastern part of the street, which will be redesigned later.
A similar street redesign project, also in Schwabing, recently caused significant discontent among some residents. The expansion of pedestrian and cycle paths on Rheinstraße led to protests. There, neighbors had clearly expressed their anger at what they saw as a car-hostile policy when construction began. Their main grievance was—precisely—the loss of some parking spaces.
Redesign of Karl-Theodor-Straße: “Improvements Were Long Overdue”
However, “There’s only so much space available,” Schmidt emphasizes. It is important to allocate space to all road users: car drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. As part of climate adaptation, better infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists is necessary. “Improvements were long overdue,” the local politician stressed.
The Public Works Department plans to redesign the intersections to give pedestrians more space, provide better visibility of traffic, and allow for safer and more comfortable street crossings. The Ackermannstraße bus stop will be relocated to the western side of the intersection of Ackermann-/Schleißheimer-/Karl-Theodor-Straße and will be made barrier-free, as will the stop at the corner of Karl-Theodor-/Angererstraße.
The city council approved 9.5 million euros for the project. The work will proceed in several phases and is scheduled to last until summer 2027. “My top priority is safe school routes for all students at the neighboring schools,” emphasizes Public Works Director Jeanne-Marie Ehbauer. She is referring to the Sophie-Scholl-, Maximilians-, and Oskar-von-Miller high schools. “Furthermore, we can plant almost 30 new trees and unseal surfaces,” Ehbauer adds. “This is also an ecological gain for the entire neighborhood.”
Source: TZ
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