At 7:35 p.m., the Gmunden municipal council slowly lost track of things. Three similar, but different in content, applications for the Tuscany parking lot made it into the town hall. City councilor Philipp Wiatschka (Neos) was reminded of a “cow bazaar” and Reinhold Kassmannhuber, chairman of the mobility committee (VP parliamentary group), did not want to put up with Wiatschka’s “nonsense”.
Wolfgang Sageder was previously allowed to take part in the local council once more. At least passively. “Parking spaces in public spaces are not a fundamental right,” the former SP city councilor once said. Peter Grundnig (Greens) used this quote to show that the SPÖ “had not always made social policy with parking spaces.”
Daily fee eight euros
No other of the 37 points on the agenda was discussed as emotionally as the upcoming tolling of the Tuscany parking lot.
While the majority of the Mobility Committee voted in favor (the FP was once morest it) and the Finance Committee also gave the green light, the local council had a surprisingly difficult time on Monday evening. FPÖ, Neos and SPÖ wanted to have the entire issue dropped and assigned to the Mobility Committee once more for further consultation. The VP and the Greens wanted to enforce the fee on May 1, 2024.
The proposal: With a daily fee of eight euros (10 cents for four minutes), parking should be charged from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There should be an authorization card for employees for 25 euros per month; beach visitors who have a season ticket and/or cabin should pay 50 euros per season. Anyone who doesn’t pay will face a fine of up to 75 euros.
Kassmannhuber made it clear at the beginning of the debate that the “tariffs for beach visitors would still be improved”. The fee is simply a “sensible” addition to the other parking spaces in the municipality. “We also have to ask ourselves why this parking lot hasn’t been charged for long ago,” he said.
“Hau-Ruck-Action”
Dominik Gessert (SP) only saw the proposal as a “disadvantage for the people of Gmund”, while his colleague Mario Krammer pointed out that “570 people have already signed a petition once morest such charging”. Social Democrats are also “fallible,” he countered Wolfgang Sageder’s quote used by the Greens.
Dina Fritz (FPÖ) called the proposal “incomplete” and called for an “acceptable” solution for beach visitors. Phillip Wiatschka saw a “hit-and-miss action without a concept”. Peter Grundnig (Greens) was astonished that everyone had previously agreed on the 2024 budget and that “including possible savings measures” and “car fees” were suddenly being discussed. Mayor Stefan Krapf (VP) said that “charging for parking spaces is nothing unusual” and that “the Court of Auditors” will probably confirm this to us soon.
In the end, the majority of the local council (Greens, VP) voted for the Tuscany parking lot to be charged on May 1, 2024. However, the tariffs – especially for beach visitors – would have to be discussed once more in the mobility committee.
Urgent request rejected
The local council had previously unanimously approved the budget for 2024 (the OÖN reported). However, an urgent request from the FPÖ was rejected by the majority: changing the zoning plan on Miller-von-Aichholz-Straße to an area for social housing. This change to the zoning plan also includes the possibility of building a kindergarten.
The FPÖ argued that the “very slow negotiations with those responsible at the local campus regarding the creation of kindergarten places.” Mayor Stefan Krapf (VP) asked for patience for a “few months” as the negotiations were regarding to be concluded. If no agreement is reached by the local council meeting in March, the issue will be back on the agenda.
Author
Gabriel Egger
Editor Upper Austria
Gabriel Egger
