Dresden defends stop for self-painted crosswalk

Dresden city council defends the blocking of a crosswalk that has since attracted nationwide attention. Unknown persons had painted a crosswalk on the road on a busy street in Neustadt to allow music students safe access to the Heinrich Schütz Conservatory. The city refused to accept this and blocked the crossing with warning beacons.

Damage to property and dangerous interference with road traffic

After the fake crosswalk made the headlines for two days, the city explained the legal situation. Fake crosswalks are not only damage to property, but also dangerous interference with road traffic. Furthermore, unauthorized traffic signs would constitute an administrative offence under road traffic regulations. A criminal complaint has been filed against unknown persons.

"As the removal of the applied paint or the legally compliant temporary crossing using yellow marking film failed, the crosswalk had to be closed," said the administration. The creation of new pedestrian crossings will be implemented in accordance with the pedestrian traffic strategy adopted by the city council in 2022. It is divided into priorities from 1 to 4.

City lacks the money for a safe pedestrian crossing

According to the city, a priority 2 crossing is planned at the location in question. However, implementation is failing due to a lack of money. In the current double budget adopted by the city council, "no investment funds have been allocated for pedestrian traffic measures, so that the implementation of such measures must take place under very scarce resources", the administration admitted.

The SPD in Dresden clarified that the city council had already passed an inter-party motion in 2018 to set up additional crosswalks. The location in front of the Heinrich Schütz Conservatory was at the very top of the list. The Neustadt district advisory council had also advocated this. However, the administration does not consider itself bound by the resolutions, as a traffic law order is not within the decision-making powers of the city council.

SPD: Failure makes Dresden a laughing stock nationwide

"The administrative failure makes our city a laughing stock nationwide," explained deputy parliamentary group leader Stefan Engel. Parents have been fighting for years to improve road safety on Glacisstraße. The closure of the Carola Bridge has led to a further significant increase in traffic there. "There is an acute need for action here."

"A crosswalk would be cheap and quick to implement. Building Mayor Stephan Kühn must now quickly find a solution here (...) It cannot be the solution that the people of Dresden compensate for the administrative failure with brushes and paint on their own authority," emphasized the SPD politician.