The Dresden city council sees red because of a self-painted crosswalk and has closed the road crossing with warning banners without further ado. Schoolchildren and residents now have to walk a long way to cross the road safely.
Stefan Kraft, Chairman of the Dresden District Parents' Council, has been working on the issue of school safety for five years and spoke of a farce. "Nobody walks 300 meters to the left or right to cross the road."
The Bild newspaper first reported on the closure of the crosswalk. Kraft pointed out that there are several schools and day-care centers in the vicinity of the road crossing.
It is mainly used by the music students of the Heinrich Schütz Conservatory. Since the traffic routing was changed following the collapse of the Carola Bridge, the volume of traffic has increased even further. People have been calling for a proper crossing here for many years.
According to Kraft, the existing traffic island on the road is no longer sufficient. Drivers need a clear signal to let them know: "I have to stop here, pedestrians or cyclists simply have priority. And I can only do that by using a crosswalk or traffic lights." A crosswalk is much cheaper than traffic lights, especially in terms of maintenance. However, the city considers a central island to be sufficient.
Many people had not even noticed that a crosswalk had suddenly appeared at the spot, said Kraft. "It was crazy that it worked (...). The cars stopped and the schoolchildren were able to use the crosswalk."
The fact that crossing at this point is now completely prohibited is an unparalleled farce. "We no longer have an unsafe crossing option or a reasonably safe crossing option. We have none at all." The city needs to explain this.
Miriam Lehmann from the parents' association of the Schütz Conservatory also considers the current situation unacceptable. More than 5,000 children come to the conservatory every week, she says, and they are now unsettled. "The first thing you have to think about is the weakest, i.e. the children, who of course don't know how to behave if it's too confusing." In her opinion, a traffic light for the crossing is the best solution. However, nothing has been heard from the city so far.
The city of Dresden initially left an inquiry about how to deal with the case unanswered. From a legal perspective, the unauthorized deployment of a crosswalk is a criminal offence. Among other things, this can be considered dangerous interference with road traffic and usurpation of authority. Residents and other affected parties are now hoping that either a legal crosswalk or a traffic light system will be installed.
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