We must seize this unique opportunity to build a tunnel

Writing in Tuesday's edition of the Neue Zuger Zeitung, editor Christian Peter Meier wrote a leading article explaining why the citizens of Zug should seize this opportunity and vote for the City Tunnel and related Zentrum Plus project.
 
Meier mentioned how he had recently been to a number of cities of various size in German-speaking Europe, such as Munich, Frankfurt, Bad Homburg, Vienna, Schaffhausen and Lucerne, not specifically to take note of traffic-related matters, but he had been struck by vibrant pedestrian zones there, even in the mid-afternoons on weekdays.
 
He said how sad it was that Zug had no equivalent area. "Indeed, Baarerstrasse, Bahnhofstrasse and Neugasse are places which do not induce people to linger longer than they have to," he said. "Only Landsgemeindeplatz is free of traffic, and even those who initially opposed this are glad it is now," he added.
 
Meier feels that a City Tunnel with its four entry points and underground roundabout and not least, of course, the associated Zentrum Plus project could lead to a whole new era for the city with the area between the Metalli shopping centre in the north and the Casino in the south to a large extent closed to traffic. Furthermore, he said it was not right to refer to it all as a "monstrous project", as it has been by opponents. When complete, it will hardly be noticed," he claimed.
 
Naturally Meier understands the reservation about the huge cost and he recognises that there is opposition from locals who do not want to see traffic banned from the central areas to the same extent that it has been in Ascona in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino.
 
However, Meier (second photograph) sees it all as an investment for the future, not least in the way finance will come from a variety of sources namely the Swiss State, the canton, the city and local drivers themselves, albeit for a temporary period.
He conceded that, while such projects initially appeared gigantic, looking at them retrospectively they have been considered good value for money, and referred to the the cost of the construction of the Furka Tunnel between the cantons of Wallis and Uri, now regarded as bargain.
 
He also accepted it would be wrong to suggest the City Tunnel would solve all of Zug's traffic problems. "Nevertheless it will contribute to greater fluidity in transit traffic as well as enhancing the city centre. Naturally it is important other major roads, such as the northern access route, are improved, too, in order to improve traffic flow in areas where it is already reaching its limits at certain times, with or without a City Tunnel."
 
The editor felt that much of this congestion was as a result of increased private vehicular traffic and he hoped that further developments in technology, such as driverless cars, might help in the future, though he recognised that it would be a long time before the people of Zug, of all places, would be happy to give up their much-prized cars.
 
Hence it is no surprise that Meier is urging locals to vote for the tunnel project. "Voting against will only mean the traffic situation and the quality of life in the inner-city areas will deteriorate," he said. "For me, this would be a lost opportunity, and a disappointment in fact. On the other hand, if the project does not go ahead, it will not mean the demise of the city, as some doomsayers have inferred of late."