Design of the town centre of Cham

The Cham/Hünenberg bypass project (UCH) includes measures to make the town centre unattractive to through traffic. It's now up to the people.

The Cham municipal councillor and head of security Drin Alaj (SP party) is being offered an opportunity that many politicians would dream of: he is being allowed to help shape the centre of his home municipality and to refine it with the help of the population. After the project is completed, he may even be handed a pair of scissors to cut the red ribbon!

This is part of the Cham/Hünenberg bypass (UCH). In this CHF 230 million project, the demand that the centre of Cham be relieved of through traffic is compellingly formulated.

Drin Alaj is a local councillor who aims for a balance. This is shown by the fact that he thanked a large number of people for their support on Tuesday evening in the Mandelhof, at the presentation of the winning project for the "Autoarmes Zentrum AAZ" (low traffic centre) project.

A jury had selected a winner from the four project ideas. Its name is fittingly: "Chom now". Locals must thereby have had a hand in this, because Zug residents usually renounce the long letter ‘O’ instead of the A in the name "Cham".

Local councillor Drin Alaj said the following about the winning project’s concept: "This has a lot of potential." The head of security also conveyed to those present that the project for a low-traffic centre involves a difficult task. Starting with the involvement of the local population, he said during the presentation that a new chapter and a change in strategy has begun.

The design of the squares will follow in a second step
The new strategy involves splitting up the planning steps in the heart of Cham. In a first step, attention will be given to the design of the street space. And the focus will then be on the Dorfplatz, the Kirchplatz and the Rigiplatz.

This two-stage procedure was necessary because each redesign brought different usage requirements to the surface. The general provisions for the redesign of the various spaces in the centre of Cham also need to be clarified.

The squares in the centre of Cham should serve "as daily meeting, play and recreation places, as well as an event space for smaller and larger events", according to a communiqué sent out by the municipal council after the presentation.

Traffic jams are an ongoing issue in Cham             Photo: Matthias Jurt
Cham councillor Drin Alaj presents the status of the bypass
The projects will be on display in the Mandelhof until 27 March.                  Photos: Mathias Blattmann

Drin Alaj also reminded the audience that the municipality must first ascertain the claims of various landowners. This offensive approach is smart, because it may avoid legal disputes, which could even slow down projects of this magnitude.

He also emphasised to the guests at the Mandelhof that the chosen multi-stage procedure with a lot of participation was an "optimal solution". Many discussions are still necessary at all levels until the municipal assembly has a well thought-out project that is ready to be voted on. There is still some time.

The canton of Zug hopes to open the UCH in mid-2027. Once this has been achieved, the people of Cham can begin to transform their centre in a sustainable way. Traffic is to thereby be reduced by up to 70 % on the main traffic axes.

Competing projects are on display
The project will face its first test on the evening of 28 March. Those people who have registered can then become involved  in the public participation evening in the Lorzensaal in Cham.

Until that date, the various competition projects can be viewed at the Mandelhof during regular opening hours. One secret will probably remain a secret to the people of Cham for a while longer, however: the costs for the centre design. There was no mention of this on Tuesday.