Katastrophenbucht to be upgraded

The infamous part of the lake shore in Zug will only be redeveloped along with the revision of the town planning, say the city council.

Since July 5, 1887, about 200 metres of the shore of Lake Zug have been practically unused: on that date, part of the old town sank into the flood waters, eleven people died and about 650 lost their homes. The sad event entered the history books as the ‘Vorstadtkatastrophe’ (suburban disaster) and gave this section of the lakeshore its current name: the ‘Katastrophenbucht’ (Disaster Bay).

Stefan W. Huber of the GLP parliamentary party feels that the layout of the lake promenade was thereby interrupted and remains incomplete, and has filed a postulate with the city parliament (Stadtparlament). "From a historical viewpoint, this ‘unpolished diamond’ is still unfinished: despite numerous plans, the 150-metre-long Katastrophenbucht has remained in its present, unfinished form for financial reasons," the statement reads. The GLP calls on the city council to find a more attractive solution for the Katastrophenbucht, as the low height sometimes forces people to duck while walking along there, and the regular flooding restricts its use. It was time to organise a competition to find ideas for the redesign and completion of the passage.

According to the city council, the legal basis is still lacking before the Katastrophenbucht can be redesigned.

In its interim report, which is now available, the city council (Stadtrat) states that it supports the approach of the postulants and wants to carry out the upgrading of this area in the coming years. "The area of the Katastrophenbucht and the Vorstadt (suburban area) around it represents an untapped potential In the town centre," the executive writes.

The Zug City Council also refers to the Local Planning Revision and the new Mobility and Open Space Concept, which is to be developed in the coming months, in consultation with the local population. There is also the discussion about the so-called ‘Zentrum plus’, from the Casino to the Gubelstrasse or from the lake shore to the slopes of the Zugerberg. "There are questions here about the traffic regime, as well as the use and design of the public outdoor space," the report continues.

Before the concrete planning in the area of Vorstadt/ Katastrophenbucht is started, however, a consensus must be found with the population on how the Zentrum plus should be developed further in the coming years. Without knowledge of these framework conditions, the city council does not consider it expedient to enter into planning work, and therefore intends to decide on the overall spatial strategy for the city of Zug in the first half of 2022, and to submit this to the Grossen Gemeinderat(Grand Municipal Council) for information purposes.

On the basis of this strategy, the city council will already take the concrete planning of projects into charge from 2022, and will revise the usage planning (zone plan and building regulations) from 2023. Accordingly, the executive has asked the Parliament for a postponement – the GLP postulate should only be considered within the context of the local planning revision.