Residents feel themselves ignored and not taken seriously

Residents living near the roundabout in Holzhäusern and along the cantonal road from there to Buonas and Risch are calling for measures to reduce noise and improve safety. They feel that the canton's response is a delaying tactic.
 

Residents of the Holzhäusernstrasse recently staged a balloon campaign from the Holzhäusern roundabout to Oberrisch in order to draw attention to the long-overdue and, in their view, urgently needed noise protection measures on the road. They accuse the Zug Building Department (Baudirektion) of wanting to indefinitely delay the noise protection measures on the main road that are prescribed by the federal government. The conflict has a long history (see below).

‘The residents feel they have been fobbed off and not taken seriously,’ says their spokesperson Daniel Brunner, who has been campaigning for 30 km/h zones in the canton of Zug for years. ‘Because, less than two months before the opening of the new cantonal school in Rotkreuz, there is not even a project proposal on the table for the safety measures that were announced in August 2024 for the Holzhäusern roundabout, where the most accidents in the entire canton of Zug have occurred over the past ten years.’

‘The announcement was probably just used to get rid of the annoying objection,’ he adds. Road noise remediation through measures at the source, such as a 30 km/h speed limit on main roads, is also a right protected by the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgericht). The remediation deadline, which was extended several times by the Federal Council, expired on 31st March 2018. ‘By abandoning the project, the Building Department is violating the rights of residents, in terms of both timing and content.’

Speed reduction as a noise protection and safety measure
But what exactly are the objectors demanding? Daniel Brunner points out that the entire stretch, from the Holzhäusern roundabout to the end of Oberrisch, is undisputedly in need of noise remediation. ‘Residents have been demanding measures at the source, for example, effective, low-noise surfacing throughout and a 30 km/h speed limit in the towns of Risch, Buonas and Holzhäusern, as well as at the “Engel roundabout”.’

Safety and noise protection measures are to be implemented at the ‘Engel roundabout’ in Holzhäusern and on Holzhäusernstrasse        
The ‘Engel roundabout’ in Holzhäusern poses a particular danger to cyclists
The ‘Engel roundabout’ in Holzhäusern is almost never as deserted as it is in this picture
Photos: Stefan Kaiser
 

In addition, there are a number of traffic black spots on the section of road in question, for which a 30 km/h speed limit would be an effective and cost-efficient solution. At the Holzhäusern roundabout in particular, the introduction of a 30 km/h speed limit would be very beneficial, as massive improvements elsewhere have shown. ‘An “early” 30 km/h signage would also be an obvious safety measure for the road leading from the Seestrasse to the Holzhäusernstrasse in Buonas, which is frequently used to access to the lakeside swimming area,’ says Daniel Brunner.

‘Early’ here means that the measure should come into force before the completion of structural alterations. ‘This would improve noise protection and road safety in one fell swoop.’ Many residents in Holzhäusern also want a 30 km/h speed limit, because the current 50 km/h speed limit on the wide cantonal road effectively separates the different parts of the village from each other.

Vehicles that are travelling (too) fast, at well over 60 kilometres per hour, suddenly appear ‘out of nowhere’ near the Golf Park. ‘Residents in Buonas have wanted a 30 km/h speed limit for decades,’ continues Daniel Brunner. The Risch municipality itself applied to the canton for a 30 km/h speed limit, but this was unsuccessful, despite confusing bottlenecks and crossings for schoolchildren.  The speed limit In Oberrisch is even 60 km/h in some places, because it is ‘only built up on one side’ and therefore considered ‘outside the town’. ‘That is unacceptable,’ says Daniel Brunner, indignantly.

When asked, Director of Construction Florian Weber writes: ‘An administrative court appeal is pending in connection with the above-mentioned noise remediation project. We therefore cannot provide any further information at this time.’ The Holzhäusern roundabout construction project in Risch is currently in the planning stage. ‘The public consultation is scheduled for the first half of 2026. The preliminary project for the Blegistrasse–Waldheim section has been completed.’ Residents' requests can be submitted during the public consultation.
 

What has happened so far
In the winter of 2022, the Civil Engineering Office of the Canton of Zug launched the Holzhäusern roundabout – Holzhäusern – Buonas – Risch – Oberrisch Noise Remediation Project (LSP:Lärmsanierungsprojekt). This included the installation of a low-noise road surface within the residential area of around 3,200 metres, and exemptions from the noise remediation obligation for nine properties. Twenty-two residents then lodged objections to this, as they considered the non-imposition of the 30 km/h speed limit within their vollages to be a violation of the federal Environmental Protection Law (Umweltschutzgesetz).

On 15th March 2023, the objectors and the Building Department conducted an on-site inspection, with residents giving brief statements on the noise and safety problems along the 5.2-kilometre stretch. Instead of ruling on the objection, the Building Department then cancelled the LSP on 12 August 2024, on the grounds that, in view of the opening of the Rotkreuz Cantonal School at its temporary location, it was urgently necessary to improve traffic safety for cyclists at the Holzhäusern roundabout. On 19th September 2024, on behalf of the objectors, lawyer Ursula Ramseier lodged an administrative appeal against the decision to terminate the LSP; the court decision is pending.