Taking a walk alongside the tracks of the Papieribähnli

The re-utilisation of the Cham Papieri (former paper mill) site is considered to be a lighthouse project. In addition to apartments, numerous shops and restaurants will also be built there in the future. More people will thereby commute to the area and, in order to ensure access on foot or by bike, it’s planned to convert the tracks of the former paper mill railway over a length of around 600 metres. The realisation credit of CHF 1.396 million was approved by the municipal assembly last summer, and the building application has now been submitted.

This actually means that the section from the Papieri site to the Nestléstrasse will be redeveloped., The connection to Zug via the Cham footpath or to Cham railway station via Seehofstrasse is ensured from there. Wherever space permits, a 4-metre-wide foot and bike path will be created. According to the technical report accompanying the building application, it’s planned to keep the existing tracks "as a monument to the Cham industry". In other words, they will be included in the redesign. The 1.5 metre wide space between the tracks will be filled with marl (an earthy mixture of fine-grained minerals) up to the top of the rails. To avoid any risk of slipping on the still visible tracks, they will be given an anti-slip coating. According to the report, a 2.5 metre wide new asphalt strip will be built next to the track.

The tracks of the former paper mill were shut down in 2014.

Safety will also be taken into account. The appropriate markings, such as pedestrian crossings, will be applied at the places where the pedestrian and cycle path will one day cross the Knonauerstrasse or the Zugerstrasse. In addition, speed reduction measures will be implemented in the area of the crossings. The re-utilisation of the site should not only benefit people, but also plants and animals. "The remaining areas will form a valuable networking axis for flora and fauna, with ecologically coordinated plantings," says the report. If everything goes according to plan, the work will be completed this year. The section between the Zugerstrasse and the Nestléstrasse is an exception. This can only be take place together with  the environmental work of the Zug waterworks company (Wasserwerke Zug WWZ).