Ketteler- and Don-Bosco-Strasse

Brief info

• Project: Renewal
• Objective: Structural and functional improvements
• Schedule: 2025/2026
• Project phase: Preliminary planning

Current

With reference to the City of Aachen's road and path concept dated 24.08.2022, the administration provides information about an upcoming road construction project. Once the comments and ideas from the participation process have been incorporated, the planning decision is then to be made.

Map

Occasion and goal

Regionetz GmbH is planning to renew the supply lines in Kettelerstraße and Don-Bosco-Straße from October 2024. In this context, the ancillary facilities and carriageways in both streets are to be renewed. To this end, the cross-section of the roads will be redistributed according to the functional requirements.

Today's situation

The two residential streets are located in the Aachen-Forst district. They have a low traffic load and are built according to the separation principle. The speed limit is 30 km/h. Their road cross-section is relatively narrow at approx. 9.00 m. The streets are very similar in their characteristics (layout and use of the road space) and are therefore treated together. The two residential streets each connect Reinhardstraße with Bodelschwinghstraße. Residential paths are connected to both streets.

The northern sidewalk of Kettelerstraße measures approx. 1.20 to 1.70 m in width and therefore does not meet the space requirements for two pedestrians meeting in accordance with RASt 06, whereas the southern sidewalk with a width of approx. 2.65 m meets these requirements. The southern sidewalk of Don-Bosco-Straße is only approx. 0.60 to 1.45 m wide. The northern sidewalk is approx. 2.95 to 3.20 m wide. According to RASt 06, the minimum dimension for two pedestrians meeting is 1.80 m, including safety spaces to the roadway and enclosures/buildings it is even 2.50 m. Sidewalks at least 1.50 m wide are required for the installation of tactile guidance elements. The carriageways of both roads measure 5.10 m to 5.40 m.

On both streets, roadside parking without markings is permitted. In front of the junction with Bodelschwinghstraße, there are perpendicular parking spaces available. There are currently approx. 17 parking spaces in Kettelerstraße and approx. 21 in Don-Bosco-Straße.

The city of Aachen is promoting the expansion of the electric charging infrastructure. Currently, Kettelerstrasse and Don-Bosco-Strasse do not have any publicly accessible electric charging points. For the area between Sonnenscheinstraße, Bodelschwinghstraße and Don-Bosco-Straße, a demand of four vehicle charging points is forecast for 2031.

Planning

The principles of the current regulations are observed during planning. When weighing up the planning elements, the basic principle is that road safety for all road users must take precedence over convenience (VwV-StVO, General Administrative Regulation on Road Traffic Regulations, Section A, to § 39-43).

The Regionetz pipeline work will make it possible to redistribute the cross-section of both streets, improve their condition and, in particular, make them more comfortable for pedestrians. The administration's plans essentially include measures for pedestrian safety and accessibility as well as measures to green the streets and improve the inner-city microclimate (planting trees).

There are possible cross-section variants for the conversion. It is also conceivable to route traffic in one-way traffic (as a one-way street).

The plans envisage the conversion of Kettelerstrasse and Don-Bosco-Strasse according to the separation principle, with the traffic area being divided into structurally separate areas for motor vehicle traffic and pedestrian traffic. The maximum permitted speed limit is 30 km/h.

One side of the footpath will be 1.50 m wide to allow the installation of tactile elements. This allows the other side of the sidewalk (northern side of Kettelerstraße and southern side of Don-Bosco-Straße) to measure 2.25 m each. Furthermore, parking is possible on one side of the carriageway in both streets. According to the current planning status, the northern side of Kettelerstraße and the southern side of Don-Bosco-Straße are most suitable for planning new tree locations due to the location of the cables. These are planned between the parking lots. The wider footpath (2.25 m wide) is to run behind them. Due to the routing behind the parked vehicles, the necessary safety space to the flowing traffic is omitted, so that the standard width of 2.25 m is achieved. In addition, as is currently the case at the junctions with Bodelschwinghstraße, perpendicular parking spaces are planned in both streets. The sidewalk behind them measures 2.00 to 2.20 m. Bicycle racks, e-parking spaces and additional tree locations are also planned.

After the conversion, approx. 17 parking spaces will be available between the trees in the public space. The roads can be designated as one-way streets or remain passable in both directions, whereby the 3.20 m wide lane is only sufficient for one-way traffic. The fire lanes then also serve as alternative areas for passing traffic.

The full extension of the sidewalks will include a continuous tactile guidance system for the blind and visually impaired as well as crossing points with split kerb drops. Due to the linear nature of both roads, speeds may be higher than permitted. This would be exacerbated by the creation of a one-way street and the associated elimination of two-way traffic by motor vehicles.

To calm traffic and reduce speeds, the entire road cross-section will be raised approximately in the middle of both streets. This includes an approx. 1 m wide ramp from the level of house number 7 in Don-Bosco-Straße and at the level of house number 15 in Kettelerstraße. The raised section has a length of approx. 31 m in Don-Bosco-Straße and approx. 33 m in Kettelerstraße and includes the junction with the respective cross streets.

Contrary to the original planning, which was presented in the Mitte district council on 16.11.22 and in the public participation process, the planning was adjusted in certain areas following the participation process. As a result, the planning presented in this submission only contains one variant and not two as originally planned.

Costs

At the current planning stage, the costs are roughly calculated using the area to be rebuilt. Regardless of the variant, the costs are estimated at around € 1.7 million (sum of the costs for both roads).

The funds required to implement the measures will be budgeted neutrally in future budget planning. Decisions on the implementation of the measure, including costs and financing, are reserved for the implementation resolution.

Next steps

Following the planning decision, the planning will be further specified in the course of the implementation planning. The road construction can probably be implemented from 2025 after the Regionetz measure.

Political consulting 

16.11.2022: Consultation in the Aachen-Mitte district council

Council info template