Lütticher Strasse 2nd BA

Brief info

• Project phase: Preliminary planning

Current

The necessary parking space survey for the "U" residents' parking zone is scheduled to take place in the second quarter of 2025 before the summer vacation.

Map

The 2nd construction phase (2nd BA) of Lütticher Straße between Limburger Straße and Amsterdamer Ring/Hohenstaufenallee has been functionally deficient for many years. A fundamental renovation of the road and a redesign of the entire traffic area are therefore necessary.
But before the redesign can begin, two things have to happen.

Firstly, the politicians have to approve the conversion. And then Regionetz will renew the supply lines for gas, water and electricity in this section of Lütticher Straße. Only then can the city redesign the street and the side areas (footpaths and cycle paths, parking spaces, trees, green spaces) in accordance with the latest regulations.

The city administration of Aachen presented the current planning in detail in a digital event on January 19, 2021.
Two presentations were shown at this event. One (a) provided information on the various aspects and topics related to the planned redesign of Lütticher Straße. The other (b) presented and classified the submissions that had already been received by the administration by January 18. By then, 266 comments, suggestions and critical remarks had been received. The broadcast is still available on the YouTube channel of the City of Aachen. the video of the live broadcast on January 19, 2021

Occasion

Lütticher Straße is part of the classified road network and main road network of the city of Aachen as federal highway 264. It leads southwest towards Belgium and connects to the Alleenring in the north. It forms a historic axis and, with its Wilhelminian-style buildings and old trees, represents a special urban situation that is to be taken into account in the planned full expansion.

To this end, the preliminary design planning of the planning office commissioned at the time was presented at the meeting of the Aachen-Mitte district council on 05.11.2008 and in the mobility committee on. 27.11.2008 and the Mobility Committee on 27.11.2008 and the administration was commissioned to conduct a public information session. The Aachen-Mitte district council and the mobility committee then discussed the results of the public information and the preliminary design plans on 27.05.2009 and 04.06.2009 respectively. The 1st construction phase between Schanz and Limburger Straße was completed in 2015. The 2nd construction phase from Limburger Straße to Amsterdamer Ring, which is the subject of this report, is around 700 m long.

In the Aachen-Mitte district council on 04.09.2013 and in the mobility committee on 19.09.2013, the construction resolution was passed for this in order to be able to submit the funding application in accordance with the Unbundling Act.

As part of the implementation planning, the vitality of the entire stock of street trees in the second construction phase was checked in 2017. The majority of the trees only have a limited lifespan and are to be replaced by new plantings. The row of trees facing the residential buildings in the section from Klemensstraße to Hohenstaufenallee should be preserved. The administration examined whether this would allow for a different cross-sectional layout and guidance of cycle traffic that would meet the requirements of tree protection, the cycling decision and the currently applicable guidelines. The results are presented below.

Today's situation

With the exception of the outer ring road offset between Brüsseler Ring and Amsterdamer Ring, Lütticher Straße is a rather lightly used radial road (as of 2008: approx. 6,000 - 7,000 vehicles/7-19 hrs). In the section dealt with here, it provides access to the Couvengymnasium and the Franziskuskrankenhaus.

The speed limit is generally 50 km/h, but is reduced to 30 km/h in the area of the Couvengymnasium for just under 200 m and for a limited time (Mon - Fri, 7 am - 6 pm). The road between Limburger Strasse and Amsterdamer Ring is around 24 m wide throughout. In summary, the various demands on the road space are as follows:

Cycling and walking

In the first construction section between Schanz and Limburger Straße, protective lanes were marked on both sides for cyclists in 2015. In the first construction section between Schanz and Limburger Straße, protective lanes were marked on both sides for cycle traffic in 2015. In the second construction phase now under discussion, there is a 1.50 m wide cycle path (not subject to mandatory use) between a footpath, also around 1.50 m wide, and stationary traffic from the junction with Limburger Straße onwards.

Towards the city center, the approximately 3.10 m wide sidewalk between Hohenstaufenallee and Klemensstraße is open to cyclists, followed by an approximately 3.00 m wide cycle path (not subject to mandatory use) next to the approximately 3.20 m wide sidewalk as far as Limburger Straße. In November 2019, the cycling referendum was approved by a majority of Aachen City Council. Among other things, it formulates safe cycle paths on main roads as a goal:

"Every year, 5 km of cycle paths are built on main roads, which connect two junctions without gaps as one-way cycle paths 2.30 m wide. They are structurally protected from traffic, stopping and parking by motor vehicles. The cycle paths will be built without reducing the space available for pedestrian traffic and public transport and will also be structurally separated from them."

Public transportation

Lütticher Straße has an important function for public transport. The affected section is used by bus routes 4 and 24. The "Franziskushospital" stop is located at the junction with Sanatoriumstraße and is designed as a roadside stop in both directions. The "Preusweg" stop is located in the immediate vicinity of the Amsterdamer Ring / Hohenstaufenallee junction and is designed as a bus stop bay in both directions.

Stationary traffic / parking

In this section, there are 179 parking spaces for cars in public areas. Out of town, parking is mostly on the edge of the road, and in the area of the junction with Limburger Straße also vertically in a parking bay. Towards the city center, parking is mainly vertical and often disorderly on unpaved areas below the trees. The section from Limburger Straße to Sanatoriumstraße is part of the residents' parking zone "U".

Street greening

There are a total of 86 urban trees in the 2nd construction phase of Lütticher Straße. Of these, 67 trees are subject to the provisions of the tree protection statutes due to their trunk circumference. According to the tree assessment carried out by FB 36 and E 18 in October 2017, only 28 of the 86 urban trees have a vitality that suggests a long life expectancy. The limited vitality is mainly the result of ground conditions that are hostile to trees due to vehicles parked in the green strip running through.

FB 36/400 is of the opinion that, after weighing up all interests, the existing trees in the section from Limburger Strasse to Klemensstrasse should be replaced with future-oriented, uniform and long-lasting new planting as part of the construction project.

To protect the row of trees to be preserved in the Klemensstraße to Hohenstaufenallee section, the traffic areas should be brought up to a maximum of 4.00 m from the tree trunks. The development planning is to be designed in such a way that no negative tree balance is created. For further analysis of the existing situation, please refer to the previous administrative documents.

Planning

The appendices show two selected cross-sections in the sections

• Limburger Straße - Klemensstraße ("cross-section 1" at the level of house no. 113 / 154) and
• Klemensstraße - Hohenstaufenallee ("cross-section 2" at the level of house no. 137 / 172)

shown.

Planning decided to date

The cross-section adopted in the 2013 construction decision divides the street space as follows: On the east side, perpendicular parking and the existing trees will be partially retained. New trees will be planted there as well as in the western longitudinal parking lane. A 1.5 m wide protective lane (with a 0.75 m wide safety separation strip next to the perpendicular parking) will be created for cyclists heading into the city and a 1.25 m wide protective lane (with a 0.5 m wide safety separation strip next to the longitudinal parking) will be created heading out of the city. The remaining lane width is 4.9 m. The sidewalk is 2.50 m wide towards the city center and 2.00 m wide away from the city center. A detailed description of the approved planning can be found in the submission for the construction decision

On 11.11.2020, revised cross-section variants were presented to the Aachen-Mitte district council(administrative presentation). These took into account the changed requirements of tree protection, the cycling decision and the currently valid guidelines compared to the draft planning adopted in 2013:

- Variant 1 with 1.50m wide protective lanes on both sides for cycle traffic,
- Variant 2 with 2.30m wide protected bike lanes on both sides,
- Variant 3 with a 1.85m wide cycle lane out of town and a 1.90m to 2.00m wide cycle path into town and
- Variant 4 as a combination solution consisting of a protected bike lane and cycle lane out of town and a built cycle path into town.

Following the digital citizens' dialog on 19.01.2021, all cross-section variants were examined with regard to the numerous ideas and comments and the existing proposals were further developed in an additional variant 5.
A planning decision on the new variants has not yet been made. At the meeting of the Mobility Committee on 22.04.2021, the administration was commissioned to draw up an additional planning variant in the site plan based on the cross-sections for variant 5 and variant 2 in order to obtain the decision including this basis(administrative document).

Variant 2

In accordance with the objectives of the cycling decision, cycle traffic is kept separate in each direction on separate, 2.30 m wide cycle paths. The sidewalks are 2.50 m wide. The carriageway is 6.50 m wide and designed for bus traffic. In the section from Limburger Straße to Klemensstraße (cross-section 1), new trees are planned between the bidirectional cycle path and the perpendicular parking area, the locations of which are compatible with the existing supply lines in the ancillary facilities. In cross-section 2, the above-mentioned higher space requirement for cycle traffic and tree protection would mean that no parking space could be offered in the public road space here. Accordingly, a compromise proposal envisages the creation of a longitudinal parking lane with tree fields, at least towards the city center. The distance between the traffic facilities and the existing trees would then be 2.75 m. The prerequisite for a distance of less than 4.00 m to the existing trees is the professional and proper construction of the cycle traffic areas, taking into account a careful and gentle working method for the trees (e.g. manual excavation). In addition, structural protection elements may be necessary (e.g. individually constructed root bridges).

Variant 5

In contrast to the previous cross-section variants, the cycle facilities in variant 5 are located in the adjacent facilities in both directions of travel. The cycle lane is 2.30 m (cross-section 1) or 2.00 m (cross-section 2) wide in the direction into town and 2.00 m wide out of town. Out of town, a longitudinal parking lane with tree fields is planned. Towards the city, there are one or two rows of trees at the level of the perpendicular parking stands. The trees to be preserved are about 2.30 m away from the cycle path. In the course of developing the site plan, it will be examined whether additional parking facilities can be created in sections outside the crown areas while maintaining the necessary safety distances from the cycle path. In this variant, traffic area widths conforming to regulations and a row of trees on both sides are made possible for all types of traffic. Towards the city center, the first cross-section of the cycle lane complies with the cycle decision dimension and otherwise corresponds to the standard dimension according to the recommendations for cycle traffic facilities (ERA 2010) and thus also allows overtaking. The situation for pedestrians out of town is significantly improved.
When weighing up the planning elements, the basic principle is that road safety for all road users must take precedence over the comfort of road users (VwV-StVO, General Administrative Regulation on Road Traffic Regulations, Section A, to § 39-43).
Cross-section variants with structurally separated single-use cycle paths were developed, taking into account the interests of cyclists and tree protection. In contrast, the protective lanes previously decided upon may be crossed by motor vehicles if necessary. Therefore, the newly planned variants with clearly separated cycle lanes represent at least a subjective improvement in road safety for cyclists.
The creation of structurally protected one-way cycle lanes with a width of 2.30 m in accordance with the aim of the cycling decision is also possible in principle on Lütticher Straße between Limburger Straße and Amsterdamer Ring, while maintaining a distance of 4.00 m from the protected trees. However, a road layout that meets these requirements and also ensures sufficiently wide vehicle lanes, traffic spaces for pedestrians and parking facilities cannot be implemented in the existing road cross-section.
In view of the restoration of an avenue character on Lütticher Straße, a variant with trees planted on both sides would be preferable. However, the high-quality tree population of the current double-row avenue only allows for a redesign in line with the wheel decision to an extremely limited extent. An improvement in the tree balance is basically possible in all variants by eliminating parking space in favor of tree planting.

Next steps

In the Mobility Committee on 17.02.2022, it was decided that the planning for the conversion of Lütticher Straße would only be completed and decided on as soon as findings on the effects of the "U" residents' parking zone, among other things, were available. The parking space survey required for this is to take place in the 2nd quarter of 2025 before the summer vacations.

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