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Residents have been fighting a legal battle for ten years over the introduction of a 30 km/h zone on Seestrasse in Stäfa.
Keystone/Salvatore Di Nolfi (Symbolbild)
Protracted legal dispute in the canton of Zurich: the building appeals court once again rules in favor of residents and orders a 30 km/h speed limit on a section of Seestrasse in Stäfa - but the cantonal police take action against it.
The residents of Seetrasse in Stäfa have been fighting for a 30 km/h zone for ten years. Countless expert opinions have been drawn up and the courts have already ruled three times. Now the dispute over a speed limit on the "Gold Coast highway" has been given yet another chapter, as reported by the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper.
According to the report, the cantonal police do not accept a ruling by the building appeals court and will take legal action against it. The court had previously ruled in favor of the residents and instructed the canton to limit the speed limit to 30 kilometers per hour in the Kehlhof district. This is the only way to comply with the noise limits. The measure is necessary and proportionate. The cantonal police have lodged an appeal with the administrative court; the ruling is not legally binding.
The dispute over the speed limit has a long history and goes back to a renovation project from 2016. The aim was to reduce the noise on Seestrasse. However, this was not to be achieved through a speed limit, but with the help of soundproof windows. In the section in question, the speed limit at the time was 60 kilometers per hour.
However, several residents felt that the measures were inadequate and appealed to the building appeals court, which ruled in their favor for the first time in 2017. The canton was obliged to seriously consider limiting the speed limit to 30 kilometers per hour as a noise protection measure.
Following an expert opinion, the canton initially lowered the speed limit from 60 to 50, and a noise-reducing surface was also to be installed. But the legal dispute continued. Finally, in 2022, the building appeals court reprimanded the canton again. The rejection of a 30 km/h zone was insufficiently justified and a more detailed examination was necessary.
However, the authorities stuck to a limit of 50 kilometers per hour - also because they feared a chain reaction. This is because the Seestrasse runs through a densely populated area. If a 30 km/h speed limit was introduced in the affected section, this could lead to similar demands in other areas. The building appeals court decisively rejected this argument in its latest ruling. The proportionality test focuses on the "specific case of redevelopment".
Zurich lawyer Martin Looser was pleasantly surprised at how thoroughly the court dealt with the case. The judgment is "of very good quality", he tells the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper. The Vice President of the Swiss Noise League has been campaigning for stricter noise protection measures for years and represents those affected. He has no understanding for the behavior of the authorities in the Stäfa case: "In my view, the way the cantonal police are resisting this is clearly contrary to federal law."
While the legal dispute in Stäfa continues, Federal Councillor Rösti wants to create facts with a nationwide ordinance. Before introducing a 30 km/h zone, it will now be necessary to prove that the measure will not cause any undesirable traffic diversion through the neighborhoods. Even if there is too much noise, a 30 km/h speed limit should remain possible, but priority should be given to whispering surfaces.
