Citizen raises accusations Ittigen treats itself to a bike for 170,000 francs - and is now in trouble
170,000 francs for a monument in honor of Fabian Cancellara: a golden bike is causing trouble in Ittigen - due to a lack of permits, unclear financing and a complaint from the town's own ranks.
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- According to a complaint, a monument in honor of Fabian Cancellara was erected in the traffic circle at the RBS train station in Ittigen without the necessary building permit.
- The golden bicycle ended up costing around CHF 170,000 instead of the approved CHF 50,000 - there is no formal municipal council resolution for the additional costs.
- The regional governor's office must now check whether the planning, financing and execution of the project were in accordance with the rules, as reported by the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper.
It is said to have cost 170,000 francs to decorate a traffic circle in Ittigen with a golden bicycle. The work of art is dedicated to Fabian Cancellara, one of the most successful professionals in the history of Swiss cycling.
The time trial specialist won the Tour de Suisse in 2009 and has two Olympic gold medals and four world championship titles to his name. He is now co-owner of the Swiss cycling team Tudor Pro Cycling.
It is understandable that his home municipality in the Bernese Mittelland is honoring him with a monument. Nevertheless, a regulatory complaint has now been filed against the structure erected in August 2023 in the traffic circle at the RBS train station, as reported by the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper.
The accusation: the golden bicycle, in particular the pedestal on which it is enthroned, was erected without a permit. There were also uncertainties regarding the financing. In general, several plans and regulations were not implemented correctly for the project. The spicy thing is that the complaint was made by a former employee of the municipality's civil engineering department.
Costs explode, the municipal council knows nothing
Originally estimated at CHF 50,000 and approved by the municipal council, the golden bike is said to have cost CHF 170,000 in the end. According to the Tages-Anzeiger, this was the result of the council's own research. However, there was no formal municipal council resolution on the additional 120,000 francs. Although the committee was informed, it was effectively presented with a fait accompli: Orders had already been placed and partially executed.
The driving force behind the monument was the then municipal president Marco Rupp (Ittigen Citizens' Association, BVI), who did not wish to comment on the incident. In the course of the redesign and redevelopment of the area and the RBS station in Ittigen, there had been a dispute in the municipal council due to rising costs (from CHF 10 million to CHF 15 million) in 2021.
According to the "Tages-Anzeiger" newspaper, the regional governor's office has yet to comment on the allegations. Only the receipt of the complaint has been confirmed. Municipal president Thomas Stauffer (BVI) has not answered specific questions about how much the traffic circle project cost or whether there was a formal decision by the municipal council or a building permit.
Now the responsible regional governor's office is to assess whether everything went according to plan during the execution of the work on the traffic circle - or whether the golden monument to Fabian Cancellara stands on feet of clay.
