Municipality wants to build road, private terraces to make way

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• For six years, residents in Naters (VS) have feared for their private terraces - now they can stay.
• The plan for a new traffic routing via the market square would have made it necessary to demolish the terraces, but now it has finally been rejected.
• The municipality wants to award a planning mandate and have developed new variants by the fall.

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First you invest a lot of money and time in the construction of a new terrace - and then it has to be torn down again by order from the very top: Some residents of the small municipality of Naters in Valais feared this horror scenario until the very end. Now the terrace owners can breathe a sigh of relief: demolition will not take place and the buildings will remain.

Those affected, such as Helmut Schmid and Angelika Schliecker, had to worry for a long time: Six years ago, they received a request from the municipality asking whether they would be prepared to demolish their terraces, which had just been built at the time, as part of the newly planned traffic routing on the Natisch market square.

It is only now that there is clarity: according to a press release, the municipality has abandoned the originally favored option. This would have required the demolition of the private areas, but is now no longer under discussion. Meanwhile, it remains unclear which new version of the traffic routing the municipality prefers.

Concrete proposals by the fall

According to the press release, various options are to be worked out. The redesign of traffic on the market square is still on the agenda, with the focus remaining on improving traffic safety, particularly for school routes. The aim is also to create better conditions for public transport, a barrier-free bus stop and more space for non-motorized traffic.

The municipality wants to award a planning mandate, which should deliver concrete solution proposals by fall 2025. The best option subsequently selected will then be presented to the population and those directly affected.

In general, the local traffic organization is being questioned: "The mobility situation in the municipality of Naters is currently unsatisfactory in some areas," writes the municipality, referring to conflicts between road users as well as the suboptimal road safety and parking situation.