Is it appropriate to heat a cycle path and footpath?

The authority acting on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Staatliche Bauamt Traunstein, was not exactly lucky in the construction of the Heilig-Geist-Steg over the B304 in Traunstein, which cost around two million euros. This created a safe crossing option for pedestrians and cyclists, which was finally opened to traffic in mid-2020 after some bad luck and breakdowns.

When the two halves of the bridge were lifted, it turned out that the two halves of the joint, which was ultimately still to be closed, the so-called final assembly joint, gaped several centimetres apart in different directions. The two halves could therefore not be welded together professionally. It therefore took a good year until the errors were corrected and the bridge was completed.

There were no additional costs for taxpayers for the remedial measures. However, they had to bear the costs of around 150,000 euros for the heating installed in the bridge. According to the Traunstein State Building Authority, these are “electric heating elements embedded in the pavement. Based on sensors for temperature and humidity, the control system automatically detects a risk of icing and switches the heating on and off accordingly, but manual influence is also possible”. Since the city of Traunstein had to bear the maintenance burden for the footpath and cycle path, it also had to bear the electricity costs for heating the footpath and cycle path. In 2021, integrated heating consumed around 85,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. For this purpose, around 23,000 euros in electricity costs have been incurred.

This was apparently too much for the new mayor of the large district town of Traunstein. “The current practice – that is certain – is neither ecologically nor with common sense comprehensible. [… ] The large district town of Traunstein will no longer heat the bridge from a financial and ecological point of view. Since the heating is turned off, it is necessary to clear and spread the footpath and cycle path. In the future, this will be done by employees of the winter service of the large district town of Traunstein, which is contractually responsible for the construction and maintenance burden for the footpath and cycle path,” he told the Federation of Taxpayers.