Villacher Postgasse becomes a temporary pedestrian zone

Between Saturday, 25 September 2021 and Friday, 08 October 2021, we will transform the Postgasse in Villach's city centre into a pedestrian zone as part of our "Tac|Mob" project.

photo montage of the Postgasse as an encounter zone

© queraum

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photo montage on the design possibilities of the Postgasse in the course of the project "Tactical Mobilism"

press photograph "Postgasse becomes an encounter zone"

© City of Villach

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press photograph for the temporary redesign of Villach's Postgasse - pictured from the left, City Councillor Harald Sobe, Linda Dörrzapf (TU Wien), Anita Rappauer (queraum), Kurt Fallast (PLANUM GmbH)

On Saturday, 25 September 2021, an exciting project will start in Villach's city centre: Postgasse will be transformed into a pedestrian zone until Friday, 8 October 2021.

Visit the Postgasse during this period and let the encounter zone take effect on you. Instead of cars standing around idle most of the day, the Postgasse invites you to actively use it from Saturday onwards. You will notice that the design of the public space should not primarily serve motorised traffic but the citizens.

About the pedestrian zone

What will the pedestrian zone in Villach look like?

"From 25 September to 8 October, the Postgasse will be covered in greenery and decorated with street furniture made by participants of the Girls' Centre," explains city planning representative Harald Sobe. Furthermore, there will be public seating areas without any obligation to consume, as well as a special art platform that organisations, associations, schools and artists can use during the two weeks. Numerous institutions have already announced their participation and would like to inform about their activities.

On Saturday, 25 September, the Postgasse will be closed for traffic from 2 to 10 pm. From 2 p.m., anyone interested can watch or help with the set-up. From 4 pm the Radlobby Kärnten will set up a children's bike course. Other outdoor games will be available for free.
In the following days, the open spaces in the alley can be used as desired. You are also cordially invited to the events on the art platform.

"Tactical Mobilism" aims to show new ways in urban and transport planning. The goal is to collect ideas for a future-oriented and sustainable redesign of squares and streets together with citizens. Due to the time limit for the redesign of individual streets, various ideas can be played out in consultation and with the participation of the citizens before a possible project is finally implemented.

There were many research and citizen participation activities in advance, such as virtual as well as traditional discussions with some of Villach's associations, organisations and institutions. Furthermore, entrepreneurs were interviewed. In addition, workshops as well as exploratory tours through the Postgasse were carried out with the young women of the Girls' Centre Villach and a walk-through with members of the Platform Migration and representatives of the Poverty Network. In the form of postcards and by means of an interactive exploration tour, citizens were able to provide their own impulses for the design of the area.

About the "Tactical Mobilism - Interventions for a Sustainable Mobility Culture" project

The redesign of the Postgasse is part of the project „Tac|Mob“. With the help of the project we initiate temporary, simple and cost-effective interventions in public space. These interventions should lead to the transformation of mobility spaces. A participatory approach is indispensable for this, because only in harmony with (local) actors a long-term change in mobility culture can be achieved. The city of Villach is an ideal pilot city for testing the design of alternative mobility spaces. In the next step, the findings can be transferred to other medium-sized cities. 

 

Has the project sparked your interest? Find out more about the project on the website of the city of Villach, opens an external URL in a new window or on our website.