Problem groups in the Volksgarten are “relocated” – the problem remains:
Instead of implementing the rules and regulations that already exist in the Volksgarten, the problem is pushed into a less visible area.
MFG Linz district spokeswoman Petra Lindner
Upper Austria/Linz (OTS) – And again only piecemeal for the Linz Volksgarten: A new concept, complex citizen surveys and months of standstill, which in the end brought another unsatisfactory result: “Instead of implementing the alcohol ban that has been in effect since July 2021 and punishing it accordingly, one is judged 200 meters away a new residence area for the problem groups. What’s the point of redesign, surveys and new rules if the city doesn’t even manage to implement the existing regulations?” asks MFG Linz district spokeswoman Petra Lindner.
Gangs of beggars, alcoholics and addicts as well as the homeless characterize the image of the Linz Volksgarten. The group, which regularly gathers in the northern area of the popular park, numbers up to 100 people. This is also evidenced by the countless beer cans and wine tetra packs that are left behind on the meadows and sidewalks every day. A sectoral alcohol ban enacted in July 2021 should have improved the situation, which was already intolerable at the time. This worked for a few weeks, the ban was punished rigorously and there were hardly any problems.
„Instead of implementing the rules and regulations that already exist in the Volksgarten, the problem is pushed into a less visible area.
“-MFG Linz district spokeswoman Petra Lindner-
But as is so often the case in “red” Linz, the reins were let loose and the situation got worse again. The city ignored the problem and the alcohol ban was hardly enforced. The security service, which costs almost two million euros and reports to the FPÖ security city councilor Raml, also avoids the problem area and ignores the issue of “alcohol ban” – although it is authorized to turn people away from public places and would therefore even have a hand in this matter. In the summer, large groups of beggars always set up home, wash their laundry in the public toilet and hang it up in the park, sleep in the meadow and relieve themselves right next to it. Drugs are also often dealt in the park: “These are intolerable conditions,” says Petra Lindner.
“Nothing is going to change”
As a result of the redesign process of the Volksgarten, the glorious idea was born to simply move the resting area of the problem groups from the tram stop area at the Goethe intersection 200 meters further south: “Here the motto was “Out of sight, out of mind”. “Instead of implementing the rules and regulations that already exist in the Volksgarten, the problem is being pushed into a less visible area,” says Lindner.
Implement green spaces regulations!
In addition to the existing alcohol ban, the city of Linz’s green space regulations already offer more than enough opportunities to ensure a thriving community in the park (-> https://www.linz.at/serviceguide/brochure.php?id=25). But just like with the current alcohol ban, people prefer to look for new, complex “solutions” instead of using the tools they already have. Petra Lindner: “The biggest problem is the feeling of insecurity. Women hardly venture through the park alone, especially in the evenings. This will not change if the problem groups spend their time in a different area, as the busy connection route to the main train station also runs past the planned new location.”
Petra Lindner is convinced: The only lever for truly improving the situation is to enforce compliance with legal requirements.
Questions & Contact:
MFG State Parliament Club Upper Austria
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