At Pentecost, the Gotthard must cost: Uri National Council wants to ask travelers to pay

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On the Pentecost weekend, traffic jams for the Gotthard tunnel are as certain as amen in the “Chileli vo Wasse”. Central National Councilor Simon Stadler, “Stieregrind” on the lapel of the suit, has declared war on him. The 35-year-old, who has been representing the canton of Uri in Bern since 2019, wants to ask travelers who get into the car during rush hour to pay. “Conditions are no longer acceptable for the people of Uri Canton,” Stadler said. The problem is the impatient people who leave the highway in Göschenen, Amsteg or Erstfeld to escape the traffic jams – and then block the villages. The consequences: people from Uri are late or not at all for work. Ambulance, fire brigade or police can no longer get through. If an accident happens upstairs, the paramedics downstairs get stuck in traffic.

The Federal Road Agency (Astra) is currently working on a report that aims to find solutions for improving traffic management on the Gotthard. A success for Stadler: his initiative received broad support in parliament last autumn. Stadler is convinced that in order to break through the peaks, you must be able to control the traffic. “Traffic is less before and after the holidays.” Together with GLP and FDP, the man in the middle now wants to see whether a dynamic toll system can be introduced on the Gotthard: Those who drive when everyone else drives will have to dig deeper into their pockets for the tunnel crossing or the pass. There should be a special arrangement for companies and residents of Uri and Ticino.

The fact that there is finally movement in the traffic jam problem on the north-south axis is one of Simon Stadler’s greatest successes of the past legislature. Finding solutions requires foresight and perseverance, he says. The mountains had taught him both. Some find the sheer walls around the Urner Valley restricting. They support Stadler. From his childhood home, where he lives with his wife, he can see the greenery of the forest stretching from bottom to top on the opposite slope. He sees the peaks he has climbed that are still on his to-do list. A panorama on which he can orient himself. Stadler says he wants to climb these peaks. “I rarely go for a walk.”

From the highest point of the Schärhorn you can see as far as the Black Forest in clear weather. The first time he was a 15-year-old boy on Urner’s local mountain, whose two prominent elevations sliced ​​through the cloud bands like blades. His father took him with him at the time. While abseiling, the senior fell on the ropes and injured his Achilles tendon – it even tore, as it turned out later. Nevertheless, the mountain guide took father and son to the top that day. “The father really wanted to go there, and he gritted his teeth,” Simon Stadler recalls.

From mason to teacher

Simon Stadler has been chairman of Swiss Hiking Trails for a few weeks now. The network measures 65,000 kilometers, one and a half times around the world – an important item. Since Uri only has one seat on the National Council, he is also reluctant to give mandates, Stadler says. “But it worked here.” Nature and tourism are also important sources of income for Uri. When the bricklayer was training to become a primary school teacher at the primary school, his bachelor’s thesis was about walking. He created a concept of how the Legends of Uri can be developed for teaching in primary schools.

After several people died in a short time in hiking accidents last spring and summer, a controversy broke out about the favorite hobby of the Swiss: is it safe enough? Does it need more regulation? Simon Stadler repeats the sentences that could already be read and heard at the time: “Walking is a leisure activity that has a lot to do with personal responsibility.” Proper maintenance of the trails is important and numerous volunteers take care of this.

However, Stadler rejected a material battle in the mountains, erecting additional fences and widening the trails. “That leads to a false sense of security.” To avoid accidents, the new chairman of the hiking trails relies entirely on the proven awareness campaigns: only wear good shoes in the mountains, protect yourself from the sun and take plenty of drinking water with you.

Stadler believes in re-election in the fall

In the fall, Simon Stadler must defend his seat in the National Council. The SVP, who lost to the young middle candidate four years ago, is going on the offensive together with entrepreneur Claudia Brunner. Simon Stadler believes in his reelection. As Uri, it’s important not to have blinders on. “In the middle you can talk to left and right and enjoy sympathy from both sides.”

However, polemics and shrill tones will get you nowhere in Uri, says Stadler. This also has to do with the size of the mountain canton. Uri has about 36,500 inhabitants. Many have known each other for generations and we all rely on each other. Progress in solving the Gotthard congestion problem shows that working together works, says Stadler. “I can always show horns like a Uri if I have to.”

Source:Blick