Traffic concept for the planned multifunctional arena in Frankfurt

During the preparations for the planned multifunctional arena in Frankfurt, the simultaneity of the non-simultaneous can be observed. While interested parties are already lining up to operate the hall later, the traffic concept is still pending. But this is where the acceptance of the ambitious project stands or falls, because events are expected to take place on around 15 evenings a year both in the Waldstadion and in the arena next door, so the crowds there are bigger than ever.

There are concerns about statements such as one from the city's transport department a few months ago - before it switched from the Greens to the CDU - that building a parking garage out of activism was not a solution. There is really no sign of activism in the development of the transport concept. More importantly, why rule out possibilities from the start?

Of course, the aim is to ensure that as many visitors as possible arrive by rail. This includes improving the connections with the efficient trams, ideally by shortening the journey from the main train station with a new route along Mörfelder Landstrasse, which would also connect the southern train station to the stadium with the possibility of equalizing the journey. The trams currently travel awkwardly in a wide arc to the stadium.

Don't scare drivers away

However, many visitors will continue to travel by car in the future. Anyone who travels from Dillenburg or Bensheim to a Herbert Grönemeyer concert wants to get home quickly and easily at night. Anyone who makes it difficult for drivers to get there only makes them think about looking for a place to park in the neighboring parts of the city; Barriers, on the other hand, only help to a limited extent. What's more, it weakens the new arena in the real competition of such halls before it is even opened. In any case, in Mannheim it works really well by car and in Cologne too.

It is difficult to say how visitors will evaluate the possibility of parking their car in a parking garage in the Gateway Gardens district and taking the train or bus from there for the last mile - something like this is being considered. It's already complicated. In any case, the connection to the future dual location Waldstadion/Arena is really not a place for transport policy experiments.

There is no question that the solution is tricky. The Oberforsthaus node may also need to be rebuilt and expanded. But it doesn't help: If you say A, you also have to say B. Anyone who wants such a hall must also organize traffic there in a modern way.