Streetside Parking Reduced Again; Johanniter Bridge Stairwell Gets Facelift; High Speed Rail Service Reduced To Paris

News For 22 September 2020

On Friday, the Basel Building and Transport department announced a further reduction of 500 streetside parking spaces in the city.  Although drivers already complain of finding such space, the decision was a response to the dangerous conditions created where narrow driving passages exist between parked cars and passing trams and their tracks.  Last October, prominent Basel environmentalist Martin Vosseler was killed when he was struck by a truck on Austrasse after his tires became wedged in a tram track.  Before the end of the year, the city will remove 150 street parking marks and signs on Bruderholzstrasse, Leonhardsgraben and Austrasse.  After removing a further 350 parking spaces in 2021, the city will be left with just under 27,000 parking spaces.

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Basel's Civil Engineering Department commissioned local artist and school teacher David Lucco to upgrade the appearance of the large stairwell leading from the streets above the Rhein to the riverside beside the Johanniterbrücke.  Last week, the artist and his team of students picked up their brushes and repainted the entire 250 square meter surface in bright colorful streaks, covering the natural drab stone appearance.  Overall, it took the entire week to complete the work.

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In response to Coronavirus measures requiring travelers from France to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival in most of its neighboring countries, the high-speed rail service Lyria, also known as the TGV will reduce service between Switzerland and Paris.  The service which terminates in either Geneva or Zürich in Switzerland and Paris' Gare de Lyon at the other end will see reductions.  Between Geneva and Paris, train service will be reduced from 7 to 4 times per day, and between Zürich and Paris from 5 to 4 times per day.  All pre-purchased tickets on cancelled trains can be turned in for a full refund before November 1st.  On the bright side, Switzerland's SBB announced that overnight service to major destinations in Spain, Netherlands and Italy will be expanding from 6 to 10 trains every day to provide an alternative to air travel.