In the conflict over the design of the Otto-Dullenkopf-Park, the counting group of Freie Wähler, FÜR Karlsruhe and the FDP, has spoken out in favor of a body of water and the use of the halls of the old bus depot in a motion. The mayor assured the examination of water bodies in the last municipal council meeting before the summer break.
The parliamentary group sees possibilities to save the popular lake project in Otto Dullenkopf Park without demolishing the halls: “The original idea of an extended lake will not be possible to realize with the halls. However, it would be possible to reduce the size of the waters somewhat and, for example, distribute them over two lakes. We propose this compromise: The children’s and youth work and the fan project find their home in the former bus halls and the park gets smaller waters elsewhere, but in the Ostauepark,” proposes Councilman Friedemann Kalmbach. To this end, the applicants asked the administration to examine whether the entire halls would be needed after a period of 10 years, or whether a reduction in the size of the halls, e.g. because the fan project has found another home, would be conceivable. This would allow for an increase in the size of the lake. However, for financial reasons and the headwinds in the local council, this item did not come up for a vote. However, the mayor assured the examination of water bodies and thereby consider the items closed without a vote.
The lake, which was originally part of the plan, was discarded in the current plans because the city does not want to give up the former bus sheds. In the future, several rooms for trend sports, the socio-pedagogical fan project Karlsruhe, as well as for children and youth work of the city youth committee, will be built there – this was the reason to deal with the topic in the municipal council. The demolition of the halls for the new lake, are no longer provided for in the current plans, which disturbs many citizens. A new lake would have increased the attractiveness of the park, but would also have contributed to climatic enhancement. The evaporation of the water surfaces cools the surrounding air and thus in the surrounding area the temperature is cooled by 1°C or more. The German government also explicitly supports such projects by cities and municipalities, emphasized City Councilor Petra Lorenz in her speech.
