Die Rechtsregelung von Straßenalleen vom 18. bis ins 21. Jahrhundert in böhmischen Ländern

Abstract

The temperate winter of 2006/2007 prompted the road maintenance board in some places within the Czech Republic to cut down the alleys of trees along the roads. These alleys started in 18th century, but were planted mostly in the first half of the 19th century, when the roads were built on a massive scale. Of course, together with the regulations of these roads, the planting of these alleys was also regulated by rules. Not only was the distance of the trees from the road regulated, but also the sort of trees that were planted, depending upon the climate conditions in the given locality. Because they shared the costs of planting, owners of the grounds preferred fruit trees. There were also penalties assessed for any damage done to the trees. To plant the alleys faster, school children were engaged in the growing of young trees. So from the 19th to the end of the 20th century, the alleys were a distinctive part of the Czech landscape. With the massive increase of traffic, alleys were increasingly threatened. First, the expansion of roads combined with increasing vehicle speed caused such alleys to become regarded as dangerous obstacles. Indeed, traffic safety was the main argument for the removal of trees along the roads. However, after the alleys began to be cut during the winter of 2006/2007, several weeks later the nature protection office and the traffic office stopped the cutting. Today, as well as in the past, the alleys have been important not only as a part of the landscape, but also for the traffic. Some studies from Austria can show, that cutting of alleys has led to an increase of the quantity of accidents caused by high speed – the drivers felt overconfident and thus and drove too fast.