Tourism - Hardly any room left for "tourist boards" on Thuringian highways
You are brown and white in color and mark highways: So-called educational signboards also advertise nearby attractions in Thuringia. However, potential locations for these signboards in Thuringia are almost exhausted. "The number of possible locations is already quite strained, even overfilled," said Tino Möhring from the Eastern Branch of the Autobahn GmbH. Currently, there are 243 brown signboards installed in Thuringia.
Rejected applications due to space constraints are rare – applications are usually rejected because they did not meet the guidelines. Currently, there are ten application procedures for new signboards in the entire Eastern Region, which spans Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, and Thuringia.
Great tourist value
Applicants are generally aware that there are few remaining sites for new signs, said Maja Neumann from the Thuringian Tourism GmbH (TTG). The interest and tourist value are nonetheless significant: "In our opinion, the educational signboards have a very high significance," Neumann explained. The signboards attract attention and influence current and future travel plans. "They expedite and make the way to the destination."
The TTG maintains its own signboards, for example at the Erfurter and Hermsdorfer Crossroads, which promote Thuringian theme years. However, the brown signs alone are not enough, according to tourism experts. Additional visitor guidance along the roads to the destination is still lacking in Thuringia in some places.
No cost explosion like in Bavaria, but still not peanuts
In Bavaria, a case was reported at the beginning of the year where the city of Straubing faced immense costs when building a new signboard. The high expenses for a directional sign were also a topic in Thuringian municipalities, Neumann said. However, "they have not prevented any further signboards from being installed to our knowledge." A spokesperson for the Thuringian Community and City League also confirmed this.
The exact costs for a signboard depend on the specific case and cannot be precisely determined, explained Autobahn spokesperson Möhring. They usually range from the mid to high five-figure range. In addition to the actual costs for the sign, there are also costs for later dismantling and disposal. The prescribed traffic safety measures alone account for about a quarter of the total costs, depending on the circumstances.
From state to federal
In Thuringia, responsibility for the educational signboards was with the state until the beginning of the year 2021. Since then, the Autobahn GmbH has been responsible, and federal standards apply. The signboards installed before 2021 have a protective status over their prescribed lifespan, Möhring said. However, once they become worn or require renewal, the new guidelines will apply, which in some cases supersede the old state regulations.
According to the new rules, the mentioned targets must be visible from the highway or located within a ten kilometer radius in air line. In exceptional cases, references to more distant targets may be allowed, as Moehring mentioned. At most, only two instruction signs are permitted between two interchanges. All new signs are time-limited to fifteen years, after which the entire application process must be repeated.
- Despite the limited availability of new locations in Thuringia, the interest and tourist value of educational signboards are significant, as stated by Maja Neumann from the Thuringian Tourism GmbH (TTG).
- In Erfurt, the TTG has its own set of signboards promoting Thuringian theme years, such as the ones at the Erfurter Crossroads, demonstrating the importance of additional visitor guidance along roads in Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.
- Tourism experts argue that while the costs for signboards in Thuringia are not as high as in Bavaria, they are still not insignificant, as mentioned by Autobahn spokesperson Möhring.
- The responsibility for educational signboards in Thuringia shifted from the state to the Autobahn GmbH at the beginning of 2021, and federal standards now apply, as detailed by Tino Möhring from the Eastern Branch of the Autobahn GmbH.
