Flaneur d’Or – Gold for the Schüssinsel

Pedestrian Mobility Switzerland has been working towards a more pedestrian-friendly design of our environment for more than 42 years. 2017 marked the ninth time the organization had chosen Switzerland’s most pedestrian-friendly projects. The Schüssinsel in Biel, a new island in the middle of town, fills a gap along the Schüss’s riverbank path and in the important slow-mobility connection between Taubenloch Gorge and Lake Biel. However, even pedestrians who are less ambitious will find good walking terrain on the Schüssinsel: the network of pathways branches out from the main island path, which goes all along the island on the ridge, into a large number of meandering tracks. The judges were won over by the fact that the benches were close enough together for older people and that seven bridges make the island easily accessible all round; they were also impressed with the fact that the Schüssinsel now has more than just good paths – a whole park has been created all around them.