Lakeside pathway to Arth a long way off

Walkers and cyclists heading south by Walchwil for the first time will be surprised and disappointed to discover that the path soon comes to an end at Rüfibach, though of course the road to the neighbouring canton of Schwyz continues.

Indeed, when the annual march round Lake Zug takes place, actually on Saturday 21 April this year, participants have to make use of transport from Walchwil to Immensee. It is possible to cycle or walk on the road, though with those bends there is risk, and for inline skaters it is actually forbidden.   

In order to find out when a pathway might continue as far as Arth, Moritz Schmid, the cantonal parliamentarian representing Walchwil, has tabled a question to the Zug cantonal government, though such a matter is, of course, one for the authorities in Schwyz. He thought that if the Zug cantonal government asked, it would carry more clout, having heard already from cantonal parliamentarians in Schwyz that such a project “would be very expensive”.

In fact it is not just simply a matter of finance, it is a matter of space, with the mountain side, road and lake shore being so close together in this area. Schmid is only too aware that any pathway would not really be able to be wider than six metres.

Responding in his capacity as mayor of Arth, Ruedi Beeler of the CVP party said that this issue was very much a topic for the council, such a pathway being most desirable. Commenting in his capacity as director of planning in Schwyz, Othmar Reichmuth said that a pathway would only be considered when the time came for the whole road to be re-done, and this was years off.