What is a public road?
Public roads are roads that are made available to the general public by those authorized to dispose of them (usually the city or state) ("public use"). Here, no one may be excluded from using the road for traffic purposes. However, in addition to traffic regulations, there may also be general restrictions on use, e.g. a bicycle path is planned from the outset for bicycle traffic only and is therefore narrower than a road.
Private uses beyond locomotion, such as the construction of an access road (ramp) or the installation of a telephone booth, on the other hand, are only permitted with the written consent of the road administrator. In Innsbruck, this is the City of Innsbruck in the case of municipal roads, and the State of Tyrol, represented by the Innsbruck Construction District Office, in the case of state roads.
What is public property?
Public property is land intended for use by the general public and owned by a local authority (federal, state, municipal). It can include roads as well as bodies of water. The plots of land belonging to the public domain are grouped into separate "deposits" in the respective land register and designated as "public domain".
The public use of a public road is open to all under the same conditions.
What applies to private roads?
In the case of private roads, the owners decide who may use them. However, as long as a private road is open without restriction, at least for pedestrians, it is a "road with public traffic", because it can be used by everyone (e.g. pedestrians) under the same conditions, and the regulations of the Road Traffic Regulations (StVO) apply.
Regulations on roads and their use can be found in the Tyrolean Road Act and in the StVO.
Last updated 02.04.2023