What It's About

Can a city become noticeably more relaxed—and at the same time economically stronger—through the use of data? From 2026, Traunstein will consistently align its urban development with this aim. Three building blocks will interlock in the future:

• High-performance networks: comprehensive fiber optic and gigabit expansion as a digital foundation.
• City center analytics: privacy-compliant collection of aggregated frequencies, routes, and dwell times for better management.
• Digital twin: standards-based and vendor-independent—with simulations for mobility, parking, and participation.

The future implementation focuses on tangible improvements in everyday life: shorter search times for parking, safer crossings, more attractive routes, and data-based support for events and commerce.

From 2026: Fiber Optics and Gigabit as the Foundation

From 2026, additional city and district areas in Traunstein will be connected to fiber optic and gigabit infrastructure. The city relies on transparent procedures from inventory to market exploration to provider selection and utilizes relevant funding programs from the federal and state governments, including the federal gigabit funding and the Bavarian Gigabit Directive (BayGibitR).

The expansion creates the basic prerequisite for digital services—from telemedicine and home office to intelligent traffic and parking systems. A gradual commissioning of new clusters is planned so that businesses, educational institutions, and households can benefit promptly.

Expected everyday benefits:

• Residents: stable video conferences, fast administrative services, reliable streaming quality.
• Economy: future-proof locations, higher competitiveness, new data-driven business models.
• Visitors: digital services without dead zones in the city center, better orientation on site.

From 2026: Visitor Analytics for City Center and Events

From 2026, Traunstein will provide for or expand privacy-compliant visitor and frequency analytics in the city center. Aggregated pedestrian frequencies, typical routes, and dwell times will be recorded without personal reference. The goal is to make decisions based on facts: from additional seating to temporary stages to optimizing route guidance.

Retail and city marketing receive planning foundations to adapt opening hours, window zones, and campaigns to actual flows. This makes secondary locations more visible and specifically increases the quality of stay.

From 2026/27: Digital Twin for Traffic, Parking, and Participation

In parallel, starting in 2026/27, Traunstein will build or further expand a digital twin with a focus on mobility. The environment maps street spaces, intersections, parking areas, bike paths, and urban elements in a data and visualization platform—standards-based (including OGC CityGML, SensorThings API) and vendor-independent. This enables analyses that complement traditional plans.

Planned Simulations

• Traffic light phases and crossings: Tests of how changed timings influence traffic flows and safety.
• Parking: Evaluation of short-term parking zones, guidance through digital hints, and reduction of traffic searching for parking.
• Bicycle and pedestrian traffic: Impact of closed gaps, safe axes, and comfortable crossings.
• Events and construction sites: Detour scenarios and location-specific visitor guidance.

The visualizations are intended to make future measures understandable and facilitate citizen participation—from online participation to on-site formats with vivid 3D scenarios.

Measurable Benefits: Traffic Flows, Parking, and Dwell Time

From 2026, measures will be gradually checked for effectiveness: How do search times for parking change, which crossings become safer, where do dwell times in the city center increase? The city cyclically bundles findings in the digital twin and iteratively adjusts timings, route guidance, and event logistics.

Derived Fields of Action

• Mobility: Fine-tuning of junctions, signal programs, and crossing aids.
• Bicycle infrastructure: Closing identified gaps, more parking facilities, and defusing conflict-prone sections.
• Event planning: Route-guided wayfinding, well-placed stages, and clear signage.
• Weather resilience: Adjustment of personnel and offer planning to forecasted frequency fluctuations.

Data Protection, Data Quality, and Open Standards

• Data protection by design: exclusive use of anonymized, aggregated data without personal reference; oriented to GDPR principles such as data minimization (Art. 5) and data protection by design (Art. 25).
• Quality assurance: documented interfaces, plausibility checks, versioning, and re-analyses ensure reliable results.
• Open standards: OGC standards such as CityGML (3D city models) and SensorThings API (sensor data) promote interoperability and future security.
• Transparency: public documentation of key project steps from market explorations to selection decisions.

Next Steps from 2026

• More real-time capability: needs-based sensors for traffic, air quality, and parking feed the digital twin.
• Intelligent mobility: dynamic parking guidance, optimized signal programs, safe cycling axes, attractive walking routes.
• City center as an experience space: frequency-based support for markets and cultural formats; better visibility of secondary locations.
• Economy and education: gigabit connections for businesses; practice-oriented teaching and research projects in the digital twin.
• Sustainability: shorter routes, less congestion, more efficient land use, and noticeable improvements in noise and emissions.

For residents, this means more service quality and participation from 2026; for visitors, a city center that adapts in real time; for the economy, data-based planning security.

Transparency and Liability Notes

• Time and project details refer to planned or ongoing measures from 2026 and may change due to tenders, approvals, or funding decisions.
• Example scenarios serve to illustrate future applications and will be professionally reviewed before implementation.
• This article does not contain legal, financial, or individual planning advice.

Sources and Further Links

1. EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — Legal basis for data minimization and data protection by design (accessed 2026-02-13)
2. OGC CityGML — Standard for 3D city models, basis for digital twins (accessed 2026-02-13)
3. OGC SensorThings API — Standardized interfaces for sensor data (accessed 2026-02-13)
4. BMDV Gigabit Registry — Federal portal for broadband/gigabit and funding programs (accessed 2026-02-13)
5. Bavarian Gigabit Directive (BayGibitR) — Information from the Free State of Bavaria (accessed 2026-02-13)
6. BBSR – Future-Proof City Centers and Centers (ZIZ) — Program overview (accessed 2026-02-13)