For many who have been longing to cool off from the summer heat and who enjoy swimming in the cool lake, it was really bad news when it was announced that Langener Waldsee would be closed until further notice. But now, almost two weeks after the closure, there is good news: the lido will reopen to visitors next Monday, August 24. Then also the parking lot on the grounds of the bath can be used again.
In coordination with the police and fire department, those responsible from Bäder- und Hallenmanagement Langen GmbH (BaHaMa) and city administration could now make the positive decision for the reopening. One reason for this is that, due to the end of the summer holidays and the weather no longer being quite so hot, it can be assumed that there will not be such a rush as there was just under two weeks ago. For this reason, the 700 or so parking spaces in the baths should be sufficient to prevent vehicles from being parked illegally on the B44 or in the forest. However, as the risk of forest fires has not dropped significantly despite the rain of the past few days, additional safety precautions are being taken as a precautionary measure and more security personnel are being deployed to keep the forest paths free of cars. This will also ensure that emergency routes can be used at all times.
"After all, we promised that we would reopen as soon as we had the chance," said Langen Mayor Jan Werner. "And we are pleased that we now succeed in doing so. Especially in view of our many regulars, who behave very reasonably - in contrast to the incorrigible Wildparkers."
However, there will still be no online ticketing system at the lido, as there is at the leisure and family pool. "Such a one would not solve the problems we had in any way," explains BaHaMa managing director Joachim Kolbe. "After all, you can't tell the owner of an online ticket whether he came to the lake on foot or parked his car illegally in the woods." But it is also clear: If there are again obstreperous people who go overboard, the bath will be closed again in the short term.
But those responsible from the city, BaHaMa, fire department and police are already looking further ahead - to the time after Corona. Because the pandemic had exacerbated problems outside the baths, but a change in the parking and access situation has long been on the agenda. For many guests, the arrival and parking situation was already more than annoying in the past. The fact that little has been done so far is due to the fact that concrete proposals for solutions have found little or no hearing with other decision-makers who have a say around the lake. After the events of recent weeks, Jan Werner and Joachim Kolbe are confident, however, that the importance that has the lido Langener Waldsee for the entire region, was now also recognized at a higher level.
Mayor Jan Werner has already announced to strive for a round table. After all, everyone in the region would benefit from positive changes at Lake of the Woods.
The lido at Lake of the Woods will again be open daily from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. starting Monday. Checkout is at 7:45 p.m., bathing closes at 8:15 p.m.
On the city's website, the operating company informs on all opening days in real time about any capacity limits reached. This is made possible by the official Twitter account of the Langener Bäder (@BaederLangen), through which the team reports on the website as soon as it is tight on site. Reading the news on www.langen.de/baeder.html does not require a separate Twitter account.
The city informs about all changes of the pool offer in Langen via the official website, the municipal Facebook account (@Langen.RheinMain) or its own Twitter page (@Stadt_Langen).
