Once again this year, the second weekend in August will see the annual lighting of “high fires” on the Alpine peaks. In 2014 the signal fires, organised each year by CIPRA Switzerland, are intended to warn against the growing problem of transit traffic, with more and more valleys witnessing the negative effects of road traffic. The Swiss Federal Council recently decided to build a second tube for the Gotthard Tunnel, despite the Federal Constitution clearly stating that transit routes in Alpine regions may not be expanded. On the Brenner Pass, the busiest Alpine crossing, transit traffic is also once more increasing after a decline caused by the economic crisis. This year’s fires will draw attention to the fact that protection of the Alps is all too often being undermined in many countries. You can register for the “Fire across the Alps” action at: http://www.feuerindenalpen.com/

Source: http://www.feuerindenalpen.com/mainframe.php?seiten_id=24 (de), http://www.alpeninitiative.ch/alpine-initiative/topics/second_bore.html, http://tirol.orf.at/news/stories/2642993/ (de)