Hradec Králové wants to announce a competition for a footbridge across the Elbe

Hradec Králové - Hradec Králové wants to announce an architectural competition for the design of the new footbridge over the Elbe River near the Aldis Congress Center. This was stated to journalists today by the Deputy Mayor of Hradec Králové, Jindřich Vedlich. The city has unsuccessfully sought the construction of the bridge several years ago when it failed to secure the felling of an oak tree at the site of the planned footbridge.
    "The council has approved the members of the commission who will create the competition conditions. We will announce it after approval by the chamber of architects," Vedlich said. The commission will also include representatives of civic initiatives who had objections to the felling of trees in the past. According to Vedlich, it is possible to build the footbridge without cutting down trees. "There are several options, such as utilizing the free space between the trees or end the footbridge in a Y-shape," said Vedlich. Ecologists also point out that the location of the footbridge is a launch pad for birds from the surface of the Elbe.
    "We want to first agree on the competition conditions for the architectural competition. However, we believe that the footbridge is extremely important for the entire area in the Aldis location and for the connection of the reconstructed Šimkovy Sady," said Vedlich, who estimates that the city will announce the architectural competition within two to three months.
    Given the complexity of preparing documentation for the zoning decision and for the building permit, Vedlich does not expect that construction could begin as early as next year. The town hall built a pedestrian boulevard in the Aldis zone in 2003 for nearly 23 million crowns. The next phase was supposed to be the construction of the footbridge, which would connect the Aldis area with the 5th of May Square. However, according to the original project for the construction of the footbridge, it was necessary to cut down one oak tree on the Elbe embankment, against which environmentalists successfully protested.