Auto*Mat wants to transform Prague's Smetanovo nábřeží into a pedestrian zone

Prague - The Auto*Mat initiative is striving to transform Prague's Smetana Embankment into a pedestrian zone. Near Charles Bridge, they organized a happening today where people in masks of mayor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS) and his deputy Karel Březina (ČSSD) symbolically opened the street only for pedestrians and trams. According to them, the city should calm traffic in these areas.
    "Smetana Embankment is a disgrace to Prague. The place with the most beautiful view of the Prague skyline is traversed daily by tens of thousands of Prague residents and tourists. Almost the entire street is taken up by slowly moving cars, and in most of them sits a single person," noted Vít Masare from Auto*Mat.
    The initiative aimed to draw attention to the problem of traffic in the city center with their action, where members dressed as city representatives "ceremoniously" cut the ribbon, thereby opening the embankment as a pedestrian zone. According to Auto*Mat members, calming Smetana Embankment was promised by former mayor Pavel Bém (ODS) back in 2005. The embankment, however, closes for traffic only once a year during Mobility Week.
    During the summer, the street was partially closed to traffic due to the repair of the tram line. "The reconstruction was an ideal opportunity to create a pedestrian zone. We called on mayor Svoboda and councilor Březina to do this, but both refused. Therefore, we are launching a petition and asking the people of Prague for support," said Masare. They can sign it on the organization's website.
    According to the initiative's study, most drivers use the embankment as a shortcut; only a small portion of them have a destination on the embankment. "The detour route is approximately two kilometers away, it is the Strahov Tunnel," pointed out study author Vratislav Filler. According to him, a ban on car access would free the way for trams. It would create a promenade with a row of trees, benches, restaurants, and cafes on the embankment. "Only delivery vehicles and taxis should have permission to enter the area," he added. According to him, Auto*Mat has the assurance from Svoboda that he will address the issue.
    While Filler believes that alternative routes for cars on Smetana Embankment already exist, city officials have a different opinion. "We have done a number of analyses of this situation. Unfortunately, I must state that as long as the ring road is not resolved, it is not possible to close this area. Until the (tunnel complex) Blanka is completed, and until the (city) ring road is closed, this is only a hypothetical matter that we can say would be good," said Svoboda.
    The calming of Smetana Embankment has also been supported by representatives of significant institutions that are located there. "The Czech Philharmonic, as a world-renowned orchestra, would play better without cars stuck in traffic jams by the Rudolfinum. We support the effort to calm Smetana Embankment and make it more accessible to pedestrians, who will be able to walk here just like the first conductor of the Philharmonic, Antonín Dvořák," quoted Auto*Mat David Mareček, director of the Czech Philharmonic.
    Auto*Mat also received support from the dean of the Faculty of Arts at Charles University, Michal Stehlík. "In the city center, we have long been victims of an overloaded traffic situation, and the creation of a quiet zone could bring a significantly more pleasant environment for everyone moving here. I would welcome this from the perspective of a better environment for student life within Prague," Stehlík stated according to Auto*Mat.