Debates about the location of the train station in Brno have revived the question of the New City Boulevard

Brno - Debates about the location of the new train station in Brno have revived the issue of building the New City Boulevard. Some politicians have previously questioned its necessity and warned of negative consequences for the people living in its vicinity. However, it is now clear that the political parties represented in the city council have significantly different opinions on this matter. The Office of the Architect of the City of Brno (KAMB) is currently investigating the possibility of canceling part of the boulevard from Náměstí 28. října to Cejl, KAMB spokesperson Jana Běhalová informed ČTK.

The plan has existed in the city's planning documents since the socialist era and is intended to be a four-lane thoroughfare running parallel to Koliště. It would require demolishing buildings to an extent that Brno has not experienced in the last 40 years. It is to run from Náměstí 28. října through Traubova, Příční, and industrial brownfields, cut through Cejl and Křenová, and end at Zvonařka Street, measuring more than two kilometers.

The transportation department presented the New City Boulevard as a certainty upon providing materials for the feasibility study, stating it should be completed by 2030, and thus the study worked with it as a given fact. It is considered essential for the relocated train station, which would see 44,000 people traveling along it daily by trolleybus.

Even Oliver Pospíšil (ČSSD), who told ČTK that the Social Democracy party wants to keep the boulevard as originally proposed, admitted that the construction is a matter for the future. "It is a very demanding investment," Pospíšil stated. The Communists also want to keep it. "It is necessary for servicing the new station and the southern center. At the same time, we want to push for the fastest possible completion of the large city ring road, so that transit traffic does not use it, but only those heading to the center," said KSČM councilor Martin Říha.

Due to the construction, all houses on one side of Traubova and Příční streets would have to be removed, and residential streets would become a thoroughfare through the city. The city architecture office stated that if the New City Boulevard were not built, capacity issues would have to be addressed in another way.

Supporters of removing the street from planning documents are Žít Brno and the Green Party. "It is a relic of socialist planning, and we thought that no one was taking it seriously anyway," said Deputy Mayor Matěj Hollan (Žít Brno). Even before the 2014 elections, the movement organized an event on Traubova Street aimed at raising awareness of the possible demolition of houses.

According to the Greens, such a street would only cause more problems with traffic intensity. "It is not in the city's interest to create a thoroughfare that allows rapid transit near the historical center," said Deputy Mayor Martin Ander (SZ).

The ANO movement has no official position; according to Deputy Mayor Richard Mrázek's personal opinion, traffic can be solved differently as the design of the large city ring road changes. "The study should clarify what and how to do. Some street could arise, but not in the form we know from the zoning plan," he stated.

TOP 09 supports the creation of the new street, but not in the form of a "highway" in the city center. "We would like to announce an international urban and architectural competition for this boulevard, so that it meets modern trends and is friendly to people," said Deputy Mayor Jaroslav Kacer.

Representatives of the Christian Democrats and ODS did not respond to ČTK's inquiry.