People criticized the change in the plan for the Žižkov Freight Station

Prague – Some local residents are unhappy with the proposed change to the zoning plan, which aims to allow the construction of a new district on the brownfield site around the Žižkov freight station. This emerged from today's public discussion on the change, which the city council and subsequently the city assembly are set to vote on by the end of the year. People who expressed their opinions during the online meeting were mainly concerned about worsened traffic. The leadership of Prague 3 also has reservations and intends to submit remarks.

The current change to the zoning plan has been in preparation since 2017. Before that, the city was working on another plan that had to be terminated due to the declaration of the functionalist station as a cultural monument. A total of more than a decade has been spent on this change. The current proposal has already been commented on by people and institutions once in 2019. Now they can do so again, until February 23. The Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) will then evaluate these comments and, if deemed justified, will incorporate them into the final proposal.

The public discussion of the proposal was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. People expressed concerns mainly about the traffic load, which is already significant, especially around Jana Želivského Street, and the new district around the Žižkov freight station, where, according to the studies backing the change, up to 15,000 people could live, would further increase it. Some also expressed the view that the city ignores the comments of local residents.

The traffic issue is also considered a problem by the Prague 3 municipality, whose leadership has prepared a set of comments that it will submit if approved by the assembly regarding the change. According to Matěj Michalk Žaloudka (Greens), the chairman of the urban development committee of the municipal district, the IPR incorporated some of the previous comments from the municipal district into the proposal, while others were not. One of the included changes is the relocation of the tram line, which was originally supposed to run through the former station building. Now, the route is planned to run to the north of it.

Conversely, the institute did not comply with the municipality's request to incorporate a phasing of construction into the plan. According to Žaloudka, it would be appropriate for developers to build part of their projects only after the city completes the transportation connection via the tram line and the planned Jarovská Street. This street is intended to connect the new district to the east towards Jarov and to the planned completion of the City Ring Road. The proposed comments from the municipal district also demand the development of a more detailed land study or greater guarantees of sufficient areas for public amenities and greenery.

The area around the former freight station covers approximately 33 hectares. Residential projects are being planned by firms such as Central Group, Penta Real Estate, and Sekyra Group. The extensive functionalist station itself is to be preserved, and according to preliminary plans, it will include, among other things, a primary school or the headquarters of the National Film Archive.

The building is owned by Czech Railways, which is currently negotiating with the city hall, the Ministry of Culture, Prague 3, and development companies regarding its future ownership and utilization. Originally, the station was to be demolished for construction; however, due to pressure from activists, this was abandoned, and since 2013 it has been a cultural monument.