Magistrála - A Political Matter

As part of the Open Scene I.P. Pavlova, a discussion took place on the topic The Boulevard - A Political Matter.

The discussion was attended by:
Ing. Jiří Nouza – Deputy Mayor of the Capital City of Prague
Ing. arch. Václav Vondrášek – Deputy Mayor of the Prague 2 District
Mgr. Petr Štěpánek, CSc. - Councilor of the Prague 4 District
Jarmila Johnová – Civil Association Prague Mothers
Vít Masare - Civil Association Auto*Mat

In the first block, some small steps that the city and municipalities have implemented in recent years were recalled. First of all, it was about the narrowing of one lane
behind the Nuselský Bridge, which was initiated and pushed through by the Prague 2 District, specifically Ing. arch. Vondrášek. Furthermore, the positive impacts of the speed limit of 50 km/h from the Southern Connection, advocated by Mr. Štěpánek during his time as a councilor of the capital city of Prague, were highlighted.
Vít Masare informed about activities related to the Roadmap 2014 - "Plan of Short-term Measures until 2014," which was created after the signing of the Initiative for the Humanization of the North-South Boulevard.
Deputy Mayor Ing. Nouza pointed out the partial changes happening around the town hall, such as the plan to turn traffic around in Lublaňská Street in Prague 2, and confirmed that the municipality sees the boulevard as 2 lanes and a bicycle lane. That this is not just a political declaration was confirmed from the audience by Martin Šubert from TSK with the information that a 2 + 2 lane variant with a bicycle lane along the entire length of the boulevard is already being designed and conceptualized.

MIB Quartet

At the end of the discussion, there was agreement among all participants that they see and understand the boulevard as a public space - as the boulevard of the 21st century.

On behalf of CCEA - Center for Central European Architecture, we are pleased that after the Initiative for the Humanization of the North-South Boulevard, work is already ongoing according to the Roadmap 2014, which we created together with Auto*Mat, traffic engineers Ing. Malina and Ing. Špilar, and other experts, and that a year before the elections, the city and the municipality are not only declaring but also taking the first steps towards diversifying traffic on the Prague boulevard.

Through the Open Scene I.P. Pavlova event, we offered a fresh perspective on the Prague boulevard and pointed out that transforming the boulevard is a low-cost matter - that it is a question of courage and not investments. We are very pleased that after many years, there has been agreement among the different municipalities and the municipality, and moreover, that we have a whole year to implement these changes.
   
Further discussions as part of the open scene:

7.8.2013 18:00-19:00 Boulevard = New Prague Avenue - A Public Matter
with the public and representatives of civil associations
8.8.2013 18:00-19:00 Boulevard = New Prague Avenue - A Technical Matter
with transport engineers, traffic police, and other public space experts