The most neglected district of Ostrava will have a new center

Ostrava - The most populous district of Ostrava, Ostrava-South, will likely have a new center in a few years. The area on Horní Street, where the tax office and a dilapidated shopping center called Železňák are located, is expected to transform into this center. This week, Mayor Petr Kajnar (ČSSD) informed about the project.
    "Ostrava-South completely lacks any center. Poruba doesn't have a central square either, but the Main Avenue serves this function quite well there," said Kajnar. He added that the city hall, in cooperation with the district, has commissioned a study to redesign Horní Street. According to him, the redesign should change the place to be "more livable".
    In the Ostrava-South district, which includes the parts of the city Zábřeh, Výškovice, Hrabůvka, Dubina, and Bělský Les, 112,000 residents live. However, it lacks a central space for significant cultural and social events. The district mayor Karel Sibinský (ČSSD) told ČTK that this issue has been a long-standing concern for the district. "We once had a development study conducted for the district. It indicates that if there is an area that could become such a center, it is that place on Horní Street. However, the space is quite dilapidated," said Sibinský.
    The rationale document for the study commission states that the area was architecturally reconstructed in the post-revolutionary period in connection with the completion of the tax office building. "The entire concept of this public space now appears to be inadequate, and combined with the issues of the underpass under Horní Street, it necessitates an evaluation of a new urban-architectural solution that could also fulfill the expected vision of the city district as one of the significant gathering places," the document states.
    The study will address the entire area in relation to the underpass, traffic, parking, and surrounding shops. These could be integrated with the surroundings, for instance, through café terraces. According to the study's assignment, there should also be space for a stage, a marketplace, a skating rink, or a Christmas tree.
    The district mayor stated that the modifications of the area will begin this autumn with the renovation of the underpass near the Venuše shopping center. "We want to work on the space from Venuše to the Hotel Hlubina. The modification of the areas behind Železňák and around the Polyclinic is also part of it. Given the costs, it will likely be done in phases," said Sibinský. According to him, the project for the underpass renovation is already completed. "We expect that the repairs will start in the autumn and will be finished next year," the mayor specified.
    Various events organized by the district currently take place in Zábřeh in the SNP Square in front of the Akord Cultural House. However, this is not truly the center of the district. "A center is a place where people pass through every day for various reasons, like Masaryk Square in Moravská Ostrava. People are always there. But at SNP Square, people from Výškovice only have a reason to go when they are going to the theater or some event," said Sibinský.