The residents of Karlovy Vary will vote again on the return of the cast-iron colonnade

Karlovy Vary - Karlovy Vary will again call for a referendum on the construction of a replica of the former cast-iron colonnade instead of the current Hot Spring Colonnade. Activists fighting for the return of the cast-iron colonnade managed to collect enough signatures for the city to be required to announce a referendum. It could take place during the upcoming presidential elections in January. However, according to the city leadership, even if voters agree to the construction of the replica colonnade, not much will change since the city does not have the funds for it. Mayor Andrea Pfeffer Ferklová (ANO) told journalists today. There was a vote on the colonnade five years ago, but the referendum was not valid due to low voter turnout.

"Within the city council, there was a material about announcing the referendum. I must say that the council did not adopt any resolution on it. The referendum will now go to the city assembly, and the assembly must announce the referendum, as the question and signatures are in order. So I expect that the referendum will be announced at Tuesday's meeting," said Pfeffer Ferklová.

The current Hot Spring Colonnade was built in the 1970s in the style of the popular brutalism of that time. According to numerous opponents, however, it does not fit the appearance of the city. Due to its deteriorating condition, the city had to invest tens of millions of crowns in its repairs in recent years, and it will need possibly hundreds of millions more for further phases of repairs.

The organizers of the referendum estimated the costs for building the cast-iron colonnade five years ago at 250 to 350 million crowns. The town hall at that time stated its estimate was higher than one billion crowns. Currently, however, the costs would be significantly higher due to rising prices of construction materials and labor.

According to the mayor, while the city leadership respects the intention of the referendum, Karlovy Vary currently and in the foreseeable future will not have more than one billion crowns for the construction of such a colonnade. And if the city were to go into debt for the construction, it would mean halting investments and repairs for possibly decades to come, she stated.

In January 2018, 33.66 percent of voters participated in the referendum, while 35 percent was needed. The majority of participating voters expressed support for the return of the cast-iron colonnade in the form from 1879.