Praha 3 demands an urban study for the Žižkov Freight Station

Prague - The city hall of Prague 3 is demanding a detailed urban study for the area of the Žižkov Freight Station, where a new district is planned for the future. At a public meeting regarding the planned changes to the zoning plan, Matěj Michalk Žaloudek (Greens), the chairman of the committee for urban development of the city district, stated this today. The district has other requests as well, for example, it does not want the tram line to run through the building of the protected station, which the current proposal allows. The change in the zoning plan, necessary for the construction in the area, could be completed in the second half of next year.

The district council has already approved seven comments on the change in the zoning plan, which will now be processed by the magistrate along with other suggestions. The change in the zoning plan was prepared by the city Institute of Planning and Development (IPR), which also developed the background study. "It is insufficiently detailed and has no binding force," stated Žaloudek.

According to the district, a spatial study should also be created. "It can go into details including green roofs, trees in the street, the distribution of parking spaces, cycling solutions, and so on. At the same time, if it were a spatial study, then according to the building code, the building authority would have to consider it in their decisions," Žaloudek explained. The city can work on it in parallel with the preparation of the change to the zoning plan.

The district also wants a more detailed traffic solution and connections to the construction in the area of its expansion. The construction of Metro Line D is crucial for the district, whose future extension from the Náměstí míru station to Žižkov is being considered, along with a project previously known as the Jarov Connection. This would divert cars from the planned district in the station area towards the east, so they do not pass through the already congested Jana Želivského or Koněvova streets.

The debate about the tramline routing has also been ongoing for a long time. The change according to Jitka Jeřábková from IPR allows two options - running the tram through the center of the area through the former station building or the so-called northern variant, where the tram would run parallel to Malešická Street. "We would welcome it if only the option that does not threaten the cultural monument of the Žižkov Freight Station were further developed," said Žaloudek.

Other comments from the district concern, for example, a clear definition of sufficient areas for the construction of two primary schools, four kindergartens, and two healthcare facilities, which corresponds to the expected population size. "Today we have no idea where this infrastructure will be created," noted Žaloudek. According to Jeřábková, the proposal assumes that one school will be located in the station building. Prague 3 is also demanding more greenery, specifically a new green belt connecting the Židovské pece park in the north and the Olšanské cemeteries in the south.

The entire area around the former freight station is about 33 hectares. Companies such as Central Group and Penta Investment plan to build there, and in addition to apartments, there will be shops, services, and the first Republic functionalist station building should also have cultural use.

The future of the station, which ceased operations in 2002, has been resolved for years. Originally, it was to be demolished for construction, but due to pressure from activists, the demolition was abandoned. The previous city leadership approved the purchase of the property from Czech Railways for 662 million crowns, and the estimated costs for renovations range between 1.5 and 2.5 billion crowns. The current leadership of the magistrate wants to agree with private entities or the Ministry of Culture on joint use so that the city does not have to bear the costs of the renovation alone.