Praha 8: we want to start building the footbridge to Štvanice by 2018

Prague - The City Hall of Prague 8 demands that the city starts constructing the footbridge to Štvanice Island no later than by the elections in 2018, possibly even without holding an architectural competition. CTK was told this by mayor Roman Petrus (ČSSD). The city hall has not yet decided whether to build the bridge without or after an architectural competition. The construction of the footbridge was supported in the past not only by the eighth district but also by the leadership of Prague 7 and the city hall.

According to Petrus, there is a risk that holding a competition might delay the construction and it might not even begin, as it would be decided by a new city hall and city leadership. "It must at least be kicked off by the end of this election term. The new leadership could reject the outcome of the competition and the construction of the footbridge, rendering all efforts and work pointless," said Petrus. He claimed that a competition already took place eight or ten years ago. "A number of proposals arose, which the following administration threw in the trash. We could end up in the same situation," he said.

He does not, however, reject the organization of an architectural competition outright. "If it turns out that a competition can be completed by the end of the election term and construction can start, then we are not against it," he said.

The City Hall of Prague 8 advocates connecting Karlín and Holešovice through Štvanice with two footbridges, namely a footbridge and a pontoon bridge between Holešovice and Štvanice. There is also a variant of a single footbridge from one bank of the Vltava to the other.

The initiation of the construction in this election term is also supported by Deputy Mayor Petr Dolínek (ČSSD). The ferry between Holešovice, Štvanice, and Karlín is said to be capacity-limited, and the bike path along the main road is not fully satisfactory either. "We will have to renovate Hlávka Bridge, and during that time people would lose one option for getting to the island," he said. When and how the city will decide whether to hold an architectural competition is still unclear according to Dolínek. "But a decision should be made in the coming weeks," he said.