<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>Translation</title> </head> <body> <p>Prague does not agree that property owners should be responsible for the sidewalks.</p> </body> </html>

Source
Karel Čapek

Publisher
ČTK
18.02.2009 21:15

Prague - Prague does not agree that property owners should be responsible for sidewalks. Environmental councilor Petr Štěpánek (SZ) said this to journalists today. The amendment to the law, which assumes this, was approved by the Chamber today. It still needs to be approved by the Senate. If the law comes into effect, Prague, according to Štěpánek, will spend a billion crowns more annually on cleaning.
    "Prague disagreed with the proposal of the law, asking MPs from ODS not to support it and is dismayed by the attitude of the lawmakers," said Štěpánek. The capital city currently manages ten percent of Prague's sidewalks through the Technical Administration of Communications (TSK), paying about 135 million crowns for their winter maintenance.
    If the metropolis must take care of all the sidewalks in its ownership, winter cleaning will cost it about 1.35 billion crowns, according to Štěpánek. "If the law passes, we will turn to the state for subsidies," the councilor emphasized. According to TSK spokesman Tomáš Mrázek, the annual costs for cleaning sidewalks could even rise to three billion crowns. "We calculated that for winter maintenance, we would need 6,600 people in Prague. I can't imagine that in practice," Mrázek told ČTK. He added that lawmakers did not realize the impact the amendment would have on municipal budgets.
    The main creator of the proposal, ODS senator Jaroslav Kubera, finds the current situation absurd, where a property owner is liable for damage to a sidewalk that does not belong to them. He pointed out, for example, that when someone repairs their house and sets up scaffolding on the sidewalk, they have to pay for this occupation. A businessman who wants to place a promotional sign on the sidewalk must also pay for it.
    "We still hope that the amendment will not pass," said Štěpánek. Together with Mayor Pavel Bém (ODS), he plans to write to all senators from Prague districts asking them not to support the amendment. "And that regardless of party affiliation," added the councilor. In the event that the law is also approved by the Senate, the metropolis, according to Štěpánek, will ask the president not to sign it.
    However, Prague is already preparing for the possibility that the law will come into effect. The city leadership is considering changing the cleaning system. For winter cleaning, they would issue a tender, with the winner then clearing snow from sidewalks, tram strips, and the roadway simultaneously.
    If someone is injured on an uncleared sidewalk now, they can request compensation from the property owner. If the amendment to the law comes into effect, people will primarily turn to municipalities and regions with requests for forgiveness.
    The Chamber amended the proposal at the suggestion of its economic committee and additionally recommended tightening the conditions for permitting advertising signs along the roads.

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0 18.02.2009 | <div>Sněmovna: Za chodníky mají zodpovídat jen jejich vlastníci</div> <div>Chamber: Only their owners should be responsible for the sidewalks</div>

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>Translation</title> </head> <body> <p>Prague does not agree that property owners should be responsible for the sidewalks.</p> </body> </html>

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