Symbolic runway on Míru Street in Pardubice is encountering obstacles

Pardubice - A symbolic runway paved on Míru Street in Pardubice reduces the chances of ever relocating it to the boulevard. The takeoff and landing runway aims to honor the memory of pilot Jan Kašpar, but according to architect Jaromír Walter, it would be lost among the streetlight poles, pedestrian crossings, or street furniture, he told ČTK today.
    "I have significant reservations about it. It would be chaos in which the runway would disappear. However, I do not deny the author's creativity, David Macháček," Walter said.
    Architect Walter has already designed a high-rise building called Magnum on Míru Street and is the author of the new look for the central communication, which will begin repairs at the start of March. The architect added that this is not just his opinion; the proposal must obtain many approvals. "I see it as a very complicated matter; it has to go through the police or the transport department," Walter added.
    David Macháček previously presented the runway on the social network Facebook, and people liked it. The city council of Pardubice did not immediately dismiss the idea, but they added that it must be assessed by experts and simultaneously approved by the provider of European subsidies. Mayor Štěpánka Fraňková is skeptical; the city hall has had enough difficulties with the Míru Street project and has postponed it.
    "With our case regarding Míru Street, we caused such problems for the Regional Council of Northeast that I am very humble. I am very glad to inform them of the start date for repairs on March 3," Fraňková said.
    The mayor described the runway as a "funny idea, which is certainly not stupid," but it is not her favorite, and she would not support it in a council vote. Architect Walter and the author of the proposal, Macháček, will try to incorporate the runway into a study using computer software.
    "It's about fitting the runway markings between all the streetlight poles, the trolleybus lines, and all the regulations related to road communication. It doesn't have to be in conflict, and they can exist alongside each other," Macháček said.
    The reason the author of the runway started to focus on the center of Pardubice was a competition for a memorial to aviator Jan Kašpar. The winning design was a 37-meter high column with a wind sleeve by architect Petr Pinkas. A petition was created against it. The signatories defended a second proposal, a bronze statue with a Blériot propeller.
    "Runways are made based on the wind; for landings and takeoffs, a headwind is ideal. When there is no runway, a wind sleeve is used. Ideologically, therefore, a runway is not needed when there will already be a wind sock," said architect Walter, who sat on the committee for selecting the memorial and voted for Pinkas's mast.
    Although the city is preparing project documentation for the winning design, it also states that the installation of the mast could be structurally complicated and expensive. Therefore, it is uncertain whether the memorial will actually be built near the high-rise building.