The Peace Class in Pardubice is officially completed

source: pardubice.eu

Pardubice - By launching the fountains today, the leadership of Pardubice ceremonially took over the reconstructed Míru Street. The investment, originally planned at 120 million crowns, will ultimately be cheaper by several million crowns, with 80 million crowns covered by European subsidies. The repairs lasted for 13 months.
    "All inspections have yielded positive results. The company will provide us with the cost estimates by mid-April," said Helena Dvořáčková, the Deputy Mayor, to ČTK.
    The repairs of the commercial street were planned by the city for four electoral terms. "The project was quite complicated; there was probably reluctance to undertake a challenging project. There are an enormous number of networks underground, and the coordination was insane," said former Deputy Mayor Jindřich Tauber (ČSSD) to ČTK.
    For a while, a complete pedestrian zone was an option, but in the end, it is only partially so. The councilors eventually changed their minds. "I have always fought for a clean pedestrian zone; as it turns out, the reduced operation of trolleybuses here has no significance for public transport," said councilor and architect Milan Košař (Pardubáci) to ČTK.
    The traffic corridor for trolleybuses and cars is, according to the design author Jaromír Walter, as narrow as possible, to provide pedestrians with as much space as possible. Lawns near the Magnum high-rise have been replaced by trees along the street. "Green areas should be where they can be maintained, in courtyards and parks. There is also a missing market, which we proposed. It was supposed to be located where the restrooms are, but the city did not reach an agreement with the property owners," Walter told ČTK.
    Since the beginning of April, public transport has returned to the shopping street. The number of connections has been reduced from 600 to 60. Merchants can bring their supplies in the morning before the trolleybuses start running. The city police will strictly monitor compliance with traffic regulations, said city police director Rostislav Hübl to ČTK.
   "We can impose fines of up to 2000 crowns. The road is narrow, and there is no room to maneuver. The sidewalks cannot bear heavy loads. Cars would create ruts on them, damaging them," Hübl said.
    According to Mayor Martin Charvát (ANO), more cultural and social events will take place on the renovated street. Next Saturday, a half marathon will kick off there. "Pernštýn Square is saturated with events. We will have a kind of golden triangle for holding events: Pernštýn Square, Míru Street, and Tyršovy Sady," added the mayor.
    The city will now continue discussions about a statue of Jan Kašpar, which could one day stand near the Magnum high-rise. In 2013, the city originally selected a 37-meter-high column in a competition, but due to high costs, the project was halted by councilors last summer. The town hall will now negotiate with the authors of the second proposal.
   "I prefer a bronze statue. With the large number of columns here, another column would not stand out much," said Charvát.