The committee approved the change regarding construction around Smíchov

Prague - The City Council's Committee for Urban Planning, which is an advisory body to the city council, today approved a long-discussed change allowing for the transformation of the area around Smíchov Railway Station into a new urban district. The final decision will be made by the city councilors. The planned construction of the so-called Dvorecký Bridge, which is intended to connect the right and left banks of the Vltava River, sparked the most discussion today.
    The contentious change concerns land covering an area of 50 hectares. The project titled Smíchov City is backed by Sekyra Group. The company intends to replace the railway warehouses and part of the tracks with office, commercial, and residential buildings over a period of ten to twenty years. The reconstruction will also affect the station itself, where a bus terminal and a park-and-ride facility will be created. The city council had previously endorsed the change to the urban plan.
    The dispute between the city councils and residents of Prague 4 and Prague 2 mainly revolves around whether the proposed bridge will be solely for tram traffic or if cars will also be allowed to cross. The city council of the fourth district opposes car passage, fearing increased traffic congestion. "The traffic impacts for Prague 4 are indeed significant," stated committee chairman Vladimír Schmalz (ODS). According to residents who spoke at the committee today, the interests of developers are at stake.
    Conversely, Prague 2 is striving to ensure that cars can use the bridge, thus alleviating traffic in the city center. "Prague 2 is one of the smallest districts with the highest population density and has a north-south thoroughfare running through it, where 100,000 cars pass daily," warned Deputy Mayor Václav Vondrášek. People, according to him, are suffering and desperate. "The impacts are terrifying," he said.
    "Today, we are only deciding that we will not eliminate the possibility of building the bridge there in the future," said transportation councilor Josef Nosek (ODS). This is an investment in the billions of crowns, which the city will not have the means for in the foreseeable future. "A bridge will need to be built in this location eventually," he added.
    According to the original plan, the bridge was to terminate at Jeremenková Street. After modification, it will be redesigned to exit opposite the Yellow Spa. It will be planned in such a way that automobile traffic can use it. However, it is assumed that this will be just a reserve and the bridge will primarily be used for rail traffic.
    Years of heated debates have surrounded the utilization of large areas around Prague's railway stations. In addition to Smíchov Railway Station, the city is preparing other changes to the urban plan that should address the future of Masaryk Railway Station, Žižkov Freight Station, and the station in Bubny.