Tables and chairs have disappeared from Smetana’s waterfront, cars will return only temporarily
On Monday, a surprise awaited the driver in the form of the open Smetana embankment in the direction from the National Theater on Křižovnické náměstí.
At the same time, the municipality’s management wants to turn the embankment into a promenade, which is why it had the sidewalk widened last year.
Now, however, the Technical Administration of Roads (TSK) over the weekend dismantled all barriers, including a new island that prevented cars from passing. Cars can drive on the Smetana embankment from the Legion Bridge, and can be turned off from Národní třída only in the evening and in the morning.
The reason for the traffic changes is the planned repair of the sewer in Divadelní Street, which the cars used as a detour.
“Closing Divadelní Street will require a change in the traffic regime in the Smetana embankment. The reason is the management of the detour route. Therefore, TSK dismantled the temporary traffic signs at the weekend and dismantled the specially modified island, which was created in front of the Slavia café between the tram stop and the sidewalk, ”said TSK spokeswoman Barbora Lišková.
The work was planned in the autumn, when people do not use the promenade as much. In the spring, according to Lišková, the street will be redesigned into a promenade, a tree line will be added and a new Karlovy Lázně tram stop will be added between the Národní divadlo and Staroměstská stops in the direction from the theater.
At the busy intersection near the Legion Bridge, traffic was also restricted on Národní třída in connection with the repair of the bridge over Divadelní Street. Although work on the underside of the bridge will take until November 17, Národní třída is already passable.
The Smetana embankment was closed by the municipality in May 2020. At the end of the year, Adam Scheinherr, Deputy Minister of Transport, evaluated the trial operation positively. According to him, the number of accidents decreased and thanks to the cancellation of the left turn-off from the Legion Bridge, the cars were no longer blocked by oncoming trams from Národní.
According to the leaked working version of the study, the Prague City Council wants to limit traffic on both banks of the Vltava in the vicinity of the historic center. Together with the Smetana embankment, the Lesser Town Square should also be impassable.