New stops and a wide pedestrian promenade lined with trees.

Technical Administration of Roads m of Prague (TSK) will start working on Monday, April 11, 2022 at new tram stops, the creation of a new wide pedestrian promenade and the planting of a new tree line on Smetana’s embankment, specifically in the section of Karlovy Lázně to the National Theater. The works are divided into three separate, but at the same time follow-up and coordinated events. All will end by June 30, 2022.

The technical administration of roads will start with constructions according to the approved conceptual study Křižovnická – Smetanovo nábřeží – Masarykovo nábřeží, which was prepared by the Institute of Planning and Development of the Capital City of Prague. m Prague (IPR). The public space of the whole area will change, from Klementinum through Křižovnické náměstí to the National Theater. The study emphasizes the creation of new places to spend free time in the center of Prague, supports tram transport and also offers better conditions for pedestrians and cyclists. Nothing will change for car transport after the investment.

“The center of Prague is facing the biggest change in the last few decades. The area from Klementinum through Křižovnické náměstí to the National Theater will be completely transformed. Praguers can look forward to new stops, tree lines on the Smetana embankment, a wide pedestrian promenade with tree lines thanks to extended sidewalks, benches or a separate cycle path through the section where it is missing today. Smetana’s embankment and the Lesser Town are among the most beautiful and valuable places in the world. We have to approach them in this way, “said the Deputy Mayor of Prague. m of Prague for transport Adam Scheinherr.

“We are diligently preparing and implementing projects in the center of Prague that significantly transform and improve the quality of public space. One of them is the section Křižovnická – Smetanovo nábřeží – Masarykovo nábřeží, where we work on the vision of public space, especially for people who live here, walk and ride a bike, but also for those who need to drive here. I am pleased that a new tree line will be planted in the waterfront area and that an additional 17 trees will be added, “said the Deputy Mayor of Prague. m of Prague for Territorial Development Petr Hlaváček.

On Křižovnické náměstí, traffic intersects with the Royal Route, which is visited by up to 100,000 pedestrians a day in the summer months. The conditions for them will be improved by the wide pedestrian promenade from Charles Bridge over Smetana’s embankment to the National Theater with an iconic view of Hradčany. A new tree line with 17 trees will be created on Smetana’s embankment, the city will be complemented by benches and also a cycle path, which is missing in this section. “It is also very important that the planting of trees complies with the approved standards of blue-green infrastructure and the Prague tree line. The trees will thus have adequate space to live, “described TSK Deputy General Director Josef Richtr.

Further building modifications will improve the conditions for public transport and passengers. A new tram stop Karlovy Lázně will be built in the direction from the center. Today, it is one of the longest sections without a tram stop in the city center. The hatched part of the road, 30 meters from the stops towards Staroměstská Street, will become a sidewalk with a spacious corner. The current Karlovy Lázně stop will also be repaired. It will be the boarding cape, which will fill the space between the tram and the curb and allow barrier-free boarding.

The change will concern the current arrangement of the National Theater stops, due to which tram lines 2 and 18 have to be built twice in one stop. The one on Smetana’s embankment will be canceled and free up space for pedestrians and trees. Line 17 will be newly built at the planned stop of the same name on Masaryk embankment.

A completely new tram stop will be built in the direction of the center in front of the building of the National Theater near Žofín. However, the reconstruction of the platform of the already existing stop in the opposite direction is also a part of it, including the adjacent sidewalks. “With this modification, the six-meter pedestrian crossing at the National Theater will be moved and a new five-meter crossing will be built at the Masarykovo nábřeží – Divadelní – Na Struze intersection. The surface of the sidewalk and the stop will be made of Prague mosaic, “explained Deputy Adam Scheinherr.

The aim of the conceptual study Křižovnická – Smetanovo nábřeží – Masarykovo nábřeží approved in March 2021 is to organize the space with regard to public transport passengers and pedestrians who use it the most. Thanks to the new tram stops, the availability of tram transport will increase throughout the locality. “All of Prague’s backbone tram lines 9, 17 and 22, as well as lines 2, 12, 15, 18 and 20, run through the Malá Strana and Smetana embankment areas. They are among the busiest connections and connect the center with the surrounding parts of the city. In terms of individual modes of transport, 70 percent of Smetana’s embankment is used by public transport and pedestrians. The remaining 30 percent is individual car transport. In Malá Strana, this ratio is 80 percent for public transport and pedestrians and 20 percent for car drivers, “added Adam Scheinherr.

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