A uniform blue zone and free public transport for all? Listen to the first pre-election debate of Prague leaders
The work of the municipality to date on the construction and maintenance of infrastructure is critically evaluated by representatives of the Together for Prague coalition and the SPD coalition. According to them, the management of Prague is introducing senseless measures and is proceeding illogically with the construction itself.
“We would like to cancel all the slalom courses, restrictions on the traffic of Prague. The main problem is poor traffic, closing the street and embankment, unnecessary narrowing of lanes in favor of cycle lanes. We want Prague to be passable, to work for the people who live and work here,” explains Urban. “What’s happening now is unnecessary traffic segregation.”
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“At the moment, the biggest problem is what every Prague resident probably feels – lack of coordination of buildings in the city. This weighs on us because if you block a key communication, it spills over somewhere else. It would help if the constructions were coordinated to keep the city passable and not overload some localities where traffic accumulates and the lives and comfort of others work,” means Zajíček.
“At the moment, it is a question of preparing buildings that will enable the city to survive at all when it has two million inhabitants. This means that metro D should be built quickly, that the tram lines should be completed, that the deputy for transport should be the one who really breathes for it,” describes Čižinský.
We need to motivate drivers to use public transport
David Tygr Ploc
On the contrary, according to the coalition for animal rights, the main reason for congested metropolises is unfinished road circuits. “Until something is done, that means real bypasses, whether external or internal, the problem will always be that Prague will be clogged with cars. Until then, it is the most realistic best you can solve public transport,” says Janišová.
However, Ploc considers the completion of both circuits to be a secondary problem, given the current situation on the energy market. “At the moment we have to focus on helping citizens affected by the energy crisis. It is necessary to show them social sensitivity, because they don’t have the money either,” he says.
Introduction of free public transport
In order to reduce the burden in the metropolis, according to the coalition Praha nas domov, the introduction of free public transport is a transport solution.
Flat discounting is always unfair because the taxpayer pays for it.
Jan Čižinský
“We would only charge a fee for accommodation to foreigners. We need to motivate drivers to use public transport”, says Ploc. Money for financing public transport should then be obtained from newly built parking lots on the outskirts of the city.
The DZS collation plan for animal rights also corresponds to this. Thus, public transport should be “at least free for the citizens of Prague, because this will relieve the arteries where cars drive. It’s about everyone having the motivation not to go to the center by car,” says Janišová.
I don’t think anything that’s free motivates people to be responsible about it.
Zdeněk Zajíček
On the other hand, the reduction of the fare is not permissible for the Praha sebo association. “Broad discounting is always unfair because the taxpayer pays for it. And so it is in the case of blanket aid it happens that the poor support the rich,” he means Čižinsky.
“Everything has to be paid for with something. The capital city of Prague provides the transport company with 16 to 17 billion crowns. Free shipping would mean another two billion or so. In any case, we say not to raise prices, but to invest in public transport,” adds Urban.
The blue zones should remain as they are, but it is possible to expand them further where they are not.
Hana Janišová
“Public transport in Prague is already one of the cheapest in Europe,“ ok bunny “I think anything that’s free doesn’t motivate people to be responsible about it. The right thing is to look for motivation to use public transport much more, that’s what we should do,” he adds.
Unification of blue zones
In the case of the so-called blue parking zones, there is greater agreement among the representatives of the parties. According to the SPD, Spolu pro Praha and the Praha nas domov coalition, the system should be unified. However, there are differences in execution.
“We are in favor of one zone, of course with the excuse of the center, where there would be a different special regime. I think that the parking card should be portable so that its holder can use the benefits of the blue zone or the parking zone in different places,” adds Zajíček.
We have one parking zone in the program and a reduction in costs for a parking card to 500 crowns.
Milan Urban
The SPD movement plans to simplify parking permits the most. “We have one parking zone in the program and a reduction in parking card costs to 500 crowns for every Prague citizen,” Urban describes.
The Praha náš domov coalition would introduce one blue zone for all Prague residents. Usability would then be determined by the time of day. “The blue parking zone during the day from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. available to all drivers and from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. only for residents,” explains Ploc.
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On the other hand, the Prague Self Association and the DSZ coalition for animal rights reject a single parking card. “The blue zones should remain as they are, but it is possible to expand them further where they are not. Even if a person is a resident, it very often happens that he simply cannot park, regardless of whether he pays or not,” says Janišová.
“The implication is that one parking zone is not a good idea, because any mayor who has a blue zone is faced with people logging into his ward virtually to park there. They have the right to do so by law, and the result will be that no one will park anywhere. It’s nice, but it won’t work,” concludes Čižinský.
How do the parties want to solve the unaffordability of housing? Listen to the full debate in audio? Hosted by Jan Bumba.