Prague 2 requested bike racks last year, the municipality is ordering them this spring. Yet they are not in the streets
The sidewalks in Podskalí are crowded with scooters and bicycles left on the sidewalks. This is how someone in Trojická Street leaned a shared bike against a shop window. Photo: Jan Puci
Urban districts in Prague have been dealing with scooters and bikes lying around and obstructing the sidewalks for a long time. Last December, Prague 2 sent a request to the municipality for the installation of three dozen bicycle racks. Although the municipality ordered them from the administrator of Prague’s roads this spring, the installation has not yet taken place.
“We have a big problem with variously thrown scooters and standing bikes on all kinds of surfaces. We have therefore selected dozens of places in the territory of Prague 2,” said Jan Korseska (ODS), deputy mayor of the second city district for the area of transport, finance and investments.
The selected places were approved by the Police of the Czech Republic, so in mid-December 2021 the Department of Transport of Vinohrady Town Hall sent a request for the placement of a bicycle rack to the municipality. In the application, 31 selected locations for the installation of “U”-shaped bicycle racks were requested and approved.
According to Korsesky, the City Hall of Prague 2 did not expect problems with the installation and hoped that this would at least partially improve the situation and reduce the number of residents’ complaints. For them, scooters and bicycles make it difficult to move on the sidewalks. The municipality processed the request and after four months the bike racks were ordered.
“On April 9, the Department of Transport sent data mailboxes to the Technical Administration of Communications, Hl. m of Prague (TSK) ordering bicycle racks with their subsequent transfer to their own administration and property registration,” confirmed municipality spokesman Vít Hofman.
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However, the installation has not yet taken place, when five months have passed since the request was sent, it has not happened. “We know that TSK has not fulfilled our order so far and we are impatiently waiting for it to be. Of course, we urge the TSK, but this organization has more priorities than capacity,” said the spokesperson of the municipality.
“Colleagues are overloaded and can’t keep up with the public order for the supply and installation of stands. Colleagues, for example, are fully devoted to the reconstruction of the Barrandovské bridge, which is in dire need of repair,” he added.
The TSK has now provided information about the missing bike racks through its spokesperson. “We are solving this requirement as part of a large contract for the supply and installation of cycling infrastructure elements (furniture) at primary and kindergarten schools throughout Prague. In the first phase, we are dealing with approximately 30 locations, and this delivery also includes these mobile bike racks for Prague 2. This is a very large order, which we have to process properly, and the production and assembly itself will take time,” she responded to the question why the bike racks have not yet been they did not appear in the streets. The date of installation according to will be known only after the selection of the supplier.
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“Deputy Mayor for Transport Adam Scheinherr and representatives of the TSK assured us throughout the election period that there are enough racks for bike and scooter stations, and the same is true of the installation capacity. To date, no stand has been installed. I must state that in this election year the activity of the TSK was completely paralyzed. It’s a big mistake,” added Deputy Mayor Korseska.
As Scheinherr told TV Nova a few days ago, “the problem is primarily being solved in the streets, where the city police are handing out dozens of fines a day.” According to him, the capital has dictated clear conditions to the operators on how scooters can be operated.