The elderly mayor of Prague 13 will focus on parking and the Radlicka radial
What do you think is the biggest problem of Prague 13 and what is your solution for it?
Parking is our biggest concern. We are a housing estate, when the houses were designed, no one expected that each family would have one or more cars. The construction of parking spaces was undersized. We are therefore building a capacity parking lot in Petržílkova street in cooperation with the municipality, it will be ready next year and around 300 parking spaces will be created. We are a peripheral part of the city, and visitors from the Central Bohemia region also park with us.
The population of the Central Bohemian Region is still growing, and it can be expected that the number of commuters will also increase…
Therefore, we also have project documentation for the construction of a parking garage near the Luka metro station, in this case it will be an event of our district and around 250 parking spaces will be created. We are also working with a private investor on the parking garage project in Stodůlky. The developer received its construction as a condition for his further construction. In Stodůlky and Luky, I hope that the projects will be completed during this election period. In all cases, it will be a combination of P+R parking with long-term parking for locals.
In addition to parking, are you also bothered by long queues of cars?
Yes, for example, one car per minute passed through Jeremiášová Street, which goes around the whole of Prague 13. Now there are queues at the traffic lights in the morning and in the afternoon. The possible extension of Jeremias Street would not help either. A smart solution will be to introduce so-called green waves at better coordinated traffic lights. Improvements could also be brought by the expansion of the Prague ring road around Ořech and towards the tunnels.
How far along are you with this goal and what else can you do to help with transportation?
The Directorate of Roads and Highways is already preparing a zoning decision for the addition of one lane at the roundabout. Evergreen is the Radlická radial, which should extend the D5 highway, which today ends in Butovice. Radiála will be partly in a tunnel and will pass under Dívčí hrady Prague 5. It will end at the Barrandovské bridge, improving the flow of traffic a lot.
The project has been known for years…
Yes. But protests are increasing as the area around the future Radlické Radialé is gradually settled, houses are being built there. Various, religious members of the radio do not want to have civic associations under their windows. And they come up with other measures. However, the plan has already completed the assessment of the project’s effects on the environment. However, the changes would throw the plan off the table. It would start all over again and the preparation would take years, maybe decades.
New mayorsThe Prague editorial office of MF DNES presents a series of interviews with new and old mayors from the main city districts in the metropolis. The main topics are the current problems of the people of Prague, but also the stability of coalitions and the outlook for the future, how the newly elected representatives of the public want their territories further and not only further. |
But the project already caters to the residents even now and will be partially deepened…
Yes, especially at the Jinonice metro station. From the end of the D5 highway to the level crossing in Butovice, the road should be hidden behind a noise barrier.
Will you try to speed up the project somehow?
Yes. I will strive to ensure that construction begins according to the original building permit and that modifications that will improve the quality of living in the neighborhood do not slow down the entire construction. When an entire civic association comes up with the idea that it wants to have the building underground, it is unrealistic not only because of the already issued building permit, but also because of finances.
Because of the Radlické radial, you need to cooperate with the municipality, which is an investor. And with him you also have to deal with territorial development and the requirements of developers.
Prague 13 – it was originally only Stodůlky with five thousand inhabitants and there were fields all around. Then there were housing estates. After 1989, ninety percent of the land returned to private hands. And this also applies to free areas around Třebonice. Developers are of course interested in them and mainly turn to restituents. These are three or four families of former landowners. At most, they will come to ask us what the zoning plan looks like there and what they can build there. For now, only the area from Stodůlek to the Chaby estate is planned for development, where a city of 30,000 people will be created. This is how the spatial plan also takes this into account. We work well with the investors that are there. The largest, which has already purchased land, is FINEP.
What will happen to the infrastructure and civic amenities, which are often missing in new construction?
Developers realize that new urban neighborhoods need infrastructure. I count three kindergartens and one school there. An investor will provide a plot of land for one mother-in-law and build the entire building. For the elementary school, the developers dedicate the land and prepare the project only after obtaining a building permit. However, the construction of the school should be paid for by the capital city. It will be a rather complex construction. In some parts of the city, it has already happened that a developer built a school, but it did not meet the capacity and parameters. Prague, therefore, I have to have my own perspective on the issue.
Since the autumn elections, you have also – after a twelve-year break – been a representative of Prague. For example, will you want to engage as a councillor?
That’s really a very far-fetched question. First of all, it will depend on how the whole coalition negotiation turns out. I am a supporter of the fact that it should already be agreed. I don’t like waiting in the style: let’s see what others do first. I have no idea what the future coalition will look like. And I also don’t want to leave Prague 13.
So is it possible for you to be mayor and councilor at the same time?
That would be my condition, and if I had to decide between the councilor and the mayor, I would prefer the mayorship. Even though I was the first vice-chairman of the ODS and a member of the Chamber of Deputies, Prague 13 always came first for me. Also because I was born here.
You have also been mayor since 2002…
Yes. I started at thirty-one and now I’m 51.
How has the district changed during that time and what is your credit for it?
It is not about my merits, but about the work of the entire town hall and the residents of the district. If we were to compare the old photos with the current ones, we would find that the shift is quite significant. But I take it as the town hall should interfere in people’s lives as little as possible. We certainly can no longer impose on citizens what they will do. But if someone has a problem, we try to help them.