From Friday, August 28, the Limited Traffic Zone returned to Kazimierz, Kraków. Entrepreneurs from this area are protesting against such changes.
Discontent entrepreneurs
“Our contractor confirms that he will be able to implement the new traffic organization project in Kazimierz from Friday morning (28.08.2020). Therefore, the changes planned by the city traffic engineer will come into force from that day” – admitted earlier on last week the Road Authority of the City of Krakow.
The Krakow office justifies that the SOR (Strefa Ograniczonego Ruchu = Limited Traffic Zone) in Kazimierz is restored in order to maintain a balance in the common space for residents, entrepreneurs, and tourists. It also comes as a response to the requests of the District Council I Old Town.
“The conducted analysis showed that the functioning of the Śródmieście Paid Parking Zone alone did not solve the problem of excessive car traffic in Kazimierz. It should be remembered that this is a place with increased pedestrian activity, which was also confirmed by the conducted analysis”.
Protests against SOR
Entrepreneurs from the Kazimierz area, who were also joined by residents, entrepreneurs, and taxi companies from other districts of Krakow, are protesting against the SOR. As a protest, on Wednesday (August 26th), they conducted a picket in front of the city hall. “By its decision to create a Limited Traffic Zone in Kazimierz, the office contributes to the collapse or deterioration of the already disastrous financial situation of our companies. The city’s policy also leads to the depopulation of the center of Krakow” – argue the protesters.
They also note that during the coronavirus pandemic, when the city’s financial situation has deteriorated significantly, the introduction of the SOR will result in the loss of a large part of the budget revenues from fees in the parking zone, which Kazimierz is covered by.
Restored SOR
The restored SOR will coincide with the area where restrictions have been in force since 2017. SOR will cover Plac Nowy and the surrounding streets, incl. Corpus Christi, Joseph, Esther, Kupa, Jakub, Wąska. “In addition, due to numerous complaints from residents about disturbing order and dangerous behavior of some drivers, on part of ul. Miodowa pilot, a traffic restriction will be introduced, applicable only on weekends, when most of the time there is no paid parking zone. However, this solution may change when a paid parking zone will be introduced on these days” – informs the City Hall.
Permits for SOR
Permits for entry to the SOR remain unchanged. The following vehicles will be able to enter this zone: with a type K parking subscription for sector A13 and with a type E parking subscription; between 6-11 and 16-20 only for and for the duration of loading and maintenance activities; with an electric motor without a trailer; bicycles; taxis; special services, municipal services, labeled medical assistance; commuting to the property, garage or reserved space purchased; with mail; money convoys to banks in the zone; with the permission of the road administrator.
“We would like to emphasize that the observed changes in the traffic intensity and the epidemiological situation may cause a change in the functioning of the Limited Traffic Zone” – emphasizes the office.
Original article in Polish language can be found here.
The communication revolution has reached Ulica Dietla. Now, as part of the Shield for Mobility, the rules of traffic organization are changing. Drivers will have fewer lanes, but there will be new parking spaces. Pedestrians can count on more space on the sidewalks. There are also roads for cyclists.
City Hall’s stand
“The renovation of Krakowska Street is coming to an end, along with the reconstruction of the intersection with Dietla Street. Taking advantage of the opportunity of reduced traffic in the area covered by the works, the Road Administration of the City of Krakow renovated Dietla Street. Completion of the above works is a good opportunity to comprehensively systematize the organization of traffic on this street” – explains Sebastian Kowal from the Krakow City Hall.
Introduced on ul. Dietl, new traffic organization solutions include freeing sidewalks from parked vehicles. “This will enable the comfort of walking and ensure social distance, which is so important in the current epidemiological situation” – emphasizes Sebastian Kowal.
Then and Now
So far, Ulica Dietla had 2 lanes in each direction. Now over 130 parking spaces will be designated on the outer lanes. They are to be built along their entire length, but additional turning lanes will appear instead of them at an appropriate distance in front of the intersections. There are also 3 kiss & ride (K&R) parking spaces for tourist buses in the vicinity of the Vistula boulevards, Kazimierz and Wawel, which is to reduce unnecessary access of coaches to the very center.
The remaining approx. 5 meters of the road on each side is shared by cars and cyclists. “The changes are made so that, as part of measures to improve the safety of all road users, the wide roadway does not encourage driving too fast, however, so that it is still comfortable and cyclists feel safe” – informs Sebastian Kowal. “Cyclists will be clearly marked with the way they move. At the same time, these changes, even with parallel parking on the road, will not restrict the passage of emergency vehicles”, he adds.
The first painted stripes of the Krakow Shield for Mobility appeared on the Grunwaldzki Bridge and Ulica Grzegórzecka and Wielopole. Public Transport Authority announced that the changes would be continued and now the time has come for Ulica Dietla. Currently, it is painted there, among others road for bicycles . On the Grunwaldzki Bridge, it was separated with separators and stakes, while on Dietla, a 2-wheeled path was painted on the road. For now, only on the side of Kazimierz, but the same changes will be introduced on the road leading to traffic from ul. Dietl to the Grunwaldzki Bridge.
Would this lead to blockades?!
“It should be noted that before the renovation of Krakowska Street, 24/7 lane parking was introduced on Dietla Street. This provided, in line with the expectations of local residents, parking spaces for them. The implemented solutions, despite the concerns of some skeptics, did not lead to the blockade of the street. At the same time, as part of the traffic organization, various solutions were tested for the duration of the works, aimed at streamlining road traffic, including improving the functioning of public transport, in particular trams, and, equally important, facilitating walking” – emphasizes Sebastian Kowal. “Therefore, changes in the target traffic organization are largely the result of experience and traffic observation. New solutions will offer residents the most effective use of the available space”.
The capacity of Ulica Dietla will improve turning off the traffic lights in almost all places. However, the new traffic organization adds the inability to travel by car straight between ul. Krakowska and Stradomska, in both directions.
The comprehensive implementation of all the new solutions at Ulica Dietla is scheduled for mid-September this year.
Citizen stand
Looking at the comments and discussion on the topic, it seems that the citizen of Krakow are split between liking the idea and totally dismissing it. Some say that the red stripes are quite vulgar and they do not blend in nicely with the historical architecture (which, IMHO, they are 100% right!), some state that having 1 lane (instead of 2) brings more traffic jams and more pollutions through the exhaust fumes… some mention that one lane will bring issues in case of emergencies (how can one yield the lane to the ambulance, firetrucks or the police?!)…
On another hand: more parking spaces! (and everyone loves that!) Mixed feelings but I think we need to see the lanes in action and see where that takes us… I, for one, wish more people would take bikes and public transport than using their own cars!
If you wish to read more, the article in PL language can be found here.
In September 2017, Massive Dynamic AG Polska (a branch of Massive Dynamic AG based in Switzerland) submitted a proposal to build an underground metro network for Krakow and the Krakow agglomeration for about 45 billion PLN on the basis of a public-private partnership. Its representatives resent the president of Krakow and his subordinate officials that for three years their actions have only discouraged the investor from actions that would largely solve transport problems in the capital of Małopolska and neighboring municipalities.
What would the project mean?
The undertaking would consist in the fact that Massive Dynamic AG will design, build and finance the metro network, then use it and earn money on it until the return on investment (analyzes have shown a return on the investment after 22 years), and then it will hand over the property to the city.
The concept proposed by Massive Dynamic AG assumed the construction of 5 metro lines with a total length of over 170 km (139 stations and 19 park & ride parking lots with a total capacity of about 6,100 parking spaces). It would be a subway network that would connect Krakow with the adjacent municipalities. 4 lines would run radially with a common point at the Main Railway Station, and 1 line would be a circumferential line.
The Numbers
It was noted that, according to preliminary arrangements with the provincial conservation authorities, the metro could run at a depth of at least 20 meters. The first 2 lines would be built within 3 years. The following ticket prices were adopted: tourists staying up to 3 days: 72-hour ticket – 54 PLN; tourists staying over 3 days: 7-day ticket – 74 PLN; students from outside the commune: monthly ticket – 82 PLN; students living in Krakow: monthly ticket – 65 PLN; people commuting to work from outside the commune: monthly ticket – 129 PLN; Krakow residents: monthly ticket – 92 PLN.
What happened?
The case was transferred to the Municipal Economy Department of the Krakow City Hall. “There, after the initial meeting, I was informed about the need to be patient. From the beginning of December 2017 to the end of March 2018, I was disposed of for all kinds of contacts with the Municipal Economy Department because of the lack of time for meetings regarding the metro” – admits Marcin Boroń, president of Massive Dynamic AG Polska.
In connection with the situation, in June 2018, Massive Dynamic AG submitted a petition to the Krakow City Council, in which it renewed its proposal to build the metro. As a result, there was finally a meeting with the management of the Municipal Economy Department, where president Marcin Boroń presented the concept of the metro to officials. He declared that the company had adequate financial resources and was in talks with companies involved in tunneling (Herrenknecht), rolling stock production (Siemens), and train traffic control systems.
Officials pointed out that a Study for Collision-Free Transport in Krakow is being developed, its effect may be the construction of the 1st metro line, therefore any works related to the construction of the metro line would have to be carried out in parallel and completely independent of the route of the metro in the eastern corridor analyzed in the Study West. Officials also pointed out that 3 metro lines were planned in the Krakow Development Study. The concept would, therefore, have to be adapted to this document or changed. The representatives of the city hall also expected more specific analyzes and documents confirming the investor’s financial capacity.
In October 2018, Massive Dynamic AG submitted to the office the preliminary analysis of the investment, and two months later it sent documents confirming the financial capacity. In order to read the documents sent, including agreements with foreign partners, the investor expected the city to sign a confidentiality agreement. The contract template was sent to the office at the end of 2018.
“After sending these documents, the Municipal Economy Department began to act very slowly. After many phone calls and messages sent by e-mail, a meeting with the vice-president of Krakow, Andrzej Kulig, was finally arranged on February 12, 2019, i.e. after more than 16 months from the moment our company submitted the proposal to build the metro“ – emphasizes President Marcin Boroń. “At the meeting attended by other representatives of the office, the scope of the project was initially discussed and it was agreed that a confidentiality agreement would be prepared. Later, the office again acted very sluggishly, in my opinion, so as to discourage us from further action in this matter”.
2019 & The Mayor of Krakow
In April 2019, Massive Dynamic filed a complaint against the work of the vice-president of Krakow, Andrzej Kulig, and the Municipal Economy Department. The Mayor of Krakow, Jacek Majchrowski, found it unfounded. In response, he recalled that the proposed solutions for the metro were not in line with the spatial development study for Kraków. The president also emphasized that although the president of Massive Dynamic Polska had sent documents confirming financial credibility, officials could not read their content, because they were secured with a password along with the information that they could be read after signing a confidentiality agreement.
The president also asked attention that the proposed routes of the metro lines should be verified by professional analyzes and forecasts of traffic, as well as the locations of transfer stations/nodes so that they do not conflict with the existing development. The president also noted that the city could not afford to cooperate with one entity selected without respecting the provisions related to public procurement.
Lack of interest…
“If it were an investment under a public-private partnership, the city could have prepared a tender and started a technical dialogue with our company” – says President Marcin Boroń. “We presented the general concept of the metro lines, which could be detailed at subsequent stages of the works to meet the city’s requirements. However, about PLN 20 million would be needed to conduct detailed analyzes. We could not afford such an expense without any agreements, especially non-disclosure agreements. It is difficult to imagine that without it, we would disclose all the financial secrets of our company to the office” – he adds.
Massive Dynamic AG also submitted complaints to the Krakow City Council and tried to present its vision to the councilors at the RMK session. “Until today, however, we have not obtained consent for it” – says President Marcin Boroń.
On the other hand, the chairman of the Krakow City Council, Dominik Jaśkowiec (PO councilor), informed Gazeta Krakowsa that he would look at the matter. “We have not recently invited guests to the meetings of the Krakow City Council due to the coronavirus pandemic. If epidemiological conditions make it possible, a presentation of the subway project could be organized in September” – explains Dominik Jaśkowiec.
Krakow voted in favor of having a metro line!
In May 2014, the inhabitants of Kraków voted in favor of building the metro in a referendum. In September 2018, the city signed an agreement with ILF Consulting Engineers Polska to develop a study for collision-free transport, including metro, for 9.4 million. The contract includes a deadline for the completion of the works by the end of 2019. Just before that date, the Krakow authorities informed that the document would not be prepared on time, as the proposals for the location of underground stops for the metro (planned on the Nowa Huta – city center – Bronowice route) were negatively assessed by the conservation authorities.
Initially, the Małopolska Voivodship Conservator of Monuments Monika Bogdanowska agreed only to the metro stop at the Nowaka-Jeziorański Square, so in the vicinity of the Main Railway Station. There was no consent for stops at the Mogilskie roundabout, the intersection of Dunajewskiego, Karmelicka and Podwale streets, and the square between Karmelicka and Dolnych Młynów streets, where there is now an above-ground parking lot and a municipal park is to be built. The contractors of the study proposed new solutions for the stops and the conservation authorities approved two of them: in the area of the Mogilskie roundabout and ul. Karmelicka, but with conditions. In the case of the Mogilskie roundabout, the recommendation was that the stop should not collide with the remains of the former fortification buildings.
Half a year ago, it seemed that both parties would be able to complete all the details efficiently and by the end of June this year, the authors of the study would be able to complete the necessary work. However, there are further delays and so far the Study has not been presented…
For more details on how the proposed 5 metro lines would look like, please do check the Gazeta Krakowska article and photos.
Yours truly,
The Twisted Red LadyBug bringing you the Krakow News
Flowers embedded in resin instead of advertisements. An unusual stop has been created in Łódź
One of the most beautiful public transport stops in Poland has appeared in Łódź. In the walls of the shelters, instead of advertisements, colorful flowers embedded in resin were placed.
The main value of this installation is primarily the visual layer and basing its form on the subtle, natural beauty of flowers and plant elements. An additional taste of this place is the fact that for over 30 years you can buy flowers here practically around the clock.
Michał Bieżyński – Łódź Event Center, curator of the project
The author of the project, which was called “Nostalgia”, is Dominika Cebula, a 3rd-year student of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź. For the creation of the installation, among others, forget-me-nots, cornflowers, narcissuses, roses, peonies, daisies, and other flowers were used, which, embedded in resin, created 36 colorful compositions.
Nostalgia by Dominika Cebula
The idea came from the desire to be close to nature, to emphasize the contrast of flowers with a concrete city. Flowers and bouquets are of great importance for people, their symbolism has been present in our culture for a long time. To create the installation, I used, among other flowers that I got as a gift or from friends who wanted to support my work on the project.
Dominika Cebula – interview with Dziennik Łódzki
The floristic shelter at Dąbrowski Square will stand at least until the end of October. It is possible that later the resin-embedded panels will be moved to another stop.
Don’t you think this piece looks magnificient? I, for one, would not mind having all the public transport stops decorated like this – instead of the regular ads that they hold. Plus… that would save paperwork and would help in terms of recycling the plants.
Original news piece, in Polish language, can be found here.
In Krakow, there are mobility points where it will be possible to rent and put away electric scooters. However, there are still no national regulations that are supposed to sort out the issue of riding e-scooters.
Info taken from Gazeta Krakowska (Online News Page in Polish Language)
Currently there are no e-scooter regulations in Krakow
There are still no nationwide regulations on using electric scooters. Therefore, among others there are dangerous situations with their usage in the public places. E-scooter riders can now drive at any speed, and sometimes pedestrians are hit. The issues that the inhabitants of Krakow point out, among others, is the fact that in Krakow people leave the scooters anywhere: on sidewalks, in rubbish bins, etc. You can even trip over them and get badly injured!
That is why the officials of the City of Krakow have decided not to wait for nationwide regulations, but rather take the matter into their own hands!
New regulations for e-scooters in Krakow will come soon!
There are several companies in Krakow that rent scooters. We have consulted with them on the provisions that are to make the capital of Małopolska safer.
Sebastian Kowal from the Public Transport Authority
There are even Tours in Krakow – e-Scooter Tours – that give you the option to drive safely (helmet included) and learn more about this Magical City 😉
What would the new regulation entail?
Speed Limit
The new regulation includes limiting the speed at which it will be possible to travel in places with heavy pedestrian traffic.“This includes Planty, where you will be able to drive at a maximum speed of 15 km/hour. Most scooters have special devices installed, thanks to which – if someone exceeds speed in such a place – the vehicle will automatically slow down” – emphasizes Kowal.
Mobility Points
In addition, there are so-called mobility points – “there will be over 150 in total, and maybe more. Locations mostly duplicate those where Wavelo bicycle stations used to function (no longer available in Krakow). They have already been designated in Śródmieście, but they will be in every district. It will be possible not only to rent but also to leave an electric scooter” emphasizes Kowal. Thanks to this, scooters should disappear from sidewalks, rubbish bins, lawns, etc.
Special Application for the e-scooters in Krakow
The user of an e-scooter must have a special application downloaded to use it. This is where we find a map that will show where the nearest point of mobility is. “We hope that if we set the mobility points, the problem with the clutter in the road lane due to scooters will be eliminated” – officials are acknowledging.
Still waiting on nationwide regulations
We still have to wait for nationwide regulations.
“Due to the increasing popularity of personal transport devices (such as scooters) in road traffic, the Ministry of Infrastructure is working on legislative work to define road traffic rules for these devices”
Ministry of Infrastructure
The draft regulations assume that the scooter will be rideable at a maximum speed of 25 km/hour. Scooters are to be treated as bicycles.
Have you ever took a ride on a e-scooter in Krakow, or anywhere else in Poland? Have you also noticed them lying anywhere the rider stopped? I also find it rather infuriating… I wonder of the developments fo this new way of public transport…
Yours truly,
The Twisted Red LadyBug, Bringing You The Latest Krakow News
Poznań authorities had an environmentally friendly way to encourage residents to participate in the presidential election. The city will plant as many trees as the percent of the population that went to vote.
The Poznań authorities promise that new trees will be planted in the housing estate where on Sunday, July 12 will be the highest turnout during the second round of presidential elections. Their number will depend on the turnout.
“Thank you very much for the very high turnout in the first round of presidential elections and I encourage you to vote on July 12. Let our internal competition between housing estates be an additional motivation” – says Jacek Jaśkowiak, Mayor of Poznań.
What did the Mayor of Poznań say?
We will plant as many trees as the percentage points in the housing estate with the highest turnout. For example, if it is 80 percent this estate can expect 80 new trees. We all want to have them in our surroundings as much as possible, so I count on fierce competition.
Jacek Jaśkowiak, Mayor of Poznań
Among the species that are at stake are, among others, red chestnut, plane tree, oak or linden. These are trees that work well in urban conditions. For the first years they will be provided with care. Planting will take place in autumn, when the trees are resting and their growth process will not be disturbed.
How did the voting go, in Poznań, during the second round?
It seems that the stimulus did work! During the presidential election in 2015, the turnout among the inhabitants in the first round of Poznań was 55.39% & second round 55.34%.
What was the turnout in the second round of the previous presidential election in Poznań? 63.2% of residents did cast their vote there, so I say the eco-friendly stimulus did work out! Now it only remains to wait for fall and see if the trees will be planted in the district that held the most votes.
Yours truly,
The Twisted Red LadyBug Bringing You The Polish News 🙂
Recent Comments