“Check your e-mail in the next few days. Perhaps you live in one of the randomly selected 20,000 households in Krakow, to which an invitation to participate in the Krakow Climate Panel was sent,” inform city officials.
Invites were sent – stay tuned & check your emails!
On March 17, letters to the inhabitants were sent. Receiving an invitation is an opportunity to contribute to the panel and represent all Krakow residents. Registration of panelists lasts until March 26. The Krakow Climate Panel will start soon – the first citizens’ panel in Krakow. The panel is a way of making important decisions by a randomly selected group of residents, whose role is to resolve a given matter taking into account the common good.
The first citizens’ panel in Krakow is devoted to climate change and the city’s climate neutrality. Its aim is to find an answer to the question: “How can the City of Krakow and its residents reduce energy consumption and increase the use of renewable energy?”
How does this work? Who gets invited?
Shipping 20 thousand invitations is the first stage of selecting panelists. From among the registered people, a group of 60 will be selected, together with a 10-person reserve group. The drawn people will constitute a representative group for the entire city in terms of socio-demographic and spatial characteristics (gender, age group, residential district, level of education).
When will the meetings take place?
Planned dates of meetings of the Krakow Climate Panel:
As officials assure, “participation in the Krakow Climate Panel is not only a unique adventure but also an opportunity to have a real impact on the city’s activities. the city and will be implemented”. However, we already had a lot of social consultations in the city, and the implementation of the residents’ demands was different. We’ll see how it will be this time.
Looking forward to reading more news about this action 🙂
A tender for a new electric city bike is to be announced in February. The city plans that if all goes well, there will be 1000 bicycles at 100 stations available for residents already around the holidays. These are also to be located on the periphery and in less urbanized neighborhoods. The new municipal electrics are to be access function to means of public collective transport.
A tender for electric bikes is up!
“We will announce the tender in February. To start with, we want a thousand bikes. The inhabitants do not massively use and do not know electric bikes, so we want to distribute them. That is why we do not go straight to the level of three thousand bikes. We will be the first city in Poland to offer an electric city bike” – says Łukasz Franek, director of the Public Transport Authority (ZTP).
A new system – lease for min 4 years
The new system of the Krakow city bike (there is no official name yet) works differently from the Wavelo system, where the costs of the system, but also the income, were on the operator’s side. Now, Krakow wants to have a service, at least for 4 years, for which it will pay, as it pays MPK and Mobillis for transport services.
The costs behind it
What costs are we talking about? ZTP estimates that it will be approx. PLN 5-7 million per year. For the implementation of the bicycle policy, including the city bicycle system in Krakow, in 2021 the city budget has allocated less than PLN 10 million.
“The interested companies declare that they are able to prepare the system in 3 months. Theoretically, the bike could be available during the holidays, I do not want to declare it. The situation is what it is. It may turn out that there are no bikes or companies will miss financially. You also have to take into account appeals from the tender” – emphasizes Łukasz Franek.
1000 bicycles at 100 stations, including a lot on the outskirts
ZTP officials assume that the basic function of the new city bike will be the function of accessing public means of collective transport. In addition, the electric bicycle is to play an important communication function in the more peripheral, less urbanized regions of Krakow. Initially, there will be about 100 stations (10 bikes for each station) and they are to be evenly distributed throughout the city. Thus, there will be less accumulation of stations in the very center of Krakow.
Hubs outside of the city + on the outskirts
The stations would appear, among others in such locations as Tyniec or the area of ul. Klasztorna. It is also about places where there is a bicycle infrastructure, there are paths for bicycles, thanks to which you can cover longer distances on electrics, up to 10-15 km. For now, it remains unknown how much the residents will pay for the new city bike, whether it will be somehow related to the public transport ticket tariff, etc.
“If we were to make an ordinary bicycle, we can repeat the Wavelo model, but here we want flexibility, where the stations are integrated with public transport, where it is possible to change and correct it” – adds Łukasz Franek.
Wavelo bikes left Krakow
Let us remind you that Wavelo has been operating in Krakow since 2016. It was very popular among residents and tourists. The Krakow authorities have signed a contract with BikeU to run a city bike rental facility for as many as eight years, until 2024. As part of it, BikeU provided residents with up to 1500 bicycles available at one time at 168 stations located throughout the city.
The Krakow city bike solution was quite innovative, because all costs and responsibility for the system were borne by the concessionaire, i.e. BikeU. The city paid only PLN 1 month for each bike, i.e. PLN 1,500. In addition, the city got 1 percent. loan receipts.
At the end of 2019, however, the BikeU company suddenly submitted a letter to the Krakow City Hall terminating the contract for running the Wavelo bicycle rental. More Wavelo two-wheelers began to disappear from Krakow. Ultimately, it happened at the beginning of 2020.
MPK is modernizing the bus fleet. New electric buses from the pool of 50 purchased by the city carrier are slowly starting to arrive in Krakow.
On Monday, January 25, the first of 50 new electric buses ordered by MPK in Krakow left the Solaris Bus & Coach factory in Bolechowice near Poznań. The bus will be delivered on a special tow truck to the Wola Duchacka Bus Service Station.
After delivery, the technical acceptance of the new bus will begin. It will be carried out entirely at the MPK depot (due to the limitations related to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, it is currently not possible for these technical approvals to take place at the manufacturer’s factory as before).
50 new buses for Krakow
The contract for the delivery of 50 electric buses and 50 charging devices via a plug-in connector, dedicated to each vehicle, was signed on May 25, 2020. All new buses will carry passengers on four lines No. 144, 173, 179, and partially 503, running through Aleja Trzech Wieszczów, i.e. in the area of the city, where the greatest exceedances of the permissible air pollution standards occur.
The electric buses that Solaris will deliver to Kraków will be driven by axles with integrated electric motors. Articulated buses will be structurally prepared for charging in 2 ways: through a 4-pole roof pantograph located above the first axle of the vehicle or through a plug-in connector. The energy storage will be Solaris High Energy + batteries.
European Union Funds ON!
Electric articulators will be able to offer a journey for 141 passengers at a time, 43 of whom will be able to use seats. The newest buses for Krakow will be equipped with monitoring, passenger information system, air conditioning, USB chargers and an electric heating system. People on wheelchairs will be able to use a platform that will facilitate getting on and off the bus. The ramp will be mounted at the second door. For the purchase of these vehicles, MPK SA obtained approx. PLN 110 million in subsidies from the European Union funds.
These are the next electric buses in the capital of Małopolska. The residents of Krakow can currently use 29 emission-free vehicles.
The article is taken from Gazeta Krakowska – you can find it here in Polish language.
In 2019, Krakow liquidated almost twice as many outdated boilers as all neighbouring communes. Despite this, the capital of Lesser Poland is still under heavy smog. The reason is pollution flowing into our city from neighboring towns. It is estimated that around 30,000 coal furnaces are still smoking around Krakow. What is needed is the involvement of other Małopolska communes in the fight for clean air, argue the authorities of Krakow. In turn, in the Marshal’s Office, we hear assurances that more and more outdated boilers are replaced year by year in the neighboring communes.
Air quality – always horrible at the beginning of the year!
The beginning of the year is terrible when it comes to air quality in Poland. Our country has become a red point on the map of Europe in the last few days. In many cities, including those from Małopolska, air pollution standards were exceeded even several times. In our voivodeship, the worst was in Nowy Targ and Kraków. The capital of Małopolska was even ranked 5th among the most polluted cities in the world.
This fact may come as a surprise as Krakow is very good at replacing obsolete boilers, which are the main source of air pollution. In 2019, the city liquidated almost twice as many as all neighboring communes. At the moment there are just over 2.8 thousand obsolete heat sourcesto be replaced.
Despite this, in recent days the smog cap has hung over our city again, and its authorities, due to the exceeding the average pollution level for PM10 dust, had to introduce free public transport.
The slow pace of replacement of obsolete boilers in municipalities around Krakow
MEPs from Krakow who deal with smog, have no doubt that the impact on this situation is, among others, the slow pace of replacement of obsolete furnaces and boilers in municipalities around our city.
In each of them, there are thousands of furnaces, in which solid fuels are still burned. Krakow lies in a basin, where pollution from neighboring towns is deposited.
MP Aleksander Miszalski from the Civic Coalition (during the online meeting on smog)
Polish Smog Alarm takes notice!
Recently, the Polish Smog Alarm presented data which clearly shows that the replacement of furnaces and boilers is very slow across the country. Krakow seems to be an exception. Among voivodeship cities, a record number of boilers was replaced here – over 4.1 thousand. Let us recall that in the capital of Małopolska, coal and wood smoking are prohibited from September 2019.
When sending inquiries to the municipalities, we expected that the number of boilers mentioned would not be significant, but what we saw in the responses showed a complete crisis in the area of replacing obsolete boilers.
said Andrzej Guła, PAS leader
We decided to check the situation in the communes around Krakow. For example, last year in the commune of Świątniki Górne over 90 coal-fired boilers were replaced with gas ones. “Additionally, 2 heat pumps and 2 biomass boilers were installed. 42 photovoltaic panels and 5 solar collectors were installed” – emphasizes the eco-manager Aleksander Piegza.
Replacement of old stoves in smaller cities around Krakow is crucial!
More obsolete stoves were replaced in the Niepołomice commune: last year, nearly 150. “It should be noted that the number refers only to investments made under the municipal subsidy projects and the Clean Air government program” – Anna Szewczyk from the Niepołomice City and Commune Office assures us.
1% for activities related to air protection
Let us recall that during the consultations on the new air protection program for the Małopolskie Voivodeship, it was proposed that all communes should allocate 1 % off for activities related to air protection, including subsidies for the replacement of boilers. Such a provision appeared in the final version of the program. Communes of the so-called “obwarzanek krakowski” complied with these recommendations, although it was not possible to reach 1% everywhere.
“As part of activities related to air protection, the Świątniki Górne commune secured about 0.7 % in the budget for 2021. The activities include: employment of eco-managers (2 jobs), implementation of subsidy programs for the exchange of heat sources and the installation of renewable energy sources, etc.” – informs Piegza. At the same time, he emphasizes that the commune has also managed to obtain funds from outside for investments related to air protection. “Therefore, if you count the total funds for this purpose, it would be approx. 4 % budget” – the eco-manager confirms.
Why does Krakow still have smog?
We asked the Krakow authorities why, despite the quick replacement of outdated boilers, smog continued to suffocate residents. Paweł Ścigalski, the plenipotentiary of President Jacek Majchrowski for air quality, emphasizes that there are many factors.
First, Krakow has a terrible geographical location – in the valley of the Vistula river, which makes it difficult to ventilate the city. In addition, especially in the autumn and winter period, there are temperature inversions, fogging, periods of wind silence, and air humidity. Despite the anti-smog resolution in force for Krakow, which mentions the ban on the use of solid fuels, there are still locations in the city where it is used.
Ścigalski
The air circulation knows no borders…
Like MP Miszalski, the president’s adviser draws attention to the situation in neighboring communes. “It is estimated that around 30,000 coal furnaces are still smoking around Krakow. The air has no borders and hence other Małopolska communes need to be involved in the fight for clean air, especially those in its immediate vicinity from the perspective of Kraków“, adds Ścigalski. However, it indicates that the air in our city is getting better every year.
You can see the effects of anti-smog activities. It is worth noting that the dust level has dropped by half in the last 7 years. For 2 years now, we have been in the annual average PM10 standard, the number of days with daily exceedances is decreasing, in 2020 there were less than 50 (average from the CIEP station in Krakow) – he says.
Kraków remains the leader in Małopolska
In turn, Michał Drewnicki, the press spokesman of the Marshal’s Office of the Małopolska Region, emphasizes that more and more outdated boilers are replaced in the neighboring communes of Krakow. “On the scale of Małopolska, Krakow remains the leader, which in 2019 liquidated almost twice as many outdated boilers than all neighboring communes. In previous years, this advantage was even greater” – says Drewnicki.
It indicates that among the communes of the so-called “Obwarzanek krakowski”, but also on the voivodeship level, Skawina stands out in particular. “The commune not only lists the most heat sources but also carries out the most inspections of furnaces, installs renewable energy sources in residential buildings, and has made an inventory of almost all heat sources” – he acknowledges.
The Gazeta Krakowska article, in PL language, can be found on the link provided.
If you decide to buy a Christmas tree, we encourage you to buy a tree in a pot – suggests the City Greenery Authority. Thanks to this, after Christmas, the Christmas tree can be returned to Zarząd Zieleni Miejskiej (ZZM), and its employees will plant the Christmas tree in the spring.
When & where can we bring in the Christmas trees?
Christmas trees can be brought in from Tuesday, January 5. The action will last until February 1. The trees can be handed over to Zarząd Zieleni Miejskiej (ZZM) between 7.30 am and 3.30 pm in the car park at ul. Za Torem 22 in Krakow. The place where you can leave the Christmas tree will be marked.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be eco-friendly during this year!
The construction of the tram line from Krowodrza Górka to Górka Narodowa is in progress. The investment will take 2 years, and during this time the residents will have to take into account considerable nuisance and traffic difficulties. The latest photos & videos (check them out below) show how the construction is going.
Before the 5.5-kilometer-long track to the north of the city is built, a large area must be rebuilt on the section between the Krowodrza Górka terminus and the outskirts of the city on the national road No. 7. Officials from the Municipal Investments Board remind that the construction of the tram line to Górka Narodowa has begun July 8. The construction of the tram line from the Krowodrza Górka terminus to the Górka Narodowa is to take 2 years.
Cutting down trees and leveling the ground
“The first stage of works can hardly be called spectacular, but it is a necessary stage to be able to start the main works: detours are being built, demolition works and preliminary archaeological surveys are underway, underground utilities are being repositioned. Recently, excavations of foundations for segments of the concrete structure, the so-called bathtub, the line of which will run between Kuźnica Kołłątajowska and Banacha Streets. This solution is to reduce the nuisance for the inhabitants of the surrounding buildings” – emphasize in ZIM.
Greenery is gone! Trees replanting?
As part of the construction of the Krakow Fast Tram to the Górka Narodowa, only the greenery that collides with the planned road and tram system has been cleared and reduced to the necessary minimum. To implement the project, 3,477 pieces of woody plants (deciduous and coniferous) will be removed in total.
Due to the extensive infrastructure of the project and collisions with many technical networks, tree plantings in the investment area cannot be carried out in a 1: 1 ratio. Nevertheless, within the boundaries of the investment, 2,680 tree plantings were planned, and the missing 797 trees will be planted as replacement plantings on plots belonging to the Municipality of Krakow.
Where will the tracks lead?
From Krowodrza Górka (where the existing loop will be completely rebuilt), the tram will travel through the green area between the car showroom and the hospital.
At the intersection with ul. Opolska, a two-level intersection will be built. We will go down Opolska Street and the tram line will go higher.
Then the tram will go straight to ul. Pachoński. Before the crossing with Pachońskiego, Park & Ride parking is planned.
The line will run along ul. Pachońskiego, then slightly turn right, connecting the intersections of Pachońskiego and Zielińska streets, and Białoprądnicka and Bularnia streets.
Between the intersections with ul. Bularnia and Pleszowska, the tram will turn left and reach Górnickiego Street, and further, on the southern side of ul. Pachońskiego, to Siewna Street.
At Siewna, the track will be moved to the northern side of the road and between the buildings (behind the buildings at 30 and 32 Siewna Streets) it will reach ul. Bociana.
The tram will reach building No. 17 along Bociana Street, where it will turn north and through the area of the existing concrete plant, towards the railway tracks.
After passing under the railway tracks, the tram will cross ul. Kuźnicy Kołłątajowskiej and ul. Słomczyńskiego, and then behind the estate at ul. Banacha will go straight ahead for a while to turn right towards al. 29th of November. The loop is planned south of ul. Belwederczyk.
What does the investment include?
The route of the Krakow Fast Tram to Górka Narodowa also includes a two-chamber road tunnel with a length of approx. 100 m along ul. Opolska. This solution is to ensure a collision-free and problem-free passage of tram communication from northern housing estates to the city center.
The investment planned for implementation includes: • construction of a tram line with a length of approx. 5 km along with full road infrastructure, including the construction and reconstruction of communication routes, the construction of bicycle paths, the construction of sidewalks and the construction of lighting • reconstruction of the existing Krowodrza Górka tram terminus and construction a new tram and bus terminus in the area of Górka Narodowa • construction of 3 new traction substations and thorough modernization of 1 substation • construction of a multi-level intersection with a tunnel along ul. Opolska • construction of 3 parking lots in the Park & Ride system: – at the Krowodrza Górka tram and bus terminus with approximately 110 parking spaces – at ul. Pachońskiego in the area of ul. Szopkarzy with approx. 94 parking spaces – at the Górka Narodowa tram and bus terminus – a two-level car park with approx. 240 parking spaces • construction of seven engineering structures: – tunnel along ul. Opolska – road flyover over the Sudół valley – tramway overpass over the Sudół valley – footbridge at the level of Szopkarzy and Danka Streets – bridge over the Białucha river – culvert on the Bibiczanka stream – railway viaduct.
How much will it cost? Who will do it?
The task is carried out in the “design and build” mode. According to the contract signed on May 22, 2017, the contractor for the investment is a consortium of companies: Przedsiębiorstwo Usług Technicznych “INTERCOR” Sp. z o. o. and Przedsiębiorstwo Inżynieryjnych Robót Kolejowych “TOR-KRAK” Sp. z o. o. Before selecting the contractor, the City obtained decisions on environmental conditions (March 15, 2016).
The project is co-financed by the European Union from the Cohesion Fund under the Operational Program Infrastructure and Environment for 2014-2020.
The value of the project is in accordance with the financing agreement of 03/10/2017. Total project value: PLN 378,914,203.93 Eligible expenditure under the project: PLN 216,735 206.67 Co-financing from EU funds: PLN 151,233,429.65
More info can be found, in Polish language, on the ZIM KRAKOW page (Zarzad Inwestycji Miejskich w Krakowie).
Stay safe, stay informed!
The Twisted Red LadyBug
Share:
Reading time: 5 min
Get more stuff
Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stuff and updates to your email inbox.
Recent Comments