In connection with the construction of the tram line on Wenceslas Square, after ten years the city is once again reconstructing the tram tracks on Vodičkova Street. The question of whether the cobblestones will remain very unpleasant / dangerous for cycling remains open. According to city representatives, a potential obstacle to replacing the cobblestones is the European Union grant.
According to city estimates, an average of 200 people cycle through Vodičkova Street every day. They ride here despite part of the section being made up of very rough, difficult-to-ride cobblestones. This is especially unpleasant, even dangerous, when combined with heavy tram and pedestrian traffic. The city missed an opportunity to improve this section during the 2014 reconstruction of the tracks.
The current reconstruction of the tram tracks along with the new turn to the upper part of Wenceslas Square could solve this problem. Laying smoother or directly cut smooth (blasted) cobblestones in the cycling corridor would contribute to greater friendliness and safety for cycling. Such a change was successfully implemented in Prague three years ago at the Národní třída tram stop on Spálená Street. Here, a strip of finer cobblestones was used between the tracks. Similarly, smoother cobblestones were used in the Muzejní oáza or on Křižovnické Square.
It is still uncertain whether the city will be able to utilize this option on Vodičkova. According to earlier information, no improvement was supposed to occur, and the surfaces were to remain in the same condition. Bára Soukupová (Pirates), chairwoman of the Prague Cycling Commission, stated that the project is old and cannot be changed due to the conditions of the European Union grants.
At the same time, the Městem na kole editorial office received information from multiple sources during the preparation of this text that the possibility of improving the cobblestone surface is still being considered. Therefore, the surface improvement could still happen. The editorial office is awaiting an official statement from the transport company on the possibility of laying smoother cobblestones, and it will be added to the article if received.
At that time, reconstruction of the adjacent section of the tram track in Vodičkova was underway, and under pressure from the cycling community, it was eventually decided that the section of the track at the Václavské náměstí stop would also be repaved. The reconstruction project was thus only partially changed at the last moment. However, thanks to the repaving, there was a slight improvement with the use of recycled, „rounder“ paving stones. The original split cobblestones were almost impossible to ride on and very poorly laid. Even so, gaps of up to three centimeters remained, despite the fact that historic cobblestones can be laid with gaps between the blocks not exceeding one centimeter. Thus, the improvement was rather minimal, as described by Vratislav Filler in his commentary at the time.
It will be interesting to see whether a similar scenario to 2014 will repeat itself after ten years, or if this time there will be an improvement in the surface and a more pleasant ride through the street for cyclists.
(July 11, 2024) Following the publication of the article, we are adding the statement from the DPP spokesperson, Aneta Řehková. We also apologize for the inaccuracy in the article, which has been subsequently corrected. In 2014, the tram track reconstruction did not directly affect the section at Václavské náměstí. The currently reconstructed part of Vodičkova Street was not reconstructed in 2014; instead, only the pavement was replaced at the request of cycling community representatives in connection with the nearby reconstruction of the tracks in Vodičkova and Lazarská. At that time, the pavement from 2001 was replaced with a slightly more rideable variant, while the rest of the street was paved with asphalt as part of the reconstruction. Therefore, it is not true that the currently addressed section was directly reconstructed in 2014.
Statement from the DPP spokesperson in response to the query:
„As part of the reconstruction of Vodičkova Street, the existing pavement will be preserved (in accordance with the requirements of the OPP MHMP [Heritage Department, editor’s note]). This pavement was laid in 2014 based on the requests of cycling representatives, replacing the original split pavement from 2001.“
„DPP carefully manages its stocks of historical smoothed granite paving, which has not been manufactured for decades. Newly produced split granite paving is now used exclusively in areas without pedestrian and cyclist traffic. DPP also participates in discussions about paved surfaces to find a generally acceptable and cost-effective pavement that meets all aesthetic and functional requirements. DPP regularly evaluates the behavior of pavement in other cities in the Czech Republic and abroad, for instance, noting the widespread degradation of cut pavement in Olomouc, or last year’s two-month tram service suspension due to pavement replacement on the section from Náměstí Svobody to Hlavní nádraží in Brno, which followed a two-month suspension at the same place in the summer of 2022.“
This is an adjusted machine translation using Automat’s CycleLingo Translator (ChatGPT) of this article: https://mestemnakole.cz/2024/07/praha-opravuje-vodickovu-ulici-zustane-tankodrom-pro-kola/
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