Prague introduced manhole covers that are safe for cycling

Deputy Mayor Petr Hlaváček (STAN), responsible for territorial development, announced the replacement of the canal covers on his social media. The replacement was prompted by criticism from the public towards the original covers. The original lids, including those on Na Florenci Street, had traditional longitudinal openings parallel to the direction of travel, posing the risk of a bicycle getting stuck and causing a fall and potential injury.

The new, secure type of canal cover has also been included in the Catalog of Recommended Elements of Public Spaces by the Institute of Planning and Development of the City of Prague (IPR). It was presented, amongst others, at Prague CAMP during the lecture „Great Changes in Prague: Small Interventions, Huge Impacts,“ held on November 21 of this year.

Although in 2019 former Councilor for Transport Adam Scheinherr (Praha sobě) stated for Městem na kole that he hoped inappropriate canal covers were no longer being installed anywhere, the current reconstruction of Na Florenci Street revealed a more complex situation.

While the IPR has been advocating, through the Public Spaces Manual since 2014, the rule that openings in areas with pedestrian or cyclist movement should be oriented perpendicular to the prevailing direction of movement, there are limits to this, as pointed out to Městem na kole by Ivana Svobodová, an advisor to Deputy Hlaváček.

Until now, only modern square covers of German origin were suitable for cycling traffic. If original rectangular Prague drains were to be installed, it posed a problem for cyclists‘ movement. There was no cover that satisfied preservationists and did not bear the name of another city.

There was no manhole cover that would satisfy preservationists and did not bear the name of another city.

„The reason is the requirement of monument care to install rectangular drains oriented in the traditional way (i.e., with the longer dimension parallel to the axis of the street/curb direction) and the rejection of German square drains. Until this year, there was no grid that simultaneously had openings perpendicular to the curb direction, had European certification, and did not bear the name of another city, other than Prague (or at least did not bear any name),“ is how Ivana Svobodová explained to Městem na kole, why drains of inappropriate orientation were installed.

She also explained that in some situations, the original orientation of the drain may still be more suitable, for example, when the street intersects with a pedestrian crossing with a bike lane, where the predominant movement of people on bikes is perpendicular to the roadway.

A long history

From the perspective of monument care, it is quite paradoxical that the safety of people cycling over Prague’s canals is already a historical topic in itself. The first mention of this issue was found by Městem na kole in the Cyklista magazine from January 10, 1942, where a column titled „Kryty kanálů nebezpečím pro cyklisty!“ (Covers of canals are a danger to cyclists!) addressed the problem and asked, „Is it so difficult to build or relocate canal grates against the direction of travel?“

Will this issue be resolved after more than eighty years? Ivana Svobodová points out that it depends on all stakeholders involved in urban reconstructions:

Will the problem be resolved after 80 years?

„It is necessary for this rule to be respected by all actors with an impact on the investment process, from its initiation to implementation (especially in the specifications and tender and implementation documents and when purchasing construction materials). This cannot be achieved without the active will and cooperation of all links in the chain. We actively seek to promote this rule, especially through collaboration on a substantive part of public procurement documentation, further through the working group of the Catalog of Recommended Elements of Public Spaces, and through statements on intentions.“

However, she adds that inappropriate orientation of canal covers cannot be ruled out even in future constructions: „It may ahappen that cycling is not perceived as a functional means of transportation by some actors, and bike infrastructure is not taken into account. The collective mindset of society is still not positively inclined towards cycling, which means that any cycling infrastructure (the same unfortunately applies to measures related to blue-green infrastructure, rainwater management, etc., especially if they are not easy and painless) requires active advocacy and a constant flow of energy, unlike measures for automobile transportation, which are not questioned,“ Ivana Svobodová from the Prague City Hall added for Městem na kole.

Therefore, the cycling community will also have to play its role. If you encounter newly installed canal covers with inappropriate orientation while cycling in the city, simply speak up. The city should already have canal covers available that comply with the principles of heritage protection and are safe for people cycling.