Prague City District 7 and Skanska opened a newly renovated pathway along the bank of the Vltava between the Barikádníků Bridge and Troja Bridge on July 19. What used to be an unsightly area behind Holešovice Railway Station has been transformed into a pleasant place to take a nice walk along the river from Holešoviceto Stromovka.
“A lot of changes for the better are happening under our administration, but this is a truly extraordinary one,” said Jan Čižinský Mayor of Prague City District 7. “This is to say that it is not often that our neighbours from Prague 7 and the whole of Prague regain a formerly lost bank of the river between Troja Bridge and Barikádníků Bridge. From now on, we can all get from the ZOO to Stromovka and then on all the way to Libeň Bridge and around the whole bend in the Vltava. I would like to thank all those who are responsible for this, in particular Skanska which made these improvements on its land.”
Jan Šulc, Project Director at Skanska Property, said: “When we bought the Port7 project in April, it was basically not possible to walk along the river from Holešovice to Stromovka due to the building of the former concrete plant, so in collaboration with Prague City District 7, we started to resolve the issue of how to improve this space as quickly as possible and thus allow for safer and more pleasant passage.
“We demolished the crane wall next to the Vltava, cleared the whole area of the lower quay of the existing operations and created a cycle path along the whole length of our site, roughly following the route of the future asphalt cycle path which will be part of the final design of the new park in collaboration with Prague City District 7 and TSK.”
Improvements made to the area between Barikádníků Bridge and Troja Bridgeare are based on the long-term concept of Prague City District 7, which is striving to improve access to and passage along the embankment and to remodel it for recreational and sporting use. A two-day professional conference ‘The river and the city – left bank’ was held last November with participation by leading personalities from the world of international city planning who have participated in major improvements to embankments in large European cities.
“Prague City District 7 has one of the longest embankments in Prague and the majority of it has not been improved to provide high-quality use by the inhabitants and visitors to our city district,” said Lenka Burgerová, Councillor for Prague City District 7. “We want to draw inspiration from good examples such as can be found in Paris or Amsterdam and to make the frequently neglected embankments a vital part of the city. Our dream is completely connected and remodelled banks of the Vltava, along which it would be possible to easily walk or cycle from Letná Parkall the way to Stromovka.”