<div>Part of the Strakonice square is awaiting modernization</div>

Strakonice - The city hall in Strakonice is preparing a major reconstruction of part of the Great Square, which should also address the area in front of the municipal office building. It has chosen one of five proposals from architects and commissioned the development of a study. The long ramp in front of the town hall, which serves as a parking lot, should primarily disappear. The city hall does not yet know how much the reconstruction of the square will cost, which will be preceded by the repair of all utility networks, and when the restoration will begin. Mayor Pavel Vondrys informed journalists about this today.
    The current form of the square dates back to the early 1950s. However, some people do not like the unsightly ramp for parking cars, which divides the long street into two smaller ones. The city hall does not have the money for the expensive reconstruction, so it plans to seek subsidies. The reconstruction is estimated to cost at least tens of millions of crowns.
    "Everything depends not only on money but also on when the construction of the new school on Povážská begins, where students from the school adjacent to the city hall are to be relocated. We then want to connect the building to the city hall. Officials currently based in the former district office will move there," said the mayor.
    The study from the Havířov architectural office should be ready for the city hall by the end of August and will cost 475,000 crowns. Immediately after that, the city wants to start preparing the project so that it can obtain a building permit by around mid-2008.
    In place of the current ramp, areas with seating, greenery, and water fountains should be created. The study should also address whether the square from the savings bank building to Bavorova Street will remain passable or become a pedestrian zone. It will also determine parking spaces. "We want to make this an area where people will live, rather than just a location that people pass through," said the city architect, Marta Slámová.
    The city hall in Strakonice will also present the proposed changes for the center to the public. The opinions of both the laity and professionals will then be utilized by the city in further decision-making.