K. Vary are finalizing the urban plan, which also includes a road bypass

Karlovy Vary - Karlovy Vary is finalizing the concept of a new urban plan for the city. Its definitive form should be completed by mid-2014. The essential document for the further development of the spa metropolis includes, among other things, a route for the northern road bypass of the city. It will likely also reflect the fact that the city is striving for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The current urban plan was created in 1997 and needs to be replaced. CTK was informed today by Deputy Mayor Jaroslav Růžička (independent).
     One of the most important stages for completing the urban plan is approaching, which is its public commenting. This should last until approximately December 18th. After that, all comments, whether from city residents or various institutions and entities, will be processed by a firm selected by the municipality. The land use in some areas in relation to housing, production, or other uses is likely to change in the urban plan, Růžička stated. "The public will be able to familiarize themselves not only with the textual part but also with clear maps," noted Růžička.
     As for the city’s road bypass, which has been debated for several decades, incorporating the route into the urban plan will theoretically allow for construction if funding is available. While a bypass around the city has already been constructed, many people would prefer to see that cars completely avoid Karlovy Vary in the future. The urban plan of the Karlovy Vary Region also incorporates a bypass of the city, which considered two routes during its development. Ultimately, preference was given to the route that bypasses Karlovy Vary near Otovice.
     Several years ago, the construction of the Karlovy Vary road bypass was advocated by the association Kamiony mimo město and was also the biggest critic of the completion of the thoroughfare through the city. They even attempted to stop the construction through legal means, but to no avail. The association claimed that emissions from the thoroughfare would affect the entire area of the Municipal Market, the lower train station, the hospital, and the main shopping boulevard. However, the thoroughfare was ultimately built, connecting two previously completed sections and is now part of the R6 expressway. It cost around four billion crowns.
     In the case of the city's effort to be listed on the UNESCO registry, the urban plan will likely feature an expansion of the zone intended to protect monuments from insensitive interventions. The so-called buffer zone in front of the monument reservation will be significantly larger. It will also newly affect significant parts of the Tuhnice and Drahovice districts in areas where there are numerous villas from the First Republic era. For property owners, this would mean a stricter regime, for example, during construction modifications.