Liberec region is preparing to build a parking garage, the city does not like it

Liberec - The Liberec Region plans to construct a parking garage in its vicinity. The facility, costing 70 million crowns, is set to be built on the site of the current parking lot and will provide 220 spaces, which is three times the current capacity. The parking garage is intended to solve the shortage of parking spaces around the regional office, said Deputy Governor for Transport and Investments Marek Pieter (Mayors for the Liberec Region) to ČTK today. The leadership of Liberec is not in favor of the region's plan, fearing an increase in traffic in the lower city center.

"We are definitely not against parking garages," said Jan Korytář, Deputy Mayor of Liberec, to ČTK. However, he believes that the planned regional parking garage will bring more cars into the center. The city hall wants people to rely more on public transport to move around the city. Therefore, it plans to construct its own parking garage along the city bypass near the bus station. The facility, costing 150 million crowns, is expected to provide parking for 220 to 300 cars and also decent facilities for transport providers and passengers using the bus station.

According to Pieter, however, the regional office needs more parking spaces and wants to address the unsightly appearance of the area surrounding its headquarters. It aims to improve the ugly asphalt surfaces currently used for parking. There should be more greenery at the expense of parking. Cars should also disappear from the access road U Jezu. Additionally, an old administrative building of VÚTS is currently being renovated next to the regional office, which will serve as the European House. A larger former workshop building is also set to be renovated, where a business incubator is expected to be established. "And this leads to the requirement for 354 parking spaces according to the standards," Pieter stated.

The Liberec Region is located in the building of the former State Research Institute of Textile, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year. The twenty-one-story glass and concrete structure is the tallest building in Liberec. It was constructed between 1966 and 1976 based on the design by architect Zdeněk Plesník. It underwent a renovation costing 231 million crowns from 1999 to 2000. The planned construction of a parking garage near the high-rise building is not something new. It was already in the plans 17 years ago when the building was being renovated for the needs of the regional office. However, there was no money left for it at that time.