Pardubice will present the pre-railway station project on its website

Pardubice - This week, Pardubice will place four variants of the future appearance of the area in front of the train station on its website. The visualizations depict the views of architectural offices. The project, which will select the best transportation solution, is expected to be completed next year. The construction work will cost the city hundreds of millions of crowns. This was stated today by the city's chief architect, Pavla Pannová.
    "There's no point in turning a blind eye to this. Hundreds of millions of crowns are realistic. It's the gateway to the city, the most important location in the city. It cannot be done halfway. It must function precisely. Once it is dug up, it is clear that it will cost a lot of money," said Pannová.
    The city hall has been working on the so-called pre-station project since 2010, when it had three proposals developed. Two were expensive and futuristic, the third had several flaws, so the city hall eventually scrapped it this spring. From the four current proposals, a compilation of the best solutions will likely be created.
    "We are informing the city council about the extent to which the pre-station project will be revised. There will be no communication behind the distillery, and the further traffic solutions will depend on that," said the deputy mayor Michal Koláček (Union for Pardubice).
    Around 20,000 people pass through the area daily. The pre-station is intended to newly link urban and mass transit, adjust the busy road to accommodate a large volume of cars. The city has obtained subsidies for the project from Swiss funds, but it is likely to seek European funding from 2014 to 2020 instead.
    "There is still a promise of Swiss funds, but the city management rather believes that it could succeed in the operational program where there will be money for multimodal transport hubs," said Pannová.
    According to the chief architect, the new studies have their pros and cons. The city will evaluate the proposals using computer traffic simulation. Line and city buses should only stop in front of the train station, while intercity vehicles have to park for a longer time outside this area. Some architects propose roundabouts and a two-lane road, while others suggest a four-lane road without roundabouts.
    "Pedestrians and cyclists should be prioritized over cars. They will not be left unattended," said Pannová.
    Some proposals even consider a connection of the station with the Dukla housing estate, from where people have difficulty reaching the train. A proposed option is also an urban cable car. However, the architect believes that a underpass is more realistic. The connection between the housing estate and the station is being prepared by the Railway Administration, which is also considering a footbridge besides the underpass.
    "I feel a possible weakness in getting pedestrians across the main road to the other side by the distillery. This was not mentioned in any of the projects, but there is a possibility to establish an underground parking lot under the distillery, from which people could reach the station dry-shod," said Pannová.