The Pardubice district is preparing the next stage of the renovations of Dukelských hrdinů Square

Pardubice - Dukelských Hrdinů Square in Pardubice, which is the largest in the city, is set for further renovations. The city district previously renovated the central part, and now wants to restore two small parks that line the area. Petr Dufek (Together for Pardubice), a councilor of the city district, stated this to ČTK. The square dates back to the 1950s, and on two sides are memorials dedicated to aviation.

"There will be the removal of non-functional peripheral sidewalks, which are disrupted by the roots of mature trees. Residents do not use the sidewalks due to poor connections to the remaining part of the square. The urban furniture will be replaced," said Dufek.

In the parks, which will look identical, the walkways will mainly change, as they do not match the habits of the residents. People are looking for the shortest route and walk across the grass, not on the paths. "The designers decided to respect the habits of the local residents; paths will cut across the park areas to help people get through as quickly as possible," said Dufek.

On the southern side near the park, there are several parking spaces, and additional ones will also be created on the northern side. There used to be a marketplace there, which did not prove successful, and now the district will use the unused part of the square for parking since there is not enough space in the housing estate.

The parks will also be lined with bushes intended to block noise from the road. The work is expected to start in the second half of next year. The project cost is 9.5 million Czech crowns. "We expect that the project will be contracted at a significantly lower price," Dufek stated.

The memorials in the center of the parks will remain. One is dedicated to Czechoslovak pilots, while the other is to the first Czech pilot, Jan Kašpar; this memorial dates back to 1928. The older of the memorials used to stand on Prague Street but had to be moved to make way for road expansion.

In addition to the park renovations, the district has prepared a project for repairing the sidewalk on Lexova Street on the western side of the square. The transportation company will repair bus stops there in the autumn. "We will follow up with the sidewalk repairs. There is an old original surface that will be replaced with concrete paving, which is more suitable for network reconstruction and is easy to dismantle," Dufek said.

Lexova Street is long and runs across the entire housing estate; in places where the sidewalks are wider, the city will plant bushes. Costs are 8.1 million crowns. The construction company will start this in the autumn. "As it is a large-scale project, part of the work will be done in the autumn and will continue again in the spring, with completion expected in the first half of 2025," Dufek stated. After the work is completed, the city district will still need to repair the sidewalk on the eastern side, he added.

The square was established in 1955 when a new housing estate was being constructed. Its area was previously suitable for military parades. It underwent more significant repairs in 2017 when the district reconstructed the central part. Instead of the old concrete surface, the square is now paved with granite cobblestones.

Before and now, the square serves as a parking lot for most of the year. The parking area is surrounded by flower pots and movable concrete square blocks, which can be relocated during public events. These events take place several times a year, such as Advent celebrations or military parades. The reconstruction cost the district 12 million crowns.