Poděbrady want to reopen the debate about the modifications to Jiří Square, as it is burdened by cars

Poděbrady – The town of Poděbrady in the Nymburk region wants to reopen the public debate about the modifications to Jiří Square. The city architect has prepared a proposal that the city will publish next week. The square in the center of the town is particularly overloaded with automobile traffic during peak hours, as it is the route from Prague to Hradec Králové. The situation was not significantly improved by the opening of the D11 in 1990 either. In 2015, the city held an architectural competition, resulting in three dozen proposals, which the city did not realize, partly due to a lack of funds. The new proposal by architect Milan Košař could be a solution for the traffic situation in the city. The city will present it in a public debate on Wednesday. This was communicated to journalists by Deputy Mayor Miroslav Holas.

"With the new proposal, we want to provoke discussion about whether it should have a better chance of success," said Holas. The authors of the original competition proposals mostly addressed the traffic situation in the city center with a roundabout, while the current proposal considers a different traffic modification. "It comes with a proposal to circle the statue of Jiří on the right side of the square, it would be a kind of T-shape, and with an extension of the colonnade up to the statue," added Holas. In addition to the equestrian statue of Jiří from Poděbrady, another dominant feature of the square is the plague column.

According to Holas, the repair of the square is equally necessary in the future. Besides resolving traffic flow, it is also necessary to replace the paving stones, the last major repairs were done in 1991.

According to Mayor Jaroslav Červinka (STAN), there was not enough will to realize the winning competition proposal, and the estimated budget of about 60 to 80 million crowns was also a problem. "At the time when we took over the town with minus 50 million in the account, we did not address the square; it was necessary to stabilize the town," he added.

Jiří Square in Poděbrady has undergone several modifications. Originally serving as a marketplace, it took on its modern form after the placement of the equestrian statue of King Jiří by Bohuslav Schnirch in 1896. The square, which has been part of the town's heritage protection zone since 1992, features the road from Prague to Hradec Králové. During the last reconstruction in the 1990s, the square was paved with concrete cobblestones, parking lots were removed, and furniture and trees were added.