Protest march against the cable car passed through the center of Brno

Brno - Hundreds of people today, wearing bird masks and to the sound of drums, marched in a procession from Česká Street to Dominikánské Square in Brno. Participants of the march and the subsequent gathering in the city center are protesting against the construction of a cable car from Brno's Pisárky to the university campus in Bohunice. Some of them, despite the cold, plan to spend the night at Dominikánské Square and attend the Brno council meeting in the morning, where they will present additional petition sheets against the construction of the cable car.

"In order for our petition to be considered by the council, we had to collect at least 1,800 signatures from people with permanent residence in Brno. We gathered about 3,000; we will present more petition sheets to the council members on Tuesday morning," said Matouš Janča on behalf of the event's organizing team to ČTK. A total of nearly 5,600 people signed the petition.

Today's protest began at 4:30 PM at the intersection of Česká and Joštova streets, from where a gradually increasing group of protesters walked slowly to the sound of drums and chanting slogans towards Freedom Square and through Vegetable Market to Dominikánské Square. "Brno is throwing, hey hey, a billion into the air," shouted the people in response to the planned construction cost of 950 million crowns. "A trolleybus is enough for us, we want to hear the birds sing," was another slogan chanted by the marchers. Critics of the construction argue that the Bohunice campus is sufficiently accessible by public transport, making the construction of a cable car unnecessary, especially since it would be built in the area of the largest winter roost of rooks and jackdaws in southern Moravia.

Upon arrival at Dominikánské Square, Jan Sychra, chairman of the South Moravian branch of the Czech Ornithological Society (ČSO), who is among the main opponents of the construction, spoke to the gathered crowd. "Why is it necessary to build a cable car that takes eight minutes for the route when there is a trolleybus line on the same route that takes nine minutes? We disagree with the current political representation’s approach that anything can be built anywhere because nature will simply adapt," said Sychra.

The gathering has planned a music and other programs until 10:00 PM, after which some people in sleeping bags and mats will sleep under several party tents in the lower part of the square. "Sleeping here is rather symbolic; we are not trying to create a tent city, but we want to bring this topic into the public space so that as many people as possible learn about it," said Dana Nováková from the organizing team of the Black Wings over Brno campaign to ČTK.

Ornithologists are concerned about collisions of birds with cables as well as glass surfaces and the disturbance of all wildlife. According to them, the last large winter roost of field rooks and common jackdaws in southern Moravia is along the planned cable car route. In addition to the impact on nature, the organization also points to the lack of a study that would indicate the costs and benefits of the construction.

The Brno public transport company obtained a valid building permit this spring. The construction is estimated to cost 950 million crowns. The city does not want to pay for it entirely from its own budget and will seek subsidies from EU funds. Advocates of the cable car argue in its favor that many people arrive daily at the campus and surrounding areas. The cable car could be used by those coming to events at the multifunctional hall next to the Pisárky depot. The necessity of the cable car is disputed by the opposition Greens, who state that the campus area and hall are already sufficiently served by trams, trolleybuses, and buses. The ČSO filed a lawsuit against the construction permit, which the Municipal Court in Prague granted a suspensive effect. Until its decision, which could be made in the second half of September, the Brno public transport company cannot proceed with the preparation of the construction.