The road through Letná will take a different route, there will likely be no felling

Prague - Due to the excavation of the Blanka tunnel complex under Letná, not a single tree will likely be cut down. František Polák, spokesman for the Metrostav company building the tunnel, told ČTK. The road that will temporarily replace the passage through Milady Horákové street will run through today's construction site and will not affect the park. However, the road will be narrower, and there will probably be no sidewalks or bike paths, Polák stated.
According to Polák, the investor and Metrostav agreed to adopt a variant that does not impact Letenské sady. However, it will come at the expense of road quality, the spokesman noted. The road will only meet the minimum demands for traffic in this area. It must have two separate lanes, one for buses and the other for cars.
"This is a clear success. Greenery in the city is already under tremendous pressure, and this project would have significantly damaged the entire park and opened the way for further development," said Martin Skalský from the civil association Arnika, which publicly opposed the tree cutting. According to him, the magistrate led a targeted campaign when it claimed that the road could not be built elsewhere. "Now it is becoming clear that it is possible," added Skalský.
The new road was to run from Na Valech street through Na Špejcharu street around the Israeli embassy straight into the park at Letná. The construction was expected to involve the removal of up to 16 trees. However, the authorities allowed the cutting down of only four.
The tunnel complex named Blanka consists of three sections - Brusnice, Dejvice, and Královská obora. It will measure a total of 5.5 kilometers and is expected to be completed by October 2011. Opinions on its construction are not uniform. According to some, traffic will move into underground tunnels, and residential zones will be protected from it; according to others, the intensity of traffic within the city will increase even after its completion.
The Blanka tunnels form the northern section of the Prague city ring road. The entire ring is divided into five parts - southern, western, northern, northeastern, and eastern.