In Brno, the idea of a referendum on the location of the train station has resurfaced

Brno - In Brno, nine years after the first vote, the idea of a referendum on the location of the train station has re-emerged. In an open letter to Mayor Roman Onderka (ČSSD), journalist Jakub Patočka advocates for a new vote with the support of some civic initiatives. Paradoxically, some representatives of the coalition "Train Station in the Center," which has long fought against the relocation of the railway hub, currently oppose the referendum. They are waiting for the results of a new study.
Patočka, in an open letter, called on Onderka to either convince the council by the end of October to reconstruct the station in its current location, or to propose a new referendum concurrently with the municipal elections in 2014. If the politicians do not initiate the vote, activists will do it again, as they did in 2004. "We will collect enough signatures and deliver them to you in time," the letter states. Patočka has the support of the Masaryk Democratic Academy, Children of the Earth, and the Brno group Hnutí Duha. Supporters of the new vote plan to present details of their proposal on Monday at a press conference.
The city hall is currently not considering a new referendum. According to Deputy Mayor Ladislav Macek (ČSSD), the decision regarding the train station is practically made - the relocated position is included in the zoning plan. Most parties in the city council had it in their electoral program. "Further questioning only harms the city of Brno," Macek told ČTK today.
Brno opposition councilor from the Green Party, Martin Ander, believes it is right that the issue of the train station is being discussed again. If a civic initiative is indeed formed to start collecting signatures in support of the referendum, the Greens will join it, said Ander.
The first referendum was pushed by the coalition "Train Station in the Center." The majority of voters in Brno then expressed support for the central variant. However, due to low turnout, the referendum was not binding, and the preparations for the relocation continued. Since then, the laws have changed, and today a lower turnout would suffice for the validity of the vote.
However, the coalition "Train Station in the Center," according to its media coordinator Svatopluk Bartík, does not support the new referendum. The Ministry of Transport ordered the Railway Infrastructure Administration last year to fully develop the variant of the train station in its current location, which activists argue changes the situation completely. "Once both variants are comparably developed, mutual assessment will take place. Only then will it be possible to responsibly make a definitive decision," the representatives of the coalition stated in today’s announcement.
Given that the ministry is seriously considering the redevelopment in the central location, the coalition "Train Station in the Center" perceives the referendum as "knocking on open doors." Patočka's effort is said to have political motives.
The reconstruction of the railway hub in Brno has been in preparation for decades, yet funding is still lacking. The estimated costs are 20 billion crowns. Former Minister of Transport Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS) stated in Brno this April that the reconstruction has a high priority in the second programming period for the years 2014 to 2020. According to his earlier statement, the office supports the relocated variant of the train station near Svratka but will wait for the results of the comparative study.