Prague 3 street to become pilot project in fighting climate change

More changes are coming to Prague’s Žižkov neighborhood. One of its main arteries, Seifertova Street will get a new look as part of a pilot project to improve the environment.

The Prague City Council approved two studies. One is for the changes to the look of Seifertova Street as well as náměstí Winstona Churchill and Sladkovského náměstí. The second study will serve as the basis for the pilot project of for city rainwater management to help mitigate the consequences of climate change.

Both studies were prepared by the Prague Institute of Planning and Development (IPR Praha) together with the studio Archum architekti and the water management company Aqua procon.

The changes to Seifertova Street are not just cosmetic. Prague Deputy Mayor Adam Scheinherr said the new Seifert Street will significantly improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists.

“Prague residents can look forward to new rows of trees and more greenery. At the same time, we will also use state-of-the-art blue-green infrastructure, thanks to which we will retain rainwater so that the U Bulhara intersection does not flood during heavy rainfall, and we could use it for trees and other plants,” Scheinherr said.

Pavement surfaces will be modified and the traffic situation will be resolved, IPR Praha said in a press release. The administration of the Prague 3 district has asked for the next stages of planning to look at traffic at the intersection of U Bulhara and Seifertova streets, which is not only a difficult spot for both car traffic and pedestrians, bu also prone to flooding.

Prague Deputy Mayor Petr Hlaváček said he was pleased that there is an agreement between all the important actors.

“The studies were also discussed with representatives of the Prague 3 district, and with the authorities of historic preservation and environmental protection. The study was also presented to representatives of important owners in the area, especially Dům Radost, the Prague University of Economics and Business, and Karel Sladkovský Gymnasium," he said.

Earlier, the City Council decided to stabilize the profile of the tram line and the location of the tram stops in Seifertova Street, so that the Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) could plan their reconstruction. The surrounding area will be transformed according to the approved study.

The rainfall-runoff study examines how to use and retain rainwater in the area to prevent damage caused by flooding of the U Bulhara intersection during extreme rainfall events. Another task is to use rainwater to irrigate trees and greenery to mitigate the consequences of climate change.

“I am pleased that rainwater management is already part of almost all projects in Prague, thanks to which we are helping the fight against climate change. However, Seifertova Street is the first ‘non-green’ project on which we will test these measures in practice,” IPR Praha director Ondřej Boháč said.

Žižkov’s Husitská Street was renovated in 2018 and Koněvova Street was renovated in 2020–21. Also in Prague 3 but technically part of Vinohrady, náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad will soon undergo a long-planned renovation to add more trees and also make it more user-friendly.

In the long run, Žižkov will also see a new neighborhood created at the site of the former freight station nákladové nádraží Žižkov and another big housing development at Olšanská and Jana Želivského streets. The high-rise Central Telecommunications Building (ÚTB) there is slated for demolition.