The Great Pedestrianizing of Prague

For each of the five Saturdays, the passage between the National Theatre and Rudolfinum will be closed to cars from 10:00-20:00, inviting cyclists and pedestrians to explore the neighborhood pearls (from local cafes to Czech Philharmonic open air concerts) and stroll around a lovely, though normally car-clogged, location.

(The only transport allowed to make its way through the riverbank will include trams, police cars, ambulances, other security cars, and catering.)

The first thought that crossed my mind at that first Saturday event was of how natural it felt without cars – as if this place were simply meant to be a pedestrian zone. Particularly right next to the Charles Bridge, where you would normally be forced to cut through the crowded souvenirs passage when heading in the direction of the National Theatre, or carefully squeeze between the speeding vehicles and the passage – an extremely inconvenient, not to mention dangerous, route. What a big a difference it would make for cyclists, if this major thoroughfare next to the bridge would disappear.

The idea of making this side of the Vltava riverbank car-free first originated back in the late 90s, but Prague’s mayor at the time, Jan Kasl, didn’t succeed in pushing the idea through. Later on, the new mayor Pavel Bem promised car-free weekends, but none materialized. The activists from Auto-mat managed, at long last, to return to the issue a couple of years ago, when Bem left office.

The unifying idea of the program for this festival of five Saturdays is to bring visibility to Prague’s urban development. Everyone is welcome to participate in the discussions and presentations taking place that will touch on sensitive topics of security, public participation in urban development, and transportation. The presentations vary every week.

An Urban Walks event will be organized for each of the weekly car-free days at Smetanovo riverbank. Urbanists and architects will lead these hour-long walks several times a day in an effort to showcase the urban development and history of the iconic buildings located in this storied neighborhood.

Every new Saturday will also have a special theme. The one on September 14th was a feast of local cafes and restaurants opening stands all along the riverbank. You could sip a cappuccino from Standard Café or nibble a vegetarian snack from Estrella, enjoy ravioli from Pasta Art, or a cupcake from Cakeland. 

The café stands were interspersed with children’s playgrounds, there was an exhibition on community gardening by Kokoza, a free-standing piano for anyone to play, and a chill-out zone with deck-chairs facing the sunlit Castle.

It seems like Auto*mat have achieved at least one of the goals already on this first Saturday – of attracting all sorts of people to come and enjoy the riverbank. There were young and old people, kids and dogs, people who just wanted to have fun or those who came to discuss their civic position.

Looking back at Náplavka’s success, it seems only certain that Prague locals will love every minute of this glimpse into a future that could be if and when another riverbank is given back to them.