The changes to Jerozolimskie Avenue, recently announced by the Warsaw authorities, seemed to have caused a storm and sharply divided Warsaw residents in their assessment of City Hall's plans. However, according to a poll published by Rzeczpospolita, the narrowing and greening of the streets is supported by the vast majority of respondents.
An avenue instead of a highway
The Warsaw Municipal Road Administration has announced a tender for the design of a section of Jerozolimskie Avenue from the Forty-Year-Old Roundabout to the entrance to the Poniatowski Bridge overpass. The task is to be carried out in close cooperation with the Polish State Railways (PKP), which is preparing to rebuild the railroad tunnel running under the artery. The work is to be carried out using the open-pit method - so the entire center of the capital will be dug up. Two new train stops will also be built as part of the investment. Stations under the De Gaulle traffic circle and on Solec closer to the Vistula will replace the existing Warszawa Powiśle station.
After the planned reconstruction, the avenues are to resemble Swietokrzyska Street, which was renovated several years ago. The roadway lanes will be replaced by parking bays, two-way bicycle paths, greenery and wide sidewalks. Trees will grow in four rows, which will restore the avenues to their pre-war character. Two traffic circles - Dmowskiego and de Gaulle'a - will disappear.
Green Marszalkowska
Implementation of similar changes has also begun on Marszalkowska Street, which is to be changed based on the "Green Marszalkowska" concept prepared by the Greenery Board and consulted with residents. New greenery will appear, among other things, in the dividing strip between the roadways and the tracks. The roadways will have two lanes in each direction, while parking will be designated in the right lane. An island remains between these sections in the form of the Dmowskiego Roundabout. There, work is already underway to introduce above-ground pedestrian crossings and bicycle crossings. Unfortunately, through years of discussion and design changes, the crossings have moved significantly away from the traffic circle's slab and the interchange itself will remain largely inaccessible to pedestrians from roadway level.
extreme opinions
The announced changes have provoked extreme opinions from Warsaw road users. Some residents have taken City Hall's plans as a gesture of discrimination against motorists and an action that will increase problems with traffic congestion in the city center. Celebrities have spoken out, including TVN presenter Anna Kalczynska, who announced her protest on Twitter, accompanied by a photo of a traffic jam on a street slated for reconstruction.
It turns out, however, that the proposed changes have significant public support. In a poll conducted by IBRiS for Rzeczpospolita, their introduction is viewed positively by 49% of respondents, who believe the project should be developed. 17% support the changes, but indicate that they are too conservative. Only 16% oppose the changes being introduced.
Such results should not come as a surprise, however, even in the face of the protests that the announcement of the plans by City Hall provoked. First of all, it was mainly the opponents of the changes who spoke, which highlighted their demands out of all proportion to the actual distribution of votes. Secondly and more importantly - of the users of the capital's roads, 60% are public transportation travelers, and only 30% are drivers. The fact that autos occupy the largest area may give the mistaken impression that drivers are the majority. However, this is not the case, and the current distribution of street space is far from fair and disproportionate.
