The next phase of a new linear park in Krakow is beginning. The Wozniców Park, as this is the name given to the green establishment located within the Czyżyny district, will stretch between Central Street and the Nowohucki Meadows. Upon completion of the work, which has been scheduled for years, it may become one of the longest linear parks in Krakow, offering residents nearly 20 hectares of green space.
bumpy path
The road to the start of work on Woznicow Park was not strewn with roses. The first steps leading to the transformation of the area took place in 2013 and 2018, when the area of the future Woznicow Park began to be listed in the Local Land Use Plans as an area designated for use as public green space. We wrote about the early stages of the Woznicow Park in 2021 in the context of atender for a concept for a new green space. At that time, it was not achieved due to the excessive cost of developing designs, which were received as responses to requests for proposals. The situation changed already in 2022, when consultations were held with residents. Shortly thereafter, the long-awaited concept for the development of green areas in the southeastern part of Krakow was also created. The project was developed by the teams of Jerzy Wowczak Autorska Pracownia Projektowa and the SANECCY office, responsible, among others, for the designs of the Dorota and Maciek Park in Krakow and the "Przylasek Rusiecki" Recreation and Leisure Center , which was awarded in last year's PLGBC Green Building Awards.
Visualization of Wozniców Park
© ZZM Archives
park in pieces
The concept of Wozniców Park and the way it will be financed are quite unusual, as they assume a division into four zones, which are implemented under separate tasks. The largest area will cover the eastern part of the park, stretching from Centralna Street to the Nowohuckie Meadows. It is the one listed as the place to be developed in the coming years by Krakow's Urban Greenery Management. To the west of it, between Centralna and Nowohucka Streets, there are areas to be arranged according to concepts developed by students of the Cracow University of Technology. An exhibition presenting the resulting proposals took place in 2023. In addition to the above, within the Wozniców Park there are also two zones planned, which are separate tasks within the civic budget - they are a playground with an outdoor gym and the so-called pumptrack, which is a track designed for cycling.
Concept of the Woznicow Park
© ZZM Archives
The planned Wozniców Park will be equipped with a wide range of infrastructure - there will be water reservoirs, eco-zones, game fields and a community garden, among others. Also planned for the eastern part of the premise is a dog park and an outdoor stage, which will serve during events organized by the local community.
green corridor - ecological, aeration and communication
According to the assumptions, Woznicow Park is to have the character of a so-called linear park - that is, one with an elongated outline. This kind of park assumptions are very often created on closed areas of factories, railroads or fortifications, but also on the beds of dried-up rivers or canals. Krakow's Wozniców Park is primarily intended to serve as a green corridor, allowing easy movement between the Nowohuckie Meadows and the Czyżynski Lotników Park. Importantly, it will serve not only the residents of Krakow - the Wozniców Park already provides a valuable migration route for wildlife. The green enclave that is Wozniców Park also has a positive effect on the ventilation of the surrounding neighborhoods.
Visualization of Wozniców Park
© ZZM Archives
step by step
However, there is still a long way to go before the opening of Wozniców Park - the land on which it is to be located does not belong entirely to the City, so further stages of construction will take place as the local government buys more plots of land.
In the Budget of the City of Krakow for 2024 and in the Long-Term Financial Forecast, funds have been provided for the purchase of plots of land, which in the Local Spatial Development Plan "Czyżyny Łęg" have been provided for development for arranged park greenery, and are not owned by the Municipality of Krakow. The task is carried out by the City Treasury Department. Regardless of the fact that the Municipality of Krakow has provided funds in the Budget of the City of Krakow and in the WPF for the purchase of plots, the date of the park depends on the willingness of the owners to sell the plots. At this stage, it is not possible to develop comprehensive design and cost-estimate documentation for the construction of the park. Therefore, ZZM is implementing smaller sections of the park, which can function independently as small pocket parks. Ultimately, thanks to the successive purchase of plots, it will be possible to build a road in accordance with the MPZP, connect transportation and merge the pocket parks into one large multifunctional park, informs the Board of Urban Greenery in Krakow.
project for years
However, the project spread over years is already being implemented - last December the first of the elements of the new park, a playground with an outdoor gym financed from the Civic Budget, was successfully completed. Now the City Greenery Board is getting into action, and work planned for several months to equip Woznicow Park with the infrastructure included in the project is to begin as early as July.
Visualization of Woznicow Park
© ZZM Archive
As we learn from the media, ZZM has already selected the company that will handle the second stage of the works. The investment, worth PLN 997.7 thousand, will include the construction of the aforementioned pumptrack, as well as a health path and a boule plaza, and the installation of small architecture, including benches, bicycle racks and baskets. The work is expected to be completed later in 2024.
The plan for the Woznicow Park, which is finally moving forward, is an example of how, despite numerous adversities and the complicated ownership situation of the land to be transformed, the cooperation of the local community, a municipal institution and a university can be a contribution to reclaiming a socially and biologically active space for residents.
