REGION

This year, we finished renovations of the left bank of

the waterfront as well, that is, the area from the Castle

Bridge to the Regional Court building. Our goal was

to safely separate the sidewalk for pedestrians and

cyclists. We also remembered to include new trees

and flower beds. What we received the most positive

feedback on was the new public square in front of

Dock. We extended the area to hang above the river

with a glass gallery and added modern benches.

“

Anyone who has an interesting idea

and wants to implement it

can get a subsidy.

”

I know that other places in Ostrava have undergone

or will soon undergo a transformation.

Yes, I will quickly mention the new park in Svinov,

the successful revitalization of Smetanův Sad in

Mariánské Hory in that regard. Just recently, a new park

was constructed at U Boříka in Nová Ves. The poorlymaintained area behind the polyclinic in Hrabůvka is

also scheduled for renovation, as is the area around

the chateau in Zábřeh. The full list is quite extensive.

One very ambitious project worth mentioning,

however, is the Hulváky forest facelift, including

the former aquapark and so-called ‘Venice’. Here, we

are currently working on the project’s documentation.

Ostrava can also be proud of its programme for

the modification of public space, according to

the ideas of the public. Can you bring it closer to us?

The point is that we financially support the ideas of active

people on how to improve or beautify the space where

they live, where they work, where they go to school or

where they just spend time. Anyone who has an interesting

idea and wants to implement it can get a subsidy. During

the existence of our programme, i.e. since 2017, we have

supported forty-five interesting projects from individuals

or associations. A beautiful example is the Hrabovjanka

forest park, which was created thanks to the enthusiasm

of two young ladies. From a sad place full of rubbish and

clutter it is now a beautiful park with a gazebo, benches,

a fireplace and a playground. If we are now interested

in someone reading this article and would like to know

more, they will find everything they need on the website

tvorimeprostor.cz.

The city of Ostrava is now among the country’s

greenest. Seeing public greenery even outside of

parks is a global trend right now.

Yes, having flowers lining roads was not very popular

in Ostrava. We were not afraid to make the first move,

though, and replaced 6,000 square metres of ugly,

neglected strips and areas in junctions with grass beds

and bulbous flowers. They change colours throughout

the year, depending on which species are in bloom

that season. People seem to like them; I often see

people stopping and taking pictures of them. In order

to improve the urban climate, we are also adding

greenery to tram tracks. Green tram rails not only cool

the air in very hot weather but also do not produce dust

and help with noise dampening.

It is possible to ride from one pleasant place to

another on a shared bike. How satisfied are you

with bike sharing?

When we came up with the pilot project of shared

bicycles only for the centre of Ostrava in 2018, we had

no idea that there would be such a huge interest in this

service. We have gradually expanded bike sharing and

today it is working in every city district. Currently, over

55,000 users are registered in the system. I’m really

happy about that.

Ms Šebestová, thank you for the interview.

Text a foto:

statutární město

Ostrava

Farská zahrada, Foto: archiv města Ostravy

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