Having spent months considering how to reduce truck traffic in its borders, the city of Prague has chosen the toughest option: closing the inner ring road (Jižní spojka) to trucks. The city council today approved the technical documentation that will be submitted to the highways office. Even if the proposal is approved, it would take months before the new regulations can be implemented.
Can the city actually succeed with this? To be sure, the push back from a wide range of powerful economic groupings is expected to be severe. The freight transport grouping Česmad has already spoken out against the move, as have representatives of Central Bohemia who complain that truck congestion will simply be transferred to the smaller roads and towns around the capital. The municipal office of Spořilov, however, has been pushing for the ban on trucks, charging that the concentration of trucks on the inner ring road is having a serious impact on the health of its citizens.
