The demolition of a part of the garages in Jabloňová Street in Karlovy Vary – Stará Roli began today. The area, which was originally home to over 600 garages, has long been a dumping ground and a refuge for the homeless. The city is gradually taking over the garages from their owners and demolishing them. In the current wave of demolitions, 108 garages should be demolished, 68 still remain in the possession of other owners, Miroslav Vaněk (Karlovaráci), the deputy mayor of Karlovy Vary, told journalists today.
“The intention is to clean up the site in the shortest possible time and put here what belongs here according to the zoning plan, which is small-scale small-scale production. We are already negotiating with several entrepreneurs who are interested in putting their production here. This will, of course, still be subject to approval processes. I don’t want to give a deadline, but we would like to create a small business incubator here,” Vaněk said.
Most of the garages are now just ruins, some filled with garbage. But a few garages are occupied by people, sometimes regardless of who owns the garage.
The project calls for demolishing only city-owned garages, the construction manager of the company in charge of the demolition said today. Some, however, are adjacent to the one next door, which is not owned by the city but shares a common wall. One such double garage, for example, houses a homeless couple.
For many years, Jabloňové street has been a place that locals have tended to avoid. The area is within easy reach of a neighbourhood of family houses and small businesses, and Jabloňová Street is a link to the Rosnice neighbourhood.
According to Vaňek, the municipality will now have to start intensive negotiations with the owners of the remaining 68 garages and pressure them to transfer the garages to the city. This will relieve them of the responsibility for the dilapidated structures and the costs of ecological disposal. The city will in turn gain land for further development of the site. Today’s demolition is mainly a clear message to the people that the city does not intend to suffer the current state of affairs in Jablonova Street any longer, Vaněk said.
Source: CTK
