Prague 1’s construction office boss Oldřich Dajbych has warned Denik.cz that plans to bring trams back to Wenceslas Square could complicate the square’s long-planned reconstruction. In fact, the project has been put off so many times already that it would almost be breaking tradition to move foward on the project. But the city’s new administration made the return of trams to the square one of its campaign promises as a visible signal that it can get investment projects done. He said that a new urban land decision will be necessary to allow trams back on the upper portion of the square and that it wouldn’t make sense to make changes now that would only have to be changed again later. Deputy mayor for transportation Adam Scheinherr says that the square’s reconstruction can go ahead on the lower portion of the square, since the new tram tracks will only extend as far as the Vodičkova and Jindřišska intersection. Scheinherr said the city would submit documentation for planning changes this year and hoped for them to be approved in 2020. Which is remarkable, given how long it actually takes to get planning approval changes passed in Prague.
