Work is due to get underway on the construction of Prague’s new metro line, a fact that illustrates where the city’s priorities are. Idnes.cz reports that Prague is also spending considerable money and energy on planning and building new tram lines as well as completion of the outer ring road. What’s fallen by the wayside, reports idnes.cz, is the completion of arterial roads, high capacity roads leading cars into and out of the city. The most blatant example of this is the Radlicka arterial road, a 5.5 km extension from the end of the D5 motorway meant to connect Stodulky and Smichov that’s been in planning for a couple of decades. Prague’s deputy mayor of transport Adam Scheinherr claims arterial roads haven’t been put on the back burner, but admits the city’s priorities lie elsewhere, when it comes to automobile transport. “The basics of urban development tell us that you need ring roads first and then the arterial roads,” he says. “Otherwise you can’t get anywhere on them.” The Radlicka arterial road is currently stuck in planning where it’s being adjusted to deal with objections lodged against it. With design changes looking inevitable, it’s unlikely that construction could begin within the next two years.
