Prague will have a digital map of repairs and construction affecting traffic

Prague City Hall will have a digital map of planned repairs and construction that will affect the traffic situation in the city created. The aim is to plan construction works in the streets of the metropolis more efficiently. Deputy Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) announced. The map will be ready this year and will be primarily used for internal purposes, but the municipality will publish some of the information. The application will be prepared by the city organisation Institute of Planning and Development (IPR). The coordination of works or repairs has been discussed for a long time, and the city has often been criticised for its failure to do so in the past.

"(The map) will help with better coordination and minimizing the impact of closures on traffic in the city. Of course, the Technical Road Administration (TSK) already consistently discusses its plans for road, bridge or tunnel reconstruction with the city districts. However, it is important to remember that there are many more investors in the city whose construction activities interfere with the flow of traffic," said Hřib.

There are now several sub-databases that track upcoming construction projects that affect traffic in the city. But so far, there is no tool that brings all the information together in one place. The aforementioned digital map, which Hřib says will "put everything in one place", is meant to do that. The map will thus contain information from road builders, water companies, gas or electricity operators and other companies, both municipal and private.

The basis of the sharing system will be common data standards for construction and investment plans and repairs in public space. In the future, the city plans to link the system with data on construction works from the Central Bohemian Region geoportal, especially at the interface between the two regions, which affects traffic in the capital. The application should be filled with the first data during this August.

In the past, the city has often been criticised for not coordinating construction work well or at all. According to Hrib, coordination has several difficulties that are beyond the control of politicians. Although the city-owned TSK knows about other developers' plans for the streets, final permits are issued by state officials, whose work politicians are not allowed to interfere with.

Another problem is sudden accidents that can disrupt the process. These include, for example, gas or water accidents. "There's no way to coordinate that with anything, because you can't let gas or water leak and wait for someone to walk by wanting to dig cables. Youcan't do that," Hřib said. Another impact is traffic accidents that affect traffic during closures and construction work.

The creation of the map was welcomed by the opposition ANO movement, but the city administration has criticized the delay in preparing it. At the same time, it is said to be unclear who will oversee its use and application. "It is surprising that Zdeněk Hřib, who was mayor for four years and has been deputy mayor for transport for two more, has now come up with the idea of commissioning IPR to make a map of the closures. It is acommendable initiative, but he has not explained who will work with it and who will have the authority to actually coordinate the planned repairs and construction," said Ondřej Prokop, chair of the ANO councillors.

The coordination of construction has long been discussed in the metropolis. For example, in mid-2018, the municipality established a team to coordinate traffic closures. Less than a year later, the then leadership of Prague talked about establishing a communication coordinator for road closures. The Opravujeme.to portal was also created, where people can find an overview of the repairs planned mainly by TSK.

Source: CTK