The council has decided to alter the times that the retractable bollards controlling entrances to the city centre will be in place, to reduce traffic at certain times and improve the experience of the city for pedestrians. Photo: Dominikánské náměstí, credit: Z. Kolařík.
Brno, Jan 23 (BD) – The retractable bollards placed at 14 road entrances around the city centre have the effect of turning the city into an almost fully pedestrianized area when they are raised. Until now they have been raised from 9am to 6pm, effectively making the city a car-free zone during the main shopping day, and allowing cars back in during the evening. However, the council has now decided to alter these timings; as of Monday 27th January, the bollards will be raised between 10.30am and 9pm, giving businesses more time to receive delivery vehicles in the morning, and making Brno more friendly for pedestrians during the evenings.
The overall aim of the changes is to further restrict car traffic in the historic city centre. As Petr Kratochvíl (ODS), Council Member for Transport, explained: “In this way we are trying to regulate the entry of vehicles into the central part of the city. We want to streamline traffic in this area, which was beginning to resemble a busy road more than a pedestrian zone. At the same time, we have shifted the morning time because we received information that many companies are still waiting for their suppliers even after 10am.”
City authorities are working on further measures to restrict traffic and improve the pedestrian experience, expected to be in place for the second quarter of this year.
The changes apply to all of the retractable bollard barriers in the city centre, which are located on Novobranská, Jánská, Sukova, Orlí, Běhounská, Solniční, Středova, Zámečnická, Starobrněnská, Zelný trh – Orlí, Údolní, Petrov, and Dominikánské náměstí.
