Prague 1 wants to start the adjustments of the so-called Anenský Triangle within a month

Prague – The leadership of Prague 1 wants to start modifications of the so-called Anenský Triangle on Smetanovo Embankment at the turn of February and March. A paved square with a passage to the Vltava River and a water feature is set to be created there. The mayor of Prague 1, Petr Hejma (STAN), announced this to journalists today. The original project considered cutting down a mature maple tree, but after criticism from the opposition and local residents, the city council withdrew from that plan. According to Hejma, there will be a grassy hill around the maple, and another tree will be added to the area.

Opposition councilors from the Pirates, Prague 1, and the Greens, as well as some local residents, protested against the felling of the maple. After the resistance, the city council eventually suspended the already initiated project and had it redesigned to allow for the preservation of the tree. This, according to the mayor, cost about half a million crowns. In the meantime, the construction was conserved and fenced off, which meant additional expenses, Hejma said. Before the work begins, the city council wants to discuss possible minor changes to the project with local residents.

The plan still includes paving a larger portion of the originally grassy area, which was criticized by the leader of the opposition Prague 1 Sobě and former mayor Pavel Čižinský at the last meeting of the city councilors. According to Hejma, the pavement is standard and necessary for the area to be usable as a place for sitting. "We are in the Prague Monument Reserve; the pavement is simply a completely original historical element," he said.

The mayor added that the area had already been paved historically, and the current grassy spot formed spontaneously from a pile of earth excavated during the construction of an apartment building. According to Hejma, the city council also plans to place a footbridge to the Vltava River this year, which will connect the newly accessible passage of the embankment wall, known as the "čapadlo," with another "čapadlo" near Hollar and the area next to it, which the city opened some time ago. The mayor further stated that the city district plans to add a staircase from Divadelní Street to the nearby National Awakening Park with the Neo-Gothic Kranner Fountain, which is currently only accessible from the embankment.

The city hall is preparing further modifications on Smetanovo Embankment. A new tram stop, Karlovy lázně, is set to be created between the stops Národní divadlo and Staroměstská in the direction from the theater. So far, trams only stop there in the opposite direction. Conversely, the duplicate stop Národní divadlo on Smetanovo Embankment will be abolished, and trams will newly stop in both directions on Masarykovo Embankment. The city also plans new tree avenues and the widening of sidewalks on Smetanovo Embankment.