In Brno, a variant of the new zoning plan is being created without the R43 road

Brno - The City of Brno has published a proposal for a change to the assignment of the Urban Plan of the City of Brno (ÚPmB) on its website, which has been expanded to include a variant without the expressway R43 passing through the center of the Bystrc district. Residents of Brno and representatives of the city districts now have 30 days to provide feedback. If the proposal is approved by the city council, a third variant of the urban plan without R43 will be developed according to it, said Martin Ander, a Brno councilor for the Green Party, which has long advocated for the cancellation of the R43 route through Brno.
    Both of the already approved and developed variants of the new urban plan, which is expected to be approved by the end of 2010, include the route of the R43 road through Bystrc. "They only differ in the dimensions of the developing industrial area in the southeast of the city, or the placement of flood zones in case of floods. The third variant will not show R43 at all," said Ander.
    In addition to the Greens, citizens from Brno's city districts oppose the planned route of R43 through Bystrc, who fear disproportionate traffic load and the disruption of the recreational area by the Brno dam. They propose to lead R43 outside the territory of Brno through the so-called Boskovice basin or to expand the existing road I/43 instead.
    The mayors of the city districts will familiarize themselves with the proposed change to the urban plan on April 10, while the public will learn about it a day later, on Wednesday, April 11, at the city hall on Kounicova Street. "This is not about approving or rejecting the R43 road itself. It's more about whether a variant of the urban plan without this road will be created and what it will look like," explained Ander. According to him, the actual assignment of the variant will have a significant impact on how the variant will look.
    According to the plans of the Road and Ditch Directorate, the expressway R43 is expected to be completed in 2013. However, the construction of its Brno section, which was supposed to start as one of the first, has already been delayed. The urban plan of the South Moravian Region also considers the R43 road passing through Brno. If Brno ultimately decides on a variant without R43, we will demand that the regional urban plan respond to our decision, Ander added.
    The R43 road, which is intended to divert freight transit traffic from the center of Brno, is considered one of the problematic constructions in South Moravia, with disputes over its route lasting for more than 12 years. A petition against its route through Bystrc has been signed by approximately 30,000 people in recent years. Experts estimate that around 25,000 cars per day would use the new transportation route.
    Most activists therefore advocate for the second variant, leading the road through the Boskovice basin. The exit from D1 would be in this case near Ostrovačice. In contrast, civic associations and municipalities in Kuřim and Brno's Ivanovice wish for the quickest possible completion of R43 on the original route, which would improve local residents' access to Brno.