Parking as a means of supporting sustainable transport: Prague’s paradox on Plzeňská Street

For the second time this year, Prague City Hall has published a proposal for a new layout of Plzeňská Street, which is currently undergoing extensive reconstruction. The new design includes cycling measures and junction modifications, but also a substantial number of new parking spaces — including some on the pavement.

Our comments therefore focus on two main issues: the proposed cycling measures do not meet the city’s Active Mobility Standards, while the new parking spaces, some of them located on the pavement, run counter to good practice both in Czechia and abroad. What’s more, they are to be created without bollards. In the reality of Prague, this means that the pavement will regularly be occupied by cars, leaving only a narrow passage for pedestrians.

We submitted comments on this location at the beginning of the year. The proposal has now appeared again. Unfortunately, apart from a few minor changes, our suggestions have not been incorporated. So we are submitting them again.

What is particularly striking is the way the city ignores its own strategic documents. “When gradually reconstructing streets, parts of streets and public spaces, Prague will always apply a comprehensive approach while systematically reallocating space so that it naturally creates high-quality conditions for active mobility and public transport. For the vast majority of streets, this should also involve reducing space allocated to car traffic,” states the Active Mobility Strategy adopted in 2022.

Apparently, this does not apply to Plzeňská in 2026. A total of 17 parking spaces are now planned for areas where illegal parking was previously common. Most of them will be in the purple paid-parking zone. So: more cars in the street, more cars on the pavement, and less space for pedestrians.

Proposed parking spaces in the purple zone

The rules for cycling infrastructure are not being followed either

We also cannot overlook the flawed approach to cycling infrastructure. Plzeňská is part of the A8 main cycling route, and according to Prague’s Active Mobility Standards, it should have the highest standard of cycling infrastructure here — either a cycle path or a so-called Danish lane. Neither has been proposed. Instead, cyclists are expected to make do with cycle lanes, and even those do not cover the entire section in question.

The city’s Cycling Commission also highlighted this issue last year. It recommended maximizing a continuous solution within the main carriageway (continuous cycle lanes). If it is not possible to legalize cycling on the pavement along Plzeňská, it recommended providing a continuous two-way route through Mozartova, Duškova and Vrchlického streets. None of these measures appears in the current signage proposal.

Plzeňská is therefore yet another unfortunate example of how Prague is failing to genuinely support active mobility and live up to its own commitments.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Akron

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