AutoMat asks Tomáš Portlík why Prague has failed to deliver on its programme and still has not restricted through traffic in the city centre.

AutoMat today published an open letter addressed to Tomáš Portlík, Mayor of Prague 9, chairman of the SPOLU for Prague council group and a candidate for Mayor of Prague. The letter highlights the Prague coalition’s long-unfulfilled promise to restrict unnecessary private through-traffic in Malá Strana and along Smetana Embankment.

Calming traffic in Prague’s historic centre has been one of AutoMat’s priorities for more than twenty years. “Without regulating through-traffic in Prague’s city centre and its surroundings, it is impossible to significantly improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists and make them safer,” we state in the letter, drawing on the experience of many European cities.

The opening of the Blanka tunnel raised high expectations. In 2012, the then and current Mayor of Prague, Bohuslav Svoboda, said that the aim was for “cars to disappear from Smetana Embankment for good”. Yet even more than a decade later, this goal has still not been achieved.

The current Prague coalition’s programme statement by SPOLU, the Pirates and STAN explicitly says: “In cooperation with Prague 1 and neighbouring municipal districts, we will restrict unnecessary private through-traffic in Malá Strana and along Smetana Embankment so that public transport is not delayed.” Yet with just four months to go before the municipal elections, no concrete measure has been presented to fulfil this commitment.

On the contrary, an April resolution of the Prague City Assembly entitled Restricting Car Traffic on Prague’s Key Arterial Routes, initiated by Tomáš Portlík himself, emphasises prioritising traffic flow over restrictions. According to AutoMat, however, such an approach often conflicts with the safety of the most vulnerable road users.

“Prioritising traffic flow has been the policy in the capital since at least 1989, and it is often at odds with the safety of pedestrians and cyclists,” we point out in the open letter. According to the organisation, the stated principle of not prioritising individual modes of transport in practice masks the continued endangerment of people travelling on foot or by bicycle. Cyclists and pedestrians are many times more vulnerable than car occupants travelling at the same speed. This policy is reflected in the everyday number of pedestrians and cyclists put at risk, injured and killed, with these figures failing to decline. This stands in contrast to the trends in developed cities that are pursuing Vision Zero.

AutoMat has also tried to arrange a personal meeting with Tomáš Portlík. Although a meeting was promised, it has yet to take place. The organisation therefore decided to publish the open letter and call for public answers.

In the letter, AutoMat asks Tomáš Portlík, among other things:

• When will the commitment to restrict unnecessary through-traffic in Malá Strana and along Smetana Embankment be fulfilled?
• What concrete steps have SPOLU for Prague and the ODS taken since 2012 to calm car traffic in the city centre?
• What steps does he plan to take as a mayoral candidate during the next term?
• How does he intend to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety, and will he support the citizens’ Initiative 0, which is calling for a city without unnecessary deaths in traffic?

We believe that Prague residents have the right to know the answers to questions concerning the future of transport in the city centre, the fulfilment of public commitments and safety in the streets. We remain ready to meet Tomáš Portlík in person to discuss these issues and engage in a substantive debate.