Stephen Conlin, Bristol, England : [March 01, 2005]
Dear Sirs,
I am very pleased to hear of the scheme to reconnect Va'clavske' Na'me^sti' with Vinohradska'. Once RFE has vacated the nearby building, it could be demolished, creating a new square. The Sta'tni' Opera could then have an enhanced (glass?) side elevation facing onto the square.
Has anyone else heard the 'urban myth' that the highways round Muzeum were built in order to facilitate the retaking the country in the event of an uprising against the Communist regime? It was explained to me by a Czech friend that tanks could be brought into Hlavni' na'draz^i' on trains, and could reach the Parliament, C^esky' rozhlas and anywhere else in Prague within a relatively short time.
If this was the case, the ideas of restoring the boulevard and creating an open space seem to have added significance.
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Conlin
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Bohumil Mazalek, Toronto : [February 26, 2005]
Just from the urban design viewpoint there aren't many other rehabilitation projects as pressing and as important as this one is. All involved in this proposal deserve credit and much respect must go to the city officials for their will to do it and do it soon. Many cities, through dragging their feet for far too long and lack of political will, lost their opportunity and consequently often also their fiscal ability to get rid of similar eyesores. Lets hope that the start of this project is also the beginning for rethinking entire stretch from Nuselsky Most to Vltava river of this bsdly conceived, ill-defined and placed artery.
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Prof. Frank Rehak, Baltimore, USA : [February 24, 2005]
The long overdue diversion of the highway in front of the Narodni Museum would benefit all of the businesses in and around Wenceslas Square, especially smaller businesses located one to two blocks off the square itself.
Urban planners consistently see a spillover effect from pedestrain malls and zones that supports a radius of approximately 10 minutes walking on foot.
The return of the tram is not a necessity and could in prove to be a liability in terms of the engineering needed to accommodate the existing Metro stations and the proposed parking garage.
Bravo to city hall for finally fixing the short-sighted messes created by the previous regime.
Prof. Frank Rehak
Loyola College in Maryland
Office of International Programs
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