Another living street flourishes in Lodz

The so-called “woonerfs” look good on the Polish city

Lodz is about to get even more social and pedestrian-friendly with the revitalisation of one of its central streets. As the city announced this spring, Mielczarskiego street will become a quiet traffic zone, with cozy squares with greenery, a row of trees, benches and facilities for people with disabilities. Now, it is clear what the place will look like as the visualisation of the project to be completed in 2022 was presented last week.

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The planned reconstruction of Mielczarski Street suggests a significant change to its current character - from a street with ordinary access, into a so-called woonerf street with calmer traffic, planned parking space and lots of greenery.

Woonerf is a city planning concept of a living street that originates from Flanders (Belgium) and the Netherlands, where it became popular in the 1960s. Since then, it has been gaining in popularity in Europe and the USA. Lodz is no stranger to the concept, as it has a similar street in almost every city district.

In essence, woonerfs transform a traffic space into a social place, where all forms of transport can coexist peacefully, including cars (albeit restricted and with reduced speed).

How does it work for Lodz?

Agnieszka Kowalewska-Wójcik, director of the Management Board of Municipal Investments in Łódź explains what the Mielczarski Street will look like in the third-largest Polish city. As she explains, it will remain a one-way street, the roadway and sidewalks will be on one level, without curbs or steps, separated by greenery and city furniture.

Lodz is soon to have another woonerf or a living street with more greenery, space for pedestrians and restricted car traffic. Image: City of Lodz

This, Kowalewska-Wójcik explains, will make it easier for pedestrians and people with disabilities to navigate. In order to calm the traffic on the part intended for cars, there will be chicanes (changes in the traffic path), squares and three-speed bumps in the road with a gentle ramp, the so-called Berlin pillows.

“The two-sided double row of trees in the street will also be tidied up, new plantings, an irrigation system and lighting will appear. There will be new benches, bicycle stands, litter bins and a water pot. New street lighting will also be installed” adds the designer Marcin Łukasiewicz quoted on the municipal site.

However, due to the large number of inhabitants nearby, parking spaces nearby will be preserved. Such are designed perpendicular to the road, and there will also be extended spaces reserved for people with disabilities.

Small squares will be built along the street, marked with surfaces made of light and dark strips of slabs and cubes, green areas and street furniture, including benches.

The contract for the project was signed on May 12 this year and for the amount of PLN 381,300.00 (87 thousand euros). The project includes the reconstruction of Mielczarski Street and three inter quarter breakthroughs (33 Mielczarskiego Street to Ogrody Karskiego, 25 Mielczarskiego Street to Ogrody Karskiego Street and 26 Mielczarskiego Street to 27 Legionów Street).