Finding your way around Prague is about to become easier

The city is working on a new unified signage navigation system, set to replace the current one which dates back to the 1980s

Without any doubt, Prague is amongst the most beautiful EU cities. However, it might often be difficult for tourists and even locals to find their way around the Czech capital, due to the outdated, hard to understand labelling, information panels and signs.

Luckily, this is about to change, as Prague city councillors are preparing the modernisation of the navigation system, which encompasses streets and public transport (see the gallery above).

Towards clarity, good visibility and up-to-date information

On Monday, the city website of Prague announced the preparation of a project aimed to modernize the orientation system in the city. As a result, the appearance of the individual navigation elements will change towards a unified design, but also towards a larger quantity and scope of information provided.

The change comes after the City Council approved this week the implementation study of the Unified Information System of the Capital City of Prague. Said study, launched in 2017 by the former city government, presents a vision of the transformation of all important navigation elements in Prague, with the goal of their unification, better comprehensibility and maximum use of online information.

The next stage is to launch a design competition, expected this spring. It will be open to national and international designers with different portfolios, with costs reaching up to CZK 5.4 million (208 500 euros).

“The current form of the navigation system has its roots in the 1970s and 1980s. For decades, no one has systematically developed an orientation system and applied the latest findings. Prague is preparing large and also beautiful public buildings from metro D, through new tram lines to the railway to the airport. 

I can't imagine that there would be an information system of the last century that would not work with what top designers can do today and with the amount of online information we have available. It's like putting a compass in a new car instead of satellite navigation," Adam Scheinherr, Deputy Mayor for Transport, was quoted saying on praha.eu.

The Mayor of Prague Zdeněk Hřib also explained that not all signs will be replaced immediately. To save money, this will happen gradually, as part of reconstructions planned for other reasons.

While the city is preparing the design competition, the newly proposed elements within the pilot will also take place at 5 transfer nodes: Florenc, Palmovka, Budějovická, Háje and Nádraží Holešovice. Here, passengers will find digital panels with online traffic information, new maps of the surroundings, comprehensive navigation within the interchange or signposts to nearby destinations.

Once pilot projects have been evaluated, this will serve as a basis to decide on the implementation of 53 proposed measures for the study or on the total costs that the new system will incur.