Brno rolls back on pedestrian area in front of main station

The city aims to have cars return to the area through the novel concept of a ‘shared zone’

Well, it looks like urban pedestrianization progress is not always a smooth ride ahead after news came out at the end of last week that the City of Brno had decided to replace the pedestrian-only area in front of the main train station with a zone that also lets cars back in.

Czech Daily reported that this would be implemented through what would be a first-of-its-kind in the European country “shared zone”. That is an area which allows both pedestrians and cars to pass through with the implication that the speed limit for the vehicles will be set at 20 km/h in order to ensure safety for the walkers.

The news media doesn’t specify what the reason is behind the decision to roll back a fully pedestrianized area, which is considered one of the busiest in the second-largest city of the Czech Republic.

Can pedestrians and cars coexist in Brno?

The idea has not been fully implemented as of yet because it will also require the cooperation and approval of two other institutions, namely the South Moravian Regional Office and the traffic police. It is only when the administrative procedures are completed that the shared zone will become a reality.

The plan is to have it cover the area from the Letmo department store to the entrance to the existing pedestrian zone on Masarykova Street.

Initially, the City of Brno expanded the pedestrian area as a way of letting passengers cross the distance from the train station entrance to the tram stop hub in front without having to worry about car traffic. As a result, the protective railings separating pedestrians from cars were removed but that progress seems to have only been a temporary respite now that walkers will once again have to learn to share the urban space with passing vehicles.