Cycle path cost raises ire

City Hall has defended the 140 million Kč cost of a 3-kilometer cycle path as exceptional value and something to boast about.   

The path, with four bridges and situated in Prague 9-Vysočany, was constructed by Skanska at a cost of 46.6 million Kč per kilometer, more than double the price of similar cycle paths in Denmark, among the world leaders in city cycling.

As a "bonus," a city official said, the European Union covered most of the costs. In a statement sent to The Prague Post, an EU official said part of its operational program for 2007-13 titled Prague Competitiveness envisioned a 2.5-kilometer cycle path in Lahovice, Prague 7, not in Vysočany.

Even the chairman of City Hall's financial council came out strongly against the cost of the path, saying Prague residents would want the money spent on more worthwhile causes at a time of budget restraint.

"I disagreed with the Vysočany cycling route from the very beginning," Social Democratic Party member Petr Hulínský told The Prague Post before adding he is also suspicious of the process.

"The approval of this path was accompanied by a series of unusual decisions, such as the exchange of a worthless train embankment (the site of the path) into urban land ready for development in the Vysočany industrial zone. I remain convinced that this case benefited the investor by designating a train embankment as prime building land, which was immediately used in promoting apartments being built nearby, saying they were linked to a new cycle path. I am convinced Prague residents would welcome a better use of resources," Hulínský said.

The breakdown for the 140.1 million Kč path is as follows:

The actual path cost 9.4 million Kč. Four bridges totaled 71.6 million Kč, two repaired railway bridges cost 8.2 million Kč, terrain adjustments and canals cost 42.7 million Kč, and road fence, staircases and greenery totaled 8.2 million Kč.

But City Hall defended the path in a media statement.

"There are a growing number of cyclists in Prague, and we have to invest in the city's cycling infrastructure. The cycle path is unique in terms of technical, safety and comfort issues and value for money," the statement read.

The chairman of City Hall's cycling department, Pavel Polák, agreed.

"Prague now has more than 135 kilometers of cycle lanes and generally over 180 kilometers of safe routes for cyclists. This abandoned embankment in Prague 9 was an opportunity to expand the range of routes in Prague. I think the high costs enabled us to create a highly secure and unique path, which the city of Prague can boast about. As a bonus, two-thirds of the costs were covered by EU funding. Prague invested 58 million Kč with the EU investing 82 million Kč. This is an exceptional price."

The safety value of cycle lanes is open for debate. Studies in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the United Kingdom have shown an increased risk for cyclists using lanes. In 2007, the United Kingdom's Cycle Campaign Network, an umbrella organization representing 70 local cycling groups, said it "knows of no evidence that cycle facilities and, in particular cycle lanes, generally lead to safer conditions for cycling."

In 2009 Denmark's capital Copenhagen was named the best city in the world for cyclists. There are approx 350 kilometers of cycle track and 20 kilometers of cycle lanes in the city.

A kilometer of cycle path in Denmark costs about 28 million Kč to construct. The Prague path cost 47 million Kč per kilometer.

- Klára Jiřičná contributed to this article.

Tom Clifford can be reached at
tclifford@praguepost.com