GREAT INTERVIEW WITH CITY PLANNER: He revealed phenomenal changes that will soon happen in Belgrade - tunnels, bridges... (PHOTO)

Belgrade will get a footbridge in the next month, with its unusual sculptural shape, it will have a function of allowing pedestrians passage from Kalemegdan to Sava promenade.

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One of the most beautiful Belgrade project is the result of joint work of the famous artist Mrdjen Bajic, the British sculptor Richard Deacon and academics Branislav Mitrovic. We spoke to the city's main urban planner Milutin Folic on this occasion, as well about the bridges and tunnels that Belgrade will receive in the future.

- Passage should connect Kalemegdan with Sava promenade, a garage on Beton hall with Sava promenade and the same garage with Kalemegdan.

- It is almost impossible to park on Beton hall and leisurely move to Kalemegdan, but with its construction, it will be easier.

- The garage will be full and Kalemegdan will receive another garage because it only has one at the zoo. Construction will begin in the next month, we only wait for the license. I expect that it will be in function by the spring next year - reveals city architect.

Foto: Promo

What will be the solution of the city authorities regarding criticism of the part of the public that old Sava bridge should not be removed?

- Old Sava bridge will not be removed, it will receive new shape. It will remain on that place, it will receive two more traffic lanes, it will get bicycle and pedestrian lanes. The bridge that was made during the World War II will get a new looks and new complete function.

- That bridge has been in the plans of city of Belgrade for some time, and it has been treated in transportation network as a bridge with more traffic lanes with a large number of cars passing over it.

Tunnel is planed to be build as a continuation of that bridge?

Foto: Marko Todorović

- The tunnel should connect the Sava and the Danube amphitheater and relieve the city center from transit traffic by 11.5 per cent, thus enabling to city center to receives more of the avenue, pedestrian and bicycle paths.

- Architectural competition has been announced for that bridge, which will help us to decide whether it will retain existing arch structure or will it get a new one. Recommendation of the Institute for Protection of Monuments is to keep an arched shape.

- I believe that the old German military bridge will influence on the decision of the Commission, which is of architectural importance, and it will quickly become unsafe for use. The Commission will make a decision within next month, and if there are enough resources, the construction should begin by the end of next year.

When can people of Belgrade expect the beginning of the bridge over Ada Huja?

Foto: Marko Todorović

- There is conceptual design at the moment for the bridge over Ada Huja and after transformation over Sava, it could be the next bridge city of Belgrade will build. Works could start in 2019.

When will the citizens be able to get from Tosin wells to Pozeska street in less than 10 minutes through the new boulevard connected to the bridge on Ada?

- The works are completed to a greater extent, complicated bridge structures are already done and all the infrastructure, so it is a question of months when it will be completed.

Will Belgrade get gondolas?

Foto: Promo

- Gondolas are also environmentally friendly form of transport. When and whether it will be implemented depends on the funds. Gondolas would be useful, but they are extremely expensive. First gondola could connects Usce with Kalemegdan and it is in the preparation of planning documents.

WE WILL REVIVE THE PARK AT USCE

- We want to revive Usce so the people from New Belgrade doesn't have to go for recreation or walk to Ada. The park will be connected with trails with the suburbs that besides Boulevard of "Nikola Tesla" with the facilities besides river. Trails will be themed.

- Museum of Contemporary Art will open in October and we want to complete "artistic path" to coincide with it. We hope that this trail pull those who shop in The Mall "Usce" to the museum, thus to the promenade. We will have a path with the theme of water, the track with the theme of Serbia at the Palace of Serbia, the music track that will link future Philharmonic with Nikola Tesla Boulevard.

Foto: Marko Todorović

What should IME project change?

- This project is promoting ecological hierarchy where priority should go to pedestrians, cyclists, public transport, and then the car. We will expand the pedestrian zone, will inform pedestrians using the map around the city in four languages (Serbian, English, Russian, Chinese) as we expect a large number of Russian and Chinese visitors because they don't need visa to Serbia.

Foto: Promo

What does that mean to the cyclists?

- Special project withing IME is call "Cycling through Belgrade". It predicts that the bike becomes a means of transport with which people will go to college, to work, to coffee, to the theater. If everything goes the way we planned, we expect that in the next two years, it will raise the use of bicycles in the daily distribution transport from 0.7 to 5 percent, and over the next 10 years for another five. 120 kilometers of new bike trails in Belgrade are planned, mostly on the right bank of the Sava and Danube rivers. The project Belgrade on Water will significantly contribute to that because any roads there will receive a bicycle path.

- We have linked recently  Branko's bridge with Pop Lukina Street, we have introduced bicycle traffic from New Belgrade to the city center ... Through the reconstruction of Knez Milos, which is predicted with underground garage which will lower the cars parked on the side walk and it will free the room for cyclists and pedestrians , and it will connect the trail from Banjica and Topciderska Zvezda, near the Prokom to the downtown. There will be 200 new parking spaces for bicycles this year, around pedestrian zone in Zemun and in center of the city.

Foto: Marko Todorović

WE WILL DRIVE SEMI ELECTRIC BICYCLES

- In the next month we will issue a concurs for the Bike Share System for operator for public bicycles. Even though we are late behind the world where it exists long ago, its much cheaper to get the bikes that have electric drive. Semi electric bikes will be extremely useful thing in the hilly Belgrade with uphill drives because it turns the electric motor which helps the cyclist to climb. 

How will the citizens know who has the advantage?

- Idea is to put primary cyclist networks at main roads, and with roads in the blocks, which are now streets of Car Dusan, Tadeus Koscusk and France street, the traffic should be slowed down and clearly labeled that they have the advantage on the road itself.

- Also, at many intersections, cars will be left in the level of the pedestrian so cars that cross this have a clear indication that pedestrians have priority. For example, when designing the pavement, then you do not put barriers on the sidewalk, it is forbidden to set up bins, flower pots, signs, advertisements, to clean sidewalks and for pedestrians to have a smooth movement.

- When the pedestrian flow is strong and they have to cross over the road, the surface is leveled by 15 centimeters so the pedestrians are not going down, but the cars are climbing 15 centimeters.

Where will pedestrian zone be extended?

Foto: Promo

- Belgrade is probably the last city in Europe that doesn't have a developed pedestrian zone. We completed the Vuk Karadzic, part of Zmaj Jovina, Obilicev venac, Cara Lazara and a part of Kralj Petar. By expending the pedestrian zone, we are also expanding the capacity of the parking. 

- Garage on Obilic Venac is closed, but we will open it in the next month and it will have 200 more parking spaces more than before, and a car from a parking space will be parked in the garage, and we make more room for more trees, pedestrians... Parking under the shopping mall in Rajic street is being completed which will have another 450 spaces.

Will Zeleni venac change?

- It won't the idea is to transform the street of Kraljevic Marko connecting Zeleni Venac and new promenade next to Sava river, into pedestrian street. From there pedestrian traffic will go down from Knez Mihajlova street down by the river.

- One arc going through the Obilicev venac and Vuk Karadzic street to Toplic venac further to Kosancic, second is Kralj Petar which also goes to Kosancic, and from there to Karadjordjeva and Beton hall and the third one down the street of Kraljevic Marko - said Frolic for "Telegraf".

(Telegraf.co.uk / Sladjana Vasić – s.vasic@telegraf.rs)