The war of engineers

But back to the start. What happens when an architect, landscaper, traffic controller, water manager and network operator meet and go together to the municipal departments, interest organisations, public transport company and the Police of the Czech Republic? This is not the beginning of a joke, but the reality of an urban road project. Their cooperation is extremely important for the success of the transport project. But finding a solution suitable for all is extremely difficult. Everyone has different interests and their own priorities. Technical considerations, protection zones, future property relations and stewardship, and often illogical or contradictory legislative rules, all enter into a battle where literally every inch of public space is fought for. Therefore, a solution that meets all the standards might never, in fact, work. And vice versa, a functional solution may never meet the dozens of standards, ordinances and laws. We see transport infrastructure not just as a piece of asphalt that gets you from A to B, but as a complex and important public space. Cooperation between all these players is therefore absolutely crucial for us.

Between 2017 and 2021, i.e. after we took over the former Zbrojovka site, the zoning was changed. The release of the new plan meant we were able to get involved in the design of the transport and technical infrastructure. The result? Conciliation in the war of engineers, yes, but mainly the design of a transport solution where everyone is represented – pedestrians, cyclists, public transport passengers and cars. And not only that. Thanks to the sophisticated elements of the blue-green infrastructure and the planting of dozens of trees, the city avenue will also be a high-quality public space

. What will it look like?

The city avenue will become a main transportation route. We think the name Nová Šámalova would be good for the street. What do you think? It will intersect Nová Zbrojovka from north to south (and vice versa) for approximately half a kilometre and its construction is scheduled to begin in 2026. It will be 28 metres wide. This span will be divided between a two-lane road with turning and public transport lanes, a green median strip, parallel parking spaces, a separate cycle path and a double-sided pavement. Everything will then end in a commercial parterre on the ground floor of the buildings that will line the avenue. The city avenue will also contain two public transport stops for buses and trolleybuses.
Another part of the overall transport infrastructure will be made up of secondary roads. With a width of 22.5 metres, they will serve mainly residents and workers. Traffic should be minimal here. For this reason, there will also be a number of traffic “obstacles” – from reduced speed limits, to road narrowing and speed bumps. When is it going to happen? Construction depends on the course of the overall construction. However, it should start next year.

The future form of the new city avenue, set to cross Nová Zbrojovka

Nová Zbrojovka will be connected to the surrounding neighbourhoods from four directions. The first two connections – from Zábrdovická by widening Šámalova Street and from the direction of Stará osada and Maloměřice by widening Markéta Kuncová Street – will begin to be implemented next year. Preparatory work on them has already begun. The third is the original and long-standing transport connection from Lazaretní Street. The fourth will be the connection of Nová Zbrojovka with Husovice and the large ring road. This will be done by a new bridge, the design of which emerged from an architectural-urban competition in 2022 and will be the first bridge in Brno in more than 60 years. It will replicate the city avenue in its form, layout and course of implementation.

Get it underground

When Nová Zbrojovka is finished, about 20,000 people will be moving around it every day. That’s about the size of the town of Vyškov. Even though the aim of Nová Zbrojovka is a 15-minute town, where traffic is minimised to the maximum extent possible, it cannot be completely excluded. Supplies, mail, purchases – for the time being there is no other way to handle all this. That said, pedestrians, public transport and cyclists are the priority. Which is why we’re trying to reduce the proportion of cars at ground level. All new buildings will have underground garages. However, we’re also required by law to provide parking on the surface. Even in this context, however, we’ve tried to go about it the “right way”. Outdoor parking spaces in Nová Zbrojovka will not be your typical paved area, but will be one of the functional elements of the blue-green infrastructure. They will consist of TTE grids. These collect rainwater, pre-treat it, and feed the surrounding trees. Excess water then seeps into the terrain. We don’t want to brag, but we’re the first major project in Brno that actively works with blue-green architecture.

And when will this come to pass?

This article describes how the transport infrastructure in Nová Zbrojovka will look after it’s fully completed. It’s clear that during the implementation we’ll not be able to avoid intermediate states such as temporary surface parking lots, temporary solutions and, of course, partial restrictions for the surroundings. Dug-up roads are part of the Brno’s local colour. And we’re not going to paint anything pink. Things will be difficult here, too. However, the result will be a significant remediation of the overall traffic situation.