Grażyna Hanaf: You started your work on the city council emphatically. You have been a councillor for six months in this term, and your first important initiative is the difficult project of convincing residents to build a road connecting the 40th Anniversary Estate with 1000-lecia Avenue. Did it begin with conflicts? What is this about?
Wojciech Kasprzyk: This is an issue that has been known in Bolesławiec for years. I was not yet a councillor when the idea of connecting this part of the city was being considered. The 40th Anniversary Estate had been forgotten for more than 30 years; residents did not have a health centre, supermarket, pharmacy or cash machine there. The initiative came from local people, before the Dino supermarket existed. They asked why they were cut off from the city and had to travel around to get to Tesco or Brico Marche. I spoke with residents of Kosiba, Kopernika and Konradowska, and those I contacted praised the idea of building this road. It should be emphasised that the 40th Anniversary Estate is the most densely populated area, with approximately 25–30 per cent of all residents.
Why, then, are you only taking this on now?
This issue kept coming up and then dying down; there were discussions, and decisions were postponed. A private company, „Zieleń Plan”, operated here. A lot has changed now. The Jagiellonów Estate was built, cut off on every side. It can only be reached by a narrow road from Piastów Street. Residents could be cut off from the outside world in the event of an accident. There was an idea to connect Jagiellonów Street, build a roundabout by the Biedronka on 1000-lecia and use the gravel road that I myself took to primary school (Primary School No. 10 on Jana Pawła). It is an unlit route; asphalt should be laid there, a cycle path built and the area adapted for residents’ walks. It is a beautiful place. There is an idea, and the spatial development plan has been approved.
On the forum, opponents of the road present several arguments. They write that the allotments are the city’s lungs.
Transit will certainly increase once the road is built. If there is strong social opposition, I will not insist. We will not build the road by force. Are these allotments the city’s lungs? I would argue with that. Many allotments have been abandoned. The plan involves taking approximately 10 allotments. People will receive financial compensation or another allotment, because according to the plan there will be space for new allotments behind Konradowska Street. Half-jokingly, I will say this: I would like to have one of those allotments. Why? Because the people who were compensated for giving up their allotments for the expansion of the cemetery on Śluzowa were satisfied and did not protest.
And what about the argument that the new road will be a source of noise?
That is why a debate is needed, so that we can answer the questions people are now asking on your forum. Some concepts may be changed. I am speaking for myself. Perhaps a green belt should be created there, a buffer to protect them from pollution. This decision does not depend on me.
I want to be the person who negotiates whether this road should be built or not. Not me alone. Officials and department heads will take part in the debate. The road is not urgently needed; if residents do not want it, it will not be built.
An eastern bypass will soon be built in the area...
The bypass will not relieve this estate. It will run from the „Solidarity” roundabout in Kruszyn to provincial road No. 297, to the forester’s lodge on Jeleniogórska Street, bypassing the Jagiellonów and 40th Anniversary Estates.
People write that Bolesławiec is not a metropolis and that one can get to any supermarket relatively quickly. Especially since a new shopping centre is being built on Jeleniogórska.
Bolesławiec is expanding, not shrinking. New estates are being built on Jana Pawła, Wańkowicza and near Śluzowa. Perhaps a large estate will soon be built on the opposite side of the bypass.
What happens next? The discussion on our forum shows that the issue is inflaming residents. Half of those who have spoken want this road, while the other half are firmly opposed to the idea.
I want to organise a public debate with residents of the cooperative blocks on the 40th Anniversary Estate, residents of the Jagiellonów Estate and allotment holders. Perhaps other councillors, residents of Konradowska Street and residents of Piastów Street will join in. I want people from the estate to talk about their problems and councillors to solve them. I do not want to be a councillor only when elections are being held. I try to be active, and I think it shows.
I want to do this on a large scale and professionally. I do not know whom to consult, because I do not think Bolesławiec has ever held such a major debate. First, we need a road plan from a designer. Once there is something concrete that can be shown to people, I will begin preparations. The housing cooperative has agreed that I can put up information in the stairwells of the blocks, and I will send letters to the houses.
Will someone help you?
It is my initiative, but I have support. I hope that colleagues from the City Council and County Council may support me. I am thinking of Józef Król and Władysław Bakalarz.
It is not easy to convince people to accept changes or organise discussions. What motivates a councillor to work through all this?
I have the opportunity to act and a real influence on what may be built in Bolesławiec. The city is changing for the better. I used to miss having restaurants in the market square; now they are springing up like mushrooms. The square is beautiful and attracts residents; you can see that they enjoy spending time here. Look at the viaduct and how beautiful it looks after renovation. Now we want to build a comprehensive sports, leisure and recreation complex there. All of this is what motivates me to work.
What, then, is the city lacking?
We do not have a proper stadium. The only question is whether we are building a stadium for BKS without a senior team, for MKS Bolesławia, for athletes with national-level successes, or perhaps for rugby players?
The question is whether we focus on football or athletics. If athletics, let us build a professional stadium with a roof, a tartan track, at least six starting blocks, warm-up facilities and changing rooms, so that competitions at least at the provincial level could be held in Bolesławiec.
A proper hall seating at least two thousand people would certainly be useful for organising concerts or providing a venue for a professional volleyball or basketball club.
Even today, we are working to establish a new County Police Headquarters in Bolesławiec. Who knows, perhaps we will also find a site for a new headquarters for the County Fire Service.
Councillor Wojciech Marek Kasprzyk has served on the Bolesławiec City Council since November 2015; he won a by-election following the death and expiry of the mandate of councillor Alojzy Skóra. This is his second term as a councillor; he was a councillor from 2010 to 2014. He represents constituency No. 10 (Gen. Franciszka Kleeberga, Konradowska, Mikołaja Kopernika, Murarska, Stefana Starzyńskiego 45–94, Zielona).