“I knew they would build something on this lot one day,” says Eugeniusz Michalak, a resident of Spółdzielcza Street. In August, he heard from one of the municipal officials that a large parking lot for nearly 90 cars was to be built on the site between Buczka and Spółdzielcza Streets. The two asphalt courts were to be demolished.
Mr. Eugeniusz was outraged. Earlier, he had written to City Hall asking for a basketball hoop, a goal and a lighting pole to be installed. “Children are mentioned in the context of drug addiction, alcohol problems and hooliganism,” says the Bolesławiec resident. “But above all, they need something to do. They need a place to play. Thanks to this, they will certainly cause less trouble.”
In the spring, he installed a basketball hoop on one of the courts. At his own expense. “I cleaned up the court. I hauled away 10 wheelbarrow loads. It took me more than six hours,” he says.
In one of his subsequent letters, he asked the mayor to take care of children and young people. “The courts on the lot are asphalted. They only need to be modernized and enclosed with a net,” he explains. “Parents want their children to play near home, not on another street.”
“Besides, these two matters can be reconciled,” Mr. Eugeniusz argues. “A parking lot and a sports court could both be built here. The parking lot could be somewhat smaller, for 60 cars.”
Eugeniusz Michalak collected approximately 120 signatures for a petition calling for the planned project to include “a place for rest, recreation and meetings of the local community.” On Thursday, December 3, at 4:00 p.m., public consultations on the matter will be held in the Council Chamber.
What will be built on the lot between Buczka and Spółdzielcza Streets, and when, is not known for now. “Because of protests by residents of Spółdzielcza Street, this project was not included in the 2010 budget,” says Wiesław Ogrodnik, deputy mayor of Bolesławiec. “This site was originally intended for multi-family housing. We had even reached an agreement with the ‘Bolesławianka’ Housing Cooperative. The city wanted to buy the building housing two companies. We were finalizing the matter at the beginning of 2009. Because of the uncertain economic situation, the mayor abandoned plans to build a four-story block. The companies’ employees kept their jobs, and we decided to build a parking lot,” Ogrodnik explains.
The city authorities do not rule out the possibility that the parking lot could be built next year (we did not receive a specific answer to the question about the sports court). “Parking lots have to be built. In the city center, there is no way to simply set aside land for parking,” says Mayor Piotr Roman. “We can look for other solutions, such as developing the area between the blocks. But we will not begin this project without the residents’ consent.”
We will return to this matter.
Share important information
We received information about the Spółdzielcza residents’ protest from one of our Readers. If you also have important information, send an SMS, call or write an email. We guarantee anonymity.
- tel. 0602 158 571
- email: redakcja@istotne.pl
- contact form
(information ii)