By a whisker, Bolesławiec could have lost its chance to get rid of heavy transport travelling through the city centre. This was due to the Catholic Families Community (WKR), a group led by Andrzej Chodyra and supported by Father Edward Bober (born 1930 – died 2021). In the 1994 elections, the group won a majority on the Bolesławiec City Council. WKR even put forward its own candidate for mayor. Its candidate, Antoni Skobliński, then retired director of ZG "Konrad", lost to Józef Król of the "Teraz Bolesławiec" committee.
“I am writing about this to preserve the truth about our small local history,” Józef Król recalls in the 2010 Bolesławiec Yearbook. “Sometimes it is better to think twice when we want to spite someone, so as not to harm ourselves and those closest to us,” adds the former mayor.
One of the most important investments for Bolesławiec after 1989 was the construction of the bypass. Every day, hundreds of TIR trucks travelled through the middle of the city along the Zgorzelec–Wrocław route.
The design concept for the bypass had been completed, and the city had secured financing from EU funds (the PHARE Crossborder Fund). Difficult negotiations concerning the route had just ended. There were two flashpoints. The first was the monastery grounds on Zgorzelecka Street. The nuns did not agree to the land being allocated for the investment. The second was the concern of residents of the blocks on Cieszkowskiego Street that they would now be exposed to noise and air pollution.
“The residents of the blocks were persuaded by the construction of special sound barriers,” Król recalls. “The monastery remained adamant in its opposition. Promises of special barriers and the replacement of windows with soundproof ones did not help,” the mayor wrote.
The city resolved the problem by changing the bypass route. Centrala Przemysłu Naftowego (CPN) made part of its land by the petrol station available, which made it possible to build a roundabout immediately after the bridge.
“I was convinced that the next problem had been dealt with, but unfortunately it had not,” Józef Król recalls. “Several WRK councillors, including Andrzej Chodyra, dissatisfied with the vote on the matter, organised a collection of signatures against the construction. Apparently, they collected around 300 signatures and, to our horror, sent them with an appropriate letter to the European Commission in Brussels, informing it that there was no public consent for the investment. This was a very serious threat. Fortunately, we did not give up. We organised a signature drive among supporters of the construction. We collected 3,000 signatures and also sent them to Brussels with an appropriate letter. We succeeded. The financing was saved, and there were many willing to receive the money. One can imagine what our city would have looked like in the following years without this road,” Król writes.