A new tram line survey

The city of Ostrava will ask its citizens about their opinion on the extension of the tram line in the city district of Poruba. The results will be known by early November, and by the end of the year the city will decide whether or not to build the tram line.

New state-of-the-art technology is to be used to build the new tram line, allowing low-noise traffic. The project called “Greening of Public Transport in Poruba” has been in preparation since 2014. However, the plan to extend the tram line to the north of Poruba is a few decades old. Tram transport, which produces no local emissions, is considered to be the most environmentally friendly mode of mass transport. If the project gets a green light, Poruba can have one of the most modern tram lines in Europe. The entire project will cost about CZK 1 billion, and up to 85% should be funded by the European Union; currently, it is undergoing the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process.

The aim of the survey is to find out the level of people’s awareness about this strategic city project and to map their personal attitude towards it. There will be at least 1,500 respondents from among Ostravians aged 18 to 75, mostly from the city districts of Poruba and Pustkovec. By commissioning the survey, the city responds to ongoing public debate about the project.

 “When preparing any investment project, we have to take into account many different aspects. The public is always an important partner in such decisions. Public debates on important topics have been held with citizens since the very beginning of our term. Also, concerning the plan to extend the tram line in Poruba, two public debates have taken place, not counting the meetings of city assemblies, which are open to public. We know that there is a petition against the project, which is actively supported by a significant group of people. On the other hand, there are many supporters, who, however, are naturally less vocal. Previous Internet surveys concerning the support or lack of support for the project were always in favour of the tram line, but we cannot consider them as relevant.  We take the public opinion very seriously, and the result of the survey will be one of the important facts for us to decide whether or not to implement the project”, said Mayor of Ostrava Tomáš Macura.