Plans for a new road safety centre

The City of Ostrava has recently unveiled plans to build a new road safety centre in the Svinov district (at the primary school in Bílovecká St.). The new centre – which was jointly presented to the public by Councillor Lukáš Semerák and the Mayor of Svinov Helena Wieluchová – will include a state-of-the-art traffic simulation area with electric buggies (so children will be able to learn about safety not only as pedestrians or cyclists, but also from the perspective of drivers). There will also be an athletics track, a football pitch, a tennis court, a three-storey building with a teaching room for 30 children, changing rooms, a club room, storage facilities and a garage area.

The new centre will cover an area of 3.5 hectares. Construction work will begin next year, and completion is scheduled for 2019. During school hours the centre will be used by school groups; during afternoons and at weekends it will be open to the general public. The total cost of construction is estimated at approximately 50 million CZK. Around 20 million CZK will be required for the traffic simulation area and the outdoor sports facilities, while the building itself will cost around 30 million CZK.

City Councillor Lukáš Semerák – whose main area of responsibility is transport – explained why the new centre is necessary and why the City has decided to fund it:

Ostrava currently lacks sufficient facilities for compulsory primary school courses in road safety. The new centre will be located in Svinov – but it will also serve the neighbouring district of Poruba and other municipal districts.

The Svinov complex will be Ostrava’s third road safety centre. The Ostrava-Jih municipal district (in the south of the city) uses the traffic simulation area at the Alberta Kučery primary school, where the outdoor surfaces were repaired by the City last year. The districts of Moravská Ostrava, Slezská Ostrava and Mariánské Hory use the facility at Orebitská St. in Přívoz, which will be renovated and extended during next year.

The new Svinov facility will be the most modern of its type in Ostrava; it will be the only road safety centre to have electric buggies, traffic lights, speed measurement and other simulations of authentic road traffic situations. Children will also enjoy the opportunity to participate in road safety teaching in the role of vehicle drivers.