Polish cities are starting to unseal their pavements! In Wroclaw, after Nowy Targ Square, which was recently turned into an urban garden, the time has come to green one of the old city streets!
Read more: Wrocław square a candidate for a European award - How has Nowy Targ Square in Wrocław changed?
Ruska street, visualization
© UM of Wroclaw
Ruska Street in Wroclaw connects John Paul II Square with Solny Square. This nearly half-kilometer stretch is more or less half crossed by Kazimierza Wielkiego Street - a section of the city's inner ring road. And although the street is located in an area recognized as a historical monument ("Wrocław - historic center complex"), its current development is far from ideal. This may soon change - Ruska Street, in the section from Kazimierza Wielkiego Street to Solny Square, will become a green promenade with limited car traffic.
© Google Maps
Creating a more pedestrian-friendly space on this section is not a new idea - it was already urged by the Akcja Miasto organization in 2018, proposing in theas part of the Wrocław Civic Budget to transform the section between Solny Square and Rzeznicza Street into a pedestrian zone, and from Rzeznicza Street to Kazimierza Wielkiego Street into a woonerf. Representatives of Akcja Miasto also called for the elimination of architectural barriers and the introduction of greenery. Despite the failure to allocate funds for this reconstruction at the time, the topic systematically returned - in the spring of 2021, greenery in massive pots was introduced on Ruska Street, and in September 2022, the municipal company Wrocławskie Inwestycje began looking for a designer who would undertake the development of documentation for the revitalization of the section from Solny Square to Kazimierza Wielkiego Street and a comprehensive reconstruction of this section of the city, which would ensure a high standard of accessibility for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, without neglecting the representative character of the street. The proceeding was cancelled - the bid submitted significantly exceeded the budget for the task. The tender was therefore repeated in the spring of 2023 - this time the most favorable offer was submitted by Budotechnika Pracownia Projektowa, public consultations were launched in June, and in early 2024 the first visualizations were presented.
© Wrocławskie Inwestycje
The design team led by Magdalena Zienowicz, taking into account the conclusions of the public consultations and conservation guidelines, proposed planting dozens of trees, nearly 900 shrubs, climbers and perennials, unsealing the pavement, introducing habitats for plants and insects, and trellises for climbing plants.
Ruska street, current state and visualization
© UM Wroclaw
The gateway to the new space will be a green meeting place at the intersection with Psie Budy Street. There will also be historical accents:
We have preserved the axiality of the street and the elements that testify to the identity of this section of Ruska Street. These include the trackbed, the archaeological traces of the Ruska Gate and the now defunct historic building line between the arcades. We want to remind residents and tourists about these elements of the past through a distinctive color, material and composition selection of the floor pavement in places that witness history
The project will also address more technical issues - the uneven pavement will be rebuilt, additional lighting will be introduced, elements of small architecture will be created and the water and sewage system will be rebuilt.
Ruska street, current state and visualization
© UM Wroclaw
If everything goes according to plan - a building permit is expected to be obtained later this year and a tender for the project will be announced. The value of the investment is estimated at PLN 10 million.
