Praguers consider the most problematic areas in the capital city to be automobile traffic, parking, housing availability, homelessness, and drug addiction. In a survey conducted by the STEM/MARK agency for the Prague Chamber of Commerce, chaired by our law firm partner Petr Michal, surprisingly few respondents identified the availability of care for seniors and disabled people as an issue regarding satisfaction with quality of life in the metropolis. At the very “bottom” of concerns were topics such as visual smog and “smart city” initiatives, which to some extent are priorities of the current city hall leadership.
Respondents were allowed to choose three problems out of fifteen offered that they consider the most problematic in the capital city. More than 45 percent of them cited automobile traffic. Daily traffic jams and road closures are the biggest concern for residents of Prague 7 (71.4 percent) and Prague 1 (66.7 percent). In other city districts, a similar proportion of residents (40–47 percent) expressed the need for urgent improvements in transportation.
According to the survey with five hundred participants, residents of Prague are also greatly troubled by the growing shortage of parking spaces (42.6 percent) and the lack of affordable housing or the pace of apartment construction (39 percent).
At the same time, most respondents answered that, in their opinion, life in the metropolis has not improved or has rather not improved over the past three years. “We also asked Praguers which topics our regional Chamber of Commerce should specifically focus on and contribute to improving as quickly as possible. Among the main priorities are clearly the completion of the ring road and the related resolution of traffic problems. This is followed by housing and safety on the city’s streets,” said Petr Michal, chairman of the regional Chamber of Commerce’s board.
His intention now is to “transfer” the issues that respondents identified as “urgent” into a substantive discussion involving politicians, experts, and entrepreneurs. “We plan to start discussions with everyone and get things moving,” Michal emphasized. The first topic to be addressed should be the debate on automobile traffic, preceded by another survey with specifically targeted questions. “We want to be involved in creating better living conditions for all Prague residents and offer a helping hand to politicians in the process. That is why we commissioned this survey — to better identify selected problems and solve them as quickly and effectively as possible with the involvement of the relevant institutions,” he added.
Source: Pražský deník.cz
