Our Program for a Strong Neighborhood
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Our Program for a Strong Neighborhood Sections: 1. Quality schools: The foundation of the community 2. The program for housing 3. A greener Prague 2 4. The Prague 2 Neighborhood 5. Transportation in Prague 2 6. The cultural program 7. A safe Prague 2 8. Social solidarity 9. Open and transparent government 10. Municipal property in Prague 2 The program for specific parts of the city: 1. Náplavka, a place where we can also live 2. Charles Square as an oasis of comfort and safety 3. The Vinohrady Sokol – a tradition that deserves a modern coat 4. Jamrtál as a culture and sport paradise 5. The Nusle Steps – Yes to improved greenery, no to cement! 6. The Magistrála and its surroundings as a city boulevard 1 1. Quality schools: The foundation of the community /Representative: Michal Uhl/ You can’t have a good neighborhood without well-functioning schools. We want the Prague 2 schools to be more open, so that they can become neighborhood centers. Schools and pre-schools are important spaces where people can meet, and they have a fundamental impact on the lives of our children. How: l We support community schools and preschools that would be able to offer the same range and quality of education as private school. The Prague 2 City Hall must be a partner in developing and improving our schools. Current city officials perceive their role too narrowly; they attend primarily to the investment in equipment and maintenance of the school buildings, and don’t give enough attention to the educational quality of the schools. How: l We want the City Hall to provide real support for the Prague 2 schools, offering them organizational and administrative support. For example, the City Hall could provide assistance with the schools’ websites. We support municipal assistance for teacher development and education. How: l We want official financial support for teachers in their own continuing education. In today’s society, the ability of both children and adults to develop and practice critical thinking is a key competence for success. We support teacher internships. How: l We want to improve the quality of our schools by helping them participate in the Erasmus program, in which teachers can visit schools in other European countries to learn about other modern educational practices and new teaching methods. We will guarantee places in local preschools and improve their operations during holidays. How: l We promise that no child of over three years of age, with permanent residence in Prague 2, will be denied entry into the preschool programs. l We will better map-out the needs of local family to ensure the satisfactory operations of the preschools, providing quality programs even during holiday 2 periods. We will do this even if it means additional cost for the increase in the number of school staff. Quality school meals in Prague 2 How: l School cafeterias are under the administration of the City Hall. In addition to quality vegetarian dishes, the school cafeterias should be able to cook gluten- -free and low-fat meals, and should be able to accommodate allergy sufferers. l We will help the school chefs increase their knowledge and skills with training courses developed in accordance with modern gastronomic trends. l We can learn about other cultures through food. We will prepare a project that not only enhances the menu but also extends the horizons of the students. There will be“ Gastronomical Weeks” in the schools showcasing Greek, French, Italian, Asian and other cuisines. 2. The program for housing /Representative: Petr Hejna/ Prague 2’s municipal apartments must guarantee an assured standard of living for affordable rents. How: l We will provide affordable housing for long-term residents of Prague 2 who cannot afford market rents. l In particular we will help those who are at a disadvantage in the current housing market: families with children, seniors, and single-parent families. l We will enable our seniors to stay living in Prague 2, even in cases in which the increase in rent costs would otherwise force them to move. l We will give seniors the opportunity to stay in their apartments as long as possible. Living assistance will be provided in their own homes. l We will conduct a comprehensive survey of the housing, social, and healthcare needs of seniors living on their own, with the aim of providing them better support. l We will improve the Prague 2 website to show the municipally-owned apartments that are available to rent. We will preserve and expand the selection of municipally-owned apartments How: l Instead of selling vacant apartments, we will repair and restore them to modern standards. 3 l We will convert unused office and commercial space into apartments. l We will improve the social housing for seniors by modifying the apartments to remove barriers. Housing First: A project to prevent homelessness How: l We will immediately begin a project to improve community support to help people stay in their own homes, and improve the health and social support for the homeless. The motto:“ Everybody needs a home.” 3. A Greener Prague 2 /Representative: Kateřina Jechová/ Streets where you can breathe. How: l Wherever possible we will put more trees along the streets, including along major streets such as Rumunská, Resslova, and Legerova. Trees help make the streets healthier, more attractive, and increase the values in the area. l We will place more fountains and ponds in the public areas. l We will support the planting and care of flowers and plants along the streets of the neighborhood. l We will introduce support and advisory links for urban gardeners:“ Dvojka pro zahradníky.” Composting is useful and fun. How: l Composting can reduce the amount of municipal waste by up to 50%. l We will place community composting sites in places agreed with local residents. We will ensure the collection of unused compost. Public parks are not meant to be a party zone, but an oasis of peace and quiet. How: l We support well thought-out and efficient investment in the public parks. In place of short-lived ornamental flowers, we recommend the planting of perennials – they are equally attractive and more environmentally friendly. l We will place sorted waste bins in places they aren’t today. 4 l We will provide safe, public barbecue grills. l We will ensure compliance with noise regulations. We don’t want fireworks in the public parks. 4. The Prague 2 Neighborhood /Representative: Michal Tobrman/ We will not stand by and watch as many of the great buildings of Prague 2 fall apart. We will save and restore buildings such as the Vyšehrad Station, the Na Slupi Spa, the Borůvkovo Sanatorium, and the Královské Vinohrady Sokol in Riegrovy Sady. How: l We will rigorously pursue all the options that the Prague 2 City Hall has. l We will attempt to buy the dilapidated Vyšehrad Station from its current private owner. After a sensitive reconstruction, we will make the building into a cultural center for Nusle and Vyšehrad. l In Riegrovy Sady, we will work in cooperation with the Sokol to revitalize the athletic fields and running track. With the support of the city, we will turn this center into a modern sports ground for the community. Streets with trees become pleasant places to sit. How: l We will place more benches in the streets and squares of Prague 2 to better serve the needs of residents and visitors to the hospitals. l We will not remove any benches from Náměstí Míru, including in the winter. We will improve the quality of the public spaces, including apartment courtyards. We support community activity. How: l We will provide financial support to apartment owners to develop new recreational or pleasant public areas around their buildings or in the communal courtyards. l We will develop new areas for communal gardening, similar to the Smetanka Garden area in Prague 2. l We will take proper care of the playgrounds. l We will add areas for adult recreational and sport activities in the parks. 5 We will develop more places where dogs can play off their leashes, for both the spring/summer and autumn/winter periods. How: l We will improve respect both for the rules of those zones that allow dogs priority off-the-leash and those zones that prohibit dogs being off-the-leash. l We will add facilities in the parks to provide water for dogs. l We will build a Prague 2 dog agility park and playground. We will improve the way waste is sorted How: l We will develop better mechanisms for picking up full waste or recycling receptacles, so that no unsightly waste bin overflows form in the streets. l We will encourage homeowners to install sorted waste containers, including those for metal and biowaste, by providing the containers as subsidized prices. 5. Transportation in Prague 2 /Representative: Jana Duchková/ We only have one set of roads and sidewalks, and they need to accommodate everybody: pedestrians, motorists, cyclists, or those using scooters or wheelchairs. Transportation should not be a source of stress. We need to calm the traffic in Prague 2. A walk or a trip to work should be a pleasure, not full of stress. The safety and comfort of pedestrians is a priority! How: l We will increase the time interval at the crosswalks on the Magistrala (Legerova and Sokolska streets) through central Prague 2. l We will propose further areas along the streets in which trees can be planted. l We will increase the number of crosswalks, adding them where they are missing, including more places with traffic lights to cross the Magistrala.