This is how Budapest’s City Park to become car-free
Many consider the City Park in Budapest the lungs of the Hungarian capital. It lies within 302 acres (1.2 km2), and its main entrance is at Heroes’ Square (Hősök tere), one of Hungary’s World Heritage sites. Furthermore, you can find the Vajdahunyad Castle, one of Budapest’s biggest ice rinks, the Széchenyi Baths, the zoo and the Museum of Transport in it. Thousands go there to do sports, drink a beer or enjoy the untamed nature in its groves and glades. However, the M3 Motorway (Ukraine, Slovakia, Romania) leads through the City Park. Therefore, hundreds of thousands of vehicles commute there each day. A new project aims to change that, and make the City Park car-free.
Dávid Vitézy, the head of the Budapest Development Agency, said in a Facebook post that it was decided 60 years ago to end the M3 Motorway at the back entrance of the City Park. As a result, the traffic volume in the lungs of Budapest reaches that of the Petőfi Bridge. Therefore, they would like to create a car-free City Park, and both the government and the city council back their plan.
Average traffic in the City Park at present:
According to Helló Magyar, Városliget Ltd. announced the relevant planning tender days ago. The government and the city leadership agreed in 2020 summer to make the City Park car-free. At first, they will rebuild the Kós Károly Promenade. Furthermore, they will build a new bridge above the Rákosrendező Train Station. Moreover, there will be a new P+R parking lot for 1,500 cars in Mexikói Street and other minor traffic engineering developments.
Based on the government decree nr 1415/2020. (VII.16.),
they will make Heroes’ Square and Kós Károly Promenade car-free. Besides, drivers will not be able to use the Állatkerti Boulevard at off-peak hours.
There are a few exceptions. Public transport like trolleybuses will remain, but nobody will be able to leave their cars in the City Park. In Dózsa György Street, there will be an underground garage and a P+R parking lot will be built in Mexikói Street. As a result, those coming from the direction of the M3 Motorway will be able to use public transport to continue their journey.
Vitézy wrote about the new parking garages around the City Park. He added that they have to fit into the M1 metro line extension project and its new station in the Hungária Boulevard. The planning of the bridge above the Rákosrendező Railway Station started earlier. It aims to connect Zugló (14th district) with Angyalföld (13th district) and lead Tram 3 to Béke Square. The local governments and the municipal council can send their opinion on the plans.
The development of the northeastern railway lines (Hatvan, Veresegyház, Gödöllő) and the P+R garages to be built in the stations will also support the car-free City Park project. These elements are already in the Budapest Suburban Railway Node Strategy.
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Source: Helló Magyar, Facebook/VitézyDávid