Brno blue parking lines: milled asphalt and new concrete kerbs

On a busy street used by drivers entering Brno from the north, from Útěchov, Soběšice and Adamov, road crews are milling up the asphalt and, instead of white parking markings, installing kerbs flush with the carriageway. The work will cost the city several million crowns, City Hall says.

Many drivers were surprised when workers cordoned off the parking spaces and began stripping the surface, then laid fresh asphalt even though the old one had no visible defects. When people started asking why, the organisations involved began passing the question to one another.

Who is responsible for what

The South Moravian Region's road authority, which owns the street, said it had nothing to do with the project and that the question should go to Brněnské komunikace. The company in turn suggested asking the regional authority. “This is not a construction project, a repair or an investment by our company. On site we act purely as a contractor carrying out work on commission,” said its spokeswoman Jaroslava Bílá.

The answer finally came from the city of Brno. It turned out that the Brno-sever district, through which the street runs, wanted blue lines painted on the road instead of white ones so that a paid-parking zone could operate here too. But on a regional road, even one entirely within the built-up area of the Moravian capital, Brno's blue lines cannot be painted.

Kerbs instead of paint

“That is why the city, together with the regional administration and the road authority, which own and manage this road, agreed to include part of the road, meaning the parking spaces, in the network of local roads. But the condition is a physical separation of the parking lanes from the carriageway,” explained City Hall spokesman Filip Ponuhálek.

Sunken concrete kerbs, which will be painted blue, will physically separate the part of the street that remains regional from the parking that will become municipal. “The city is paying for separating this part of the road from the traffic lanes, and we estimate the cost at several million crowns. We will learn the exact amount once the work is finished and everything has been settled,” Ponuhálek added.

Around Prague guide on the topic: Brno: what to see and where to go

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz