Troja traffic barrier: Prague 8 files lawsuit against city hall

The Prague 8 district has filed an administrative lawsuit against the Prague city hall over a traffic-light barrier at the entrance to Troja. In the district’s view, city hall began installing the barrier even though city councillors decided this year to put ordinary traffic lights on the street, which means it ignored a decision of the city assembly.

Deputy district head Martin Jedlička (TOP 09) called the installation “a total act of treachery”: according to him, the city violated both the negative decision of the Prague 8 councillors and the decision of the capital’s councillors. The district leadership, he added, has repeatedly told city hall of its fundamental disagreement. He called the barrier “a gamble and an experiment on the smooth flow of traffic.”

How the dispute began

The city councillors approved a traffic light to regulate traffic at the entrance to Troja from Prague 8 in 2024, in response to a petition from local residents. The petition was drawn up after a motorcyclist hit and seriously injured a fifteen-year-old girl on a pedestrian crossing on Trojská Street. In April this year, at the initiative of Prague 8, the councillors reversed that decision, and in May the city council approved the alternative described above.

What the city says

Outgoing deputy mayor for transport Jaromír Beránek (Piráti) told the ČTK agency that he respects the district’s right to go to court but considers the step absurd. He recalled that the measure came about because of a serious accident involving a schoolgirl and long-standing problems with transit traffic in Troja. The aim, he said, is to improve safety for pedestrians, especially children near the school, and to improve conditions for public transport. The measure, he added, is being introduced for a limited time, after which its actual impact on traffic will be assessed.

City hall spokesman Vít Hofman said that, following a lawsuit by the Prague-Troja district, the court ruled the councillors’ decision to stop preparing the barrier unlawful. “The original decision to build the barrier therefore stands”, and the road network authority is obliged to act in line with it, Hofman said.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz