Budapest's "new main street" to be completed soon

The first phase of Budapest's "new main street" project is nearing the final stages, and promises to be completed ahead of schedule in April, architecture and design website hg.hu reports District V Mayor Antal Rogán as announcing at a press conference.

According to Rogán, the whole plan behind the new main street is to make central Budapest more welcoming to both tourists and locals alike, and it will feature more aesthetically pleasing designs. Zoltán Cselovszki, the main architect behind the plans, explained how the new poles designed to keep cars off the sidewalks will resemble "blades of grass growing in a stream" and that the bicycle racks will resemble bicycle wheels.

The bill for the redevelopment is Ft 5.5 billion (€20.4 million), of which Ft 2.1 billion (€7.8 million) came from EU funds. District V hopes it can receive up to 80% of the Ft 4 billion (€14.8 million) needed to renovate Ferenciek tere from the EU, which will be a part of the second phase.

An additional point added to the press conference was that these renovations were designed from materials that will better withstand the normal wear and tear of everyday life. Unfortunately, as the portal noted, the new surface laid out as part of the new main street has proven particularly slippery when wet.

The crown on the phase one plans is the soon to be completed fountain being built at the southern end of Szabadság tér, which according to the planners will be in contrast to the Soviet war memorial at the square's northern end, and will provide a non-controversial counterweight to that memorial. Rogán added that the fountain will be interactive and will feature light shows at night.

Ferenciek tere is expected to be radically redone during the project's second phase. Rogán expressed his optimism that the plans will be accepted soon, meaning that work on the redevelopment could begin later this year. According to these plans, Ferenciek tere would be transformed into a large open square with its current traffic moved to Március 15. tér at the Pest end of the Erzsébet bridge, so that Budapest would receive a new "main square."

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