Access to the park on Vítkov will be more convenient from Karlín. A new wheelchair-accessible footbridge will span the railroad tracks from Pernerova Street over a new apartment building, providing pedestrians with a more convenient route to Vítkov and on to Žižkov.

The new footbridge extends the axis of Peckova Street to the HolKa Footbridge over the Vltava River. This will create a more convenient connection between Holešovice, Karlín, Vítkov Hill, and Žižkov. From the Karlín side, the footbridge will be accessible by elevator in a tower adjacent to a residential building owned by a private investor; the footbridge will span the railroad tracks and connect to pedestrian paths leading to Vítkov Hill. The pedestrian paths in the park will be upgraded by the Prague 3 municipal district.

“Two apartment buildings will be constructed on Pernerova Street. Between them will stand a tower with an elevator, from which a covered footbridge will lead to Vítkov Hill. It will be 56 meters long and just under three meters wide. Its design will evoke the railroad tracks it will span, and its location will connect to the Štvanická Footbridge. Both the apartment building and the footbridge itself will significantly improve the city’s accessibility. Thanks to these new investments, it will be possible to reach Vítkov Hill and the Military History Institute via barrier-free access. Accessibility between city districts, which are still divided by the railroad, will be improved,” says Adam Scheinherr, Deputy Mayor for Transportation.

The City of Prague is the investor for the footbridge; Prague city councilors approved the feasibility study on Monday, 31 October. The Technical Administration of Roads of the City of Prague will now begin preparing the construction plans. Construction could begin within five years.

The footbridge is designed as a covered, steel-and-concrete transparent structure composed of slender elements. It features a so-called Vierendel girder supplemented by tensioned diagonals. Two longitudinal girders are connected by steel cross-members to form a spatially rigid box-type structure, into which UHPFRC (ultra-high performance fiber-reinforced concrete) panels for the bridge deck and roof are inserted.

On the Vítkov side, the footbridge will be supported by micropiles. The railing consists of a thin steel mesh extending the full height of the footbridge. The footbridge is illuminated by longitudinal LED strips embedded in the structure, which light up the walking surface. The main span of the girders will be 56 meters long; the width of the supporting structure is 2.8 meters, the clear width is 2.5 meters, and the total height of the structure reaches 3.25 meters.

Two new buildings by private investor Richard Sobotka will be constructed next to the footbridge. They are designed so that their height matches that of the tallest buildings in the city block—29 meters—and are lower than most other new buildings in Karlín. The building will have a total of nine above-ground floors with 77 apartments, seven non-residential units, and 75 parking spaces.