They waited for years for the renovation of the stairs. The driveway and handrails are not foreseen

We wrote about the destroyed stairs at the school 17 in Krakowska Nowa Huta at the beginning of 2023. At that time they were in a tragic state-only the white and red tape changed, which they were surrounded. Residents trampled around the paths of a ramp made of concrete tiles and this way they moved between two levels of the pavement – the lower one, at the building of the Bursa of Secondary School No. 2 in Krakow and Górny. With it, among others, the second Bursa building, the Vocational Training Center with the Dormitory and the High School for Adults, and most importantly – the Krakow Senior Center.

The escarpment is not impressive, it is about two meters and several dozen meters long. At both ends there are relatively new steps made of cobblestones, and in the middle historic and ridiculed “Nowu Hutu”. In 2023, local residents mentioned that the stairs have been excluded from use for at least seven years. Not everyone even remembered when they were recently open.

– About five years ago a failure was repaired here, heavy equipment entered the stairs. The excavators destroyed these steps to the rest – then Mr. Radosław told us.

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Finally, “Krakow Machu Picchu” was renovated. Nowahucians can parade to rebuilt stairs for days – provided that they move efficiently on their own legs. At the stairs there is neither a driveway for prams or a ramp, which could be used by people in wheelchairs. The stairs are also not equipped with a handrail, which can be a problem for people who have a problem with balance – or when winter will surprise Krakow residents and concrete steps will not be sprinkled with sand quite quickly.

– A bit of a bullshit – says a man living nearby. Sam, he says, rarely has a need to use the famous stairs. But he admits that if he had to beat them with a pram or bike, he wouldn't laugh. – As they did, they could do to the end. Or maybe they will do? – He wonders. However, the City Hall denies that further renovations are planned.

For a change, a woman with a child asked does not see a problem in the final shape of the stairs. – It's good that they made them at all, because it looked bad and you could stumble. And if someone has to go about there, around – shows a suggested route that does not require stairs.

What is the route? It can be described briefly as: very circular. From under the door of the “Dolny” Bursa building (to which three low stairs with a ramp lead) you should go along the estate path by the pitch and parcel locker, turn to the uneven ankle parking the Łaźnia Nowa theater parking, through the gate, and from there another settlement path to get between the buildings. And already, the “upper” dormitory building, the Vocational Training Center and the Senior Center are open to us. It is true that the entrance to the latter institution is also up the stairs, but they are already equipped with an elevator.

People who need easier while moving can ultimately get to the upper part of the pavement. Assuming that they are not in the dormitory, they may not be interested in its lower part at all, but take advantage of the entrance to the yard from Bulwarowa Street. This solution is suggested by the City Hall, which we asked why the stairs were rebuilt in this way.

Małgorzata Tabaszewska from the press office of the Krakow City Hall answered us. She referred, among others, to the question about the Senior Center, noting that although the entrance is from the stairs (Osiedle Szkolne 17), the exact address of the building is the school estate 20. “The center includes a parking lot behind the building and part of the parking lot in front of the building. From parking lots and from the bus stop leads the pavement, which is available to everyone. She also noted that the parking can also be behind building No. 19, you can also reach the yard between Bursa, CKZ and the Senior Center from ul. Bulwarowa, where there is no need to use ramps or stairs.

So it seems that in fact buildings in the area are available to people in wheelchairs or with children. The question remains: Why couldn't the stairs be taken into account in this inclusive communication route, since they were rebuilt anyway?

The clerk announced that the area since 2004 is entered in the register of monuments, and “the stairs together with other communication routes are a coherently designed element of the development of the area covered by conservation protection.” So they are a component of the original design of this part of Nowa Huta. Therefore, renovation – costing PLN 11,849.51 – was carried out in agreement with the municipal conservator of monuments.

Tabaszewska in the information sent to our editorial explained that the renovation provided for the restoration of the stairs to its original state. Both the form was to remain the same (and this did not contain any amenities) and the material.

“Because the original architectural assumption did not include a ramp or downhill or handrails, therefore it was not possible to design and make them” – we read in the email. And also that “the municipal conservator of monuments would have to consent to supplement the structure of the stairs with a ramp, but this would equal to cutting out old, high trees and a change in parking and slope structure.” However, the clipping would not require a driveway for prams within the stairs (such as with the entrance to the dormitory opposite) – it would only make the stairs themselves about one and a half meter narrower. Adding a handrail would require even less interference in the original shape of the monument.

This does not mean that the municipal conservator of monuments forbade building a driveway or adding a handrail. As we learned in the MKZ office, the project presented to the conservator did not assume additional facilities for pedestrians. It only included the reconstruction of the stairs.

The official who agreed to talk to us about this topic does not want to speak officially. He suggests re -contact by the Press Office of the City Hall.

According to UM, the administrator of the area, where there are emotional stairs, is the dormitory of secondary education No. 2 in Krakow. It was this institution that was to prepare a stairs reconstruction project. We asked about the lack of a ramp and handrail in the project, we are waiting for an answer.

“Nowu Hutu – Polish Machu Picchu” still appears on the Google map, but as an attraction “closed permanently”.