Road workers have begun the reconstruction of the intersection of Ostrobramska and Poligonowa streets. A long-awaited surface crossing will be built there. The new zebra crossing will be ready this year.
The project for the reconstruction of the Ostrobramska and Poligonowa intersection was prepared at the end of last year. Thanks to this, the Municipal Roads Authority was able to announce a tender for the execution of works in the field. Road workers also submitted an application to the Warsaw Council for additional funds for this investment.
Five companies applied for the procedure. Ultimately, ZDM selected the offer of Traffic Polska, which amounted to slightly over PLN 2.5 million. The contract was signed in the second half of July. From that moment on, the contractor has 120 days to complete the work. This means that the work should be completed in November.
New pedestrian crossing
The project includes the construction of new traffic lights at the intersection of Ostrobramska, Poligonowa and Grenadierów streets. In the western part of the intersection, a new pedestrian crossing with a bicycle crossing will be marked out across Ostrobramska Street. Currently, pedestrians have access to only a footbridge there – an outdated solution, inconvenient for anyone who has any problems with movement, i.e. the elderly, people with a pram, a wheelchair, or luggage. “For the comfort of users, we will renovate the damaged sidewalks along Ostrobramska Street. The islands dividing Ostrobramska Street and Poligonowa Street will be widened to 2.5 m. A new bicycle crossing will also be built at the intersection with Grenadierów Street. Additionally, we will create a bicycle path there from Białowieska Street,” the road workers announced in a press release.
First demolition works
Currently, the contractor has started the first demolition works, which are necessary to mark out the new crossing and the announced renovation of the sidewalks. It has also managed to lay some new curbs.
“At this stage, we do not anticipate any major disruptions to vehicular traffic. However, due to the renovation of the sidewalk, the crossing through Grenadierów Street, right next to Ostrobramska Street, is currently closed. Pedestrians are directed to the zebra crossing near Grenadierów 11 Street, which we marked in 2022 during the reconstruction,” ZDM notes.
The fact that Warsaw residents are more willing to use ground crossings than footbridges is particularly visible where there is a choice. “We recently conducted traffic measurements at the intersection of Czerniakowska and Chełmska. At this point, the ground crossing passes right next to the footbridge. The results are clear – during the afternoon rush hour (15:45-16:45) we counted a total of 302 pedestrians. As many as 272, or over 90% of them, used the ground crossing. This shows that the trend of moving away from footbridges in favor of ground crossings is the right direction,” the road workers calculate.
It has long been known that “the zebra population in Warsaw is growing”. The crossing at Ostrobramska will join over 100 new crossings designated since 2014. New crossings have already been created around Dmowski Roundabout and on Emilii Plater. Now it's time for other places. During the work related to the construction of the Tramway to Wilanów, the footbridges over Sobieskiego Street were demolished and ground crossings will be designated in their place. The family of zebras will also be joined by the one over Wisłostrada at the height of Karowa Street.
“Together with the manager of the Promenada Shopping Centre, we are also considering replacing the pedestrian footbridge over Ostrobramska Street near the shopping centre with an intersection with ground-level pedestrian crossings,” ZDM concluded.
Main image source: ZDM