Road works
By : Celia Barnes
The end is nigh. After six months of dust, jackhammers and detours, the new and improved ulica Marszalkowska will be officially opened this weekend.
The mayor of Warsaw, Pawel Piskorski, will cut the ribbon on Sunday afternoon in the midst of a gala street fair to celebrate the city's newest wonder of modern engineering.
In place of the bumpy excuse of a road that was built in 1953 to accomodate socialist marches from the Palace of Culture and Science down to Plac Konstytucji, and the wobbly footpaths with puddles that swallowed unsuspecting pedestrians whole, there is now a sleek ribbon of glistening asphalt and artistically designed cobblestone sidewalks.
An estimated 30,000 spectators will attend the opening to listen to music, look at art "happenings" and eat some pyzy the Varsovian dish of meat-filled potato dumplings. There will be an auction to raise money for Poland's recent flood victims, and a collective photo portrait of all the visitors attending the event.
But behind the pomp and ceremony most of the shopkeepers along this road, where 60,000 cars usually travel each day, take a different perspective: The roadworks have spelt disastor for their businesses.
At babyware shop Mothercare, saleswoman Ewa Skolorzynska estimates that overall business has fallen by 50%. Skolorzynska said it's also been a nightmare for mums with prams to negotiate the excavated footpaths where sand and gravel was exposed. Not to mention the disappearance of parking spaces.
"Last year, August trading was very good for us," Skolorzynska said. "It's a good sales time. This August, I'd say we've had one-third of last year's business."
Farther down the street, restaurants Odeon and Garret saw fit to close their doors during the August work. Next door at Restauracja Szanghaj staff said their business dropped by 50%. Likewise at supermarket Spolem Lux.
"Customers come in here complaining about how difficult it is to get to the shop and how when it rained the work turned to mud and how they don't have anywhere to tie their dogs," said one red-and-yellow clad Spolem pani who preferred not to be named. "The delivery men are having problems too, and then there's the noise."
The problems were anticipated by the authorities and most shop owners received a one-off monthly cut in rents of 15-25% courtesy of the Srodmiescie gmina.
But on a brighter note, most shop owners approached by the Business Journal think the road improvements will ultimately benefit business with easier parking, driving and walking.
The roadworks, carried out by Dromex, have cost the Warsaw City Board about zl. 12 million ($2.8 million), and improvements to the area around Plac Konstytucji cost around zl. 6 million ($1.4 million). The construction will continue next year from Plac Konstytucji down to Plac Unii Lubelskiej, and will also continue in the other direction from Aleje Jerozolimskie toward Saski Park.
And the bill for next Sunday's opening party extravaganza: around zl. 70,000.
"There aren't many festivals and attractions that happen in the middle of the city," said Warsaw City Hall promotions and marketing head, Lukasz Galecki. "So this was a great opportunity to put something together."
And if Galecki gets his way, there could be another party soon when the city's other major roadwork, the construction of the newest Wisla bridge, Most Siekierkowski, is completed.
