Ljubljana's Main Thoroughfare to Get a Facelift
The Ljubljana city administration has unveiled plans to renovate the capital's main street, Slovenska cesta, for the upcoming EU presidency. Although the attempt to strike a co-financing deal with the government failed, the city is planning to invest EUR 2.5m in the facelift.
"The main street gives the impression of a deserted, decaying and dying...public space, surrendered to every blind force imaginable," deputy mayor Janez Kozelj told a press conference on Tuesday. He went as far as to call certain parts of the street "as if devastated by war".
According to him, the main problems are neglected squares, underpasses and pavements, and untidy trash cans, newsstands and flower containers. Kozelj also pointed to worn facades that mar many of Ljubljana's famous buildings.
The reasons for the situation lie in inefficient managing and inappropriate attitude towards the public space in the city, fragmented properties, disinterested owners and an unresponsive government, he said.
The municipality will move to renovate the most exposed portion of the street. The project is to start in December this year and finish by May 2008.
The city will allocate EUR 1.3m to spruce up the exteriors of three most famous buildings - the Neboticnik, (literally "The Skypescraper"), Kozolec (The Haystack) and Hribarjeva hisa (Hribar's House).
The rest of the money will be spend on the co-financing of facade and roof renovations and the revival of squares and pavements in cooperation with various street artists and cultural organisations, explained Kozelj.
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