Background & Objectives

The City of Szolnok is situated on the Tisza River, which is Hungary’s second largest river. The city lies on two sides of this river, and up to now these sides were connected by only two bridges. For many years, discussions took place about the building of a third one and, for a long time, there was no question that it should be a “regular” road bridge. However, with the changing perception of mobility, the decision was finally made to build one that serves pedestrians and cyclists only.

Implementation

Hungary’s longest pedestrian bridge was constructed between 2009 and 2011. In total, it is 444 metres long, and the section directly over the river spans 120 metres. Its design is very novel, and symbolises the wings of a special kind of insect that lives only in this river. The entire metal structure is held up by only two pillars, hence giving the whole bridge a very aerial look. It connects Szolnok’s city centre on one side, with the fastly developing opposite side, which is home to universities, recreation and sports centres. The bridge is fully accessible for all, due to the installed elevators. The adjacent public areas were also revitalised – a new public square was built, where historic monuments were re-inaugurated.

The construction cost of the bridge and adjacent public spaces was ca. 7 million EUR, of which ca. 5 million EUR (70%) was paid by the European Union, and 30% by the municipality itself. It is a clear sign that the favoured form of mobility is walking and cycling – in fact the whole area is now entirely car-free, making it a very pleasant public space.>

To exploit this potential, since the bridge's opening, a number of cultural events have also been organised in the area. At night the bridge is lit up, becoming a night-time emblem of the city.

Conclusions

Going against the traditional mainstream thinking, the inauguration of this river-crossing marks a major change towards holistic mobility management: quality of life and accessibility taking precedence over the number of passing motor vehicles. In fact, the new bridge has a capacity of 11,750 pedestrians per hour – a significant number indicating the volume of equivalent vehicle traffic that is being prevented. In line with the original expectations, the bridge has become the new symbol of the town, and has brought about not only mobility improvements, but also that of culture and recreation.

Source: eltis.org