Here’s a roundup of some of the news stories, relevant to our community, that caught our eye over the past week or so.
Kraków one of the most congested cities in the World?
According to TomTom, which prepares a report on traffic jams in the world’s largest cities every year, 5th May 2021 was the busiest day last year in Krakow. As calculated by the authors of the report, the city’s traffic congestion in 2021 was 42%, which placed it in 20th position in the global ranking (12th among European cities, second among cities with less than 800,000 inhabitants).
Łódź ranked higher than Kraków – in 13th place in the world ranking. Wrocław was 22nd, Warsaw 30th and Poznań 33rd.
Increased car ownership leads inevitably to increased and ore frequent congestion. Whilst it is not easy to give the exact number of cars that travel on Krakow’s roads every day. Data provided by the Krakow City Hall show that in 2019 over 525,000 people were registered in the city. There were 685 cars for every 1000 residents. In reality, there are many more cars on the city roads, it’s not uncommon for new Kraków residents vehicles to still be registered in the places they moved from. There are also cars that commute to the city every day, as well as tourists and transit traffic. (source Wyborcza.pl – Kraków)
You can read the full TomTom Traffic Congestion Ranking here.
Hint that Bunkier Cafe may return – perhaps?
Many hearts were broken, when the legendary Bunkier Cafe, a favourite of locals and tourists alike, was closed in October 2020 to make way for major renovation work at Bunkier Sztuki Contemporary Art Gallery. The cafe was dismantled and work has been ongoing on the site. We wrote about the closure back in October 2020.
This week however, a spokesperson for the Art Gallery provided an update on the renovation work and announced that :-
“”The gallery has made efforts to additionally place the cafe in its current location, in front of the building.”
The spokesperson added that the new cafe will be reopened, according to the plans – inside the building, on level minus one. In addition, the gallery has made efforts to additionally place the cafe in its current location, in front of the building,
“We would not like to reveal too much about our immediate surroundings at this stage. All this is at the stage of preliminary findings”
This suggests that there is now a chance that the popular Bunkier Cafe, which disappeared from Planty at the beginning of the renovation after nearly two decades of operation, will return to its place. The bistro may come back, despite the earlier project assuming the location of the café in the basement of the Gallery. (source: Gazeta Krakowska)
Don’t park like an idiot. If you do, don’t lie about only having a foreign drivers licence!
An inconsiderate motorist abandoned his car blocking a bus route serving Rydygier Hospital which has a notorious and recurring problem with badly parked cars blocking the bus lane. The Straż Miejska were called, towed the vehicle, and issued a 500zł fine.
This would have been bad enough for the driver, however when asked to provide his documents the irresponsible driver showed the officers an American drivers licence, claiming not to have any Polish licence.
Unfortunately for him, the officer made further checks and ascertained that he had indeed had a Polish, drivers licence, but this has been revoked. Police are now investigating the matter of driving without proper authorisation. (source: Gazeta Krakowska)
New Sports Complex to be built at Clepardia, Prądnik Biały
The existing Clepardia sports complex will be transformed into a multifunctional sports facility. The 80 million zł investment will include an outdoor and indoor swimming pool, a skatepark, football field with a new stand, and green areas. (Source: Gazeta Krakowska)
IKEA HUVUDROLL frozen vegetable meatball Recall Notice
IKEA asks all customers who have purchased HUVUDROLL frozen vegetable meatballs in packs of 1000 g with a use-by date 26-20-2022 to contact IKEA to obtain a full refund due to the risk of plastic parts in the product.
A batch of HUVUDROLL frozen vegetable meatballs in 1000 g packages was contaminated with plastic elements from a damaged production line. For this reason, the products belonging to this batch are withdrawn from the market.
HUVUDROLL Frozen Vegetable Meatballs (704.877.95) in packs of 1000 g with a use-by date 2022-10-26 can be returned at any IKEA store for a full refund. Proof of purchase (receipt) is not required.
For more information, visit the IKEA.pl website or call the toll-free number 22 275 05 00.
(Source Cowkakowie.pl)
1000 free bird boxes and feeders will be given away on Valentines day.
On 14th February , at noon on Plac Wszystkich Świętych by the City hall, (All Saints’ Square), representatives of MPO Krakow and the Association of Promoters of the Joyful Bird (Asocjacji Promotorów Radosnego Ptaka)will give away 1,000 bird boxes and feeders to the residents of Krakow. The bird boxes are made of reclaimed wood, recycled by MPO. Over the years over 16,000 bird boxes have been given away. (Source LoveKrakow.pl)
If you have any news, events or other stories you think we should feature, please do get in touch.
A Scot in Kraków. The founder and editor of Kraków Expats Directory, and our sister sites Kraków TV and Kraków Stories Podcast.
David fell in love with Kraków 24 years ago, making it his home in 2011.
In 2020 he was awarded the title of Kraków’s Ambassador of Multiculturalism, by the President of Kraków, and is also a member of the GlobalScot network, representing Scottish culture and business abroad.
We’re always looking for interesting stories, events, characters or groups to feature. Likewise, if you’d like to join us, as a contributor, please get in touch.
