When you type ‘Broadway’ into the popular search engine Google.com you will get over 65,5 million results. For ‘Piotrkowska’ it is less than 506 thousand. It comes as no surprise as Broadway is one of the longest streets in the world (over 240 km long) and the most recognizable avenue of the New York City, home to over 8 million residents and for many the centre of the universe. Piotrkowska, however, is only 4 kilometres long and, despite the fact that it is considered the longest pedestrian and commercial street, it is located in the Polish city of Łódź of ‘merely’ a few hundred thousand residents.
Pietryna in Łódź, the same as Broadway in New York City, has been a unique place from its very beginning, that is the twenties of the 19th century. It was here where houses of the highest standards were located and where the first institutes of culture, newspaper offices, exclusive shops and restaurants appeared. It was Piotrkowska along which labourers would commute to work and if Władysław S. Reymont, the author of “The Promised Land”, can be trusted millions were “rolling along the street in gorgeous carriages, drawn by the best American fast trotters, at ten thousand roubles apiece” (1)
Piotrkowska has over the last few years fallen into decline and lost the name of ‘competitive urban product’. There are more attractive offers appearing in the surroundings of the street, such as Manufaktura or Galeria Łódzka, both at the stage of launching them onto the market. These places do not have to face problems of Piotrkowska such as tenement and council housing, shortage of car parks, deteriorating quality and aesthetics of the area and declining sense of security. But has Piotrkowska Street faced problems different from those of other cities? Perhaps in American cities, to which Łódź has always been compared, similar difficulties occurred. Does Piotrkowska stand a chance of becoming Broadway of Łódź not only as the most important street of the city but as an object of particular interest?
Such places must disappear – says Piotrkowska Team
2. Robert Giuliani’s Zero tolerance – American model that cannot be ignored
In New York City that deteriorating aesthetics, lack of care of public environment and rapidly increasing rate of minor legal offences called for more than subtle and politically correct attempts to solve the problem temporarily. General hopelessness, sensed by most residents of the city, has touched bottom, reached the critical mass in the negative sense of the word. A response to that state of affairs was one man – Rudolph William Louis “Rudy” Giuliani III who took office as Mayor of New York City as the little known fifty-year-old lawyer and attorney working in the federal government.
Policy of Giuliani designed to solve the problem of public space in New York City, Zero Tolerance, has its place in canon of terms describing efficiency in development policy of contemporary cities. Often criticized for his firmness, sometimes even roughness, Mayor of New York City fought against corruption and crime. During Giuliani's eight year long administration crime rates dropped by 50%, including number of murders which dropped by 65%. New York City ceased to be the most dangerous city in the United States.
Such places must disappear – says Piotrkowska Team
3. Giuliani’s policy in Łódź Continuing the idea of Giuliani, Representative of Mayor of Łódź in charge of Piotrkowska Street and Piotrkowska Service Team follow a policy of zero tolerance to fight against: - Disorder - Ugliness - Tackiness - Cars - Lack of security
The main objective of “Development Strategy for Piotrkowska Street in Łódź 2009-2020” is to make Pietryna a “pride of Łódź-metropolis, the street of crucial economic, cultural, tourist and recreative functions”. Implementation of this policy stands no chance if the main product sold there is a ‘cheap product’. Places like wooden sheds where you can buy a beer ‘for 4 zloty ‘ or ‘All for 2 zloty’ shops that offer hodgepodge do not prove that Łódź is a metropolis.
We should create conditions to locate in Piotrkowska Street mainly exclusive renowned shops and restaurants. Preferential businesses will certainly not be attracted by top-down decisions but by consistently restored prestigious character of the street, for which locating here plastic newsagent’s and wooden sheds with beer is far from beneficial. If implementation of ‘zero tolerance for tackiness’ policy does not arouse public sympathy and vision of Piotrkowska Street as the pride of Łódź is not consistently realized all what residents of Łódź will be left with will be a question: who is the last one out who can turn off the lights?
Well-kept backyard in Piotrkowska
Considerable section of Piotrkowska Street, which is the “heart of the city”, from Wolności Square to Piłsudskiego Avenue is perceived by residents and tourists as a pedestrian zone. At present, however, the street is open to traffic what considerably decreases its attractiveness and comfort of using for pedestrians and cyclists. Traffic can even deter people from using the services and recreation offered there.
It is also noteworthy that the slogan „Zero tolerance for cars in Pietryna” gives rise to the most considerable controversy. There is nothing what divides users of the street more than the problem of traffic. Those who advocate opening the street to cars (represented mainly by shopkeepers and restaurateurs) argue that this operation will be a miraculous panacea. They believe it will help to win back clients taken over by new enclosed shopping centres. Entrepreneurs, however, cannot answer the question why shops, pubs and restaurants situated in the streets that are open to cars do not deal with that competition neither. This is the case for Kościuszko Avenue, situated in the vicinity of Manufaktura, Gdańska Street or Pietryna area to the south of Mickiewicza and Piłsudskiego Avenue. Pointing out that within Manufaktura area distance between a car park and a square is comparable to that between side streets of Piotrkowska or between Piotrkowska and parallel streets meets with no response at best or, in extreme situations, with ultimate insults to the advocates of the pedestrian zone.
All pros and cons concerning pedestrianizing Piotrkowska has already been discussed and expressed by the City Council in the form of ordinance accepting “Piotrkowska Policy” to be implemented. This ordinance is a sign of consensus which relates to the experience of every civilized city aspiring to be a metropolis, in which the Old Town as the most precious public space is a car-free zone.
We, residents of Łódź, have sinned together, mostly by negligence. At the end of last century the number of elegant shops, well-designed restaurants and pubs increased rapidly and Pietryna was thriving. It seemed at the time that it would last forever. Piotrkowska, however, left to its own devices stood no chance to defend against twilight of interest.
Every street, particularly one of the most important for the tradition of the city, is a public space, therefore it belongs to the residents, all together and every single one. It depends on us whether we will boast about Piotrkowska in front of Polish and foreign visitors or rather be ashamed of it. There are many projects that do not require great expenditure. All what is needed is courage and determination. Everybody, with no exceptions, residents and other users of the street, municipal service workers are obliged to obey the local law.
Authors of the text: Włodzimierz Adamiak - Representative of Mayor of Łódź in charge of Piotrkowska Street, Pietryna Manager Ewelina Olejnik, Mariusz E. Sokołowicz – members of Piotrkowska Team Pictures provided by Piotrkowska Team
More picture of Łódź in archive issues of Purpose – #48 and #53
(1) Transl. Michael Henry Dziewicki “The Promised Land”
