At the end of the 19th century, the Lodz bourgeoisie, including the well-known Heinzl, Poznański and Geyer families, dreamt of horse racing. The choice fell on an area in Ruda Pabianicka, which was well connected to the centre of Lodz thanks to a tramway. The hippodrome functioned until World War II, after which the area remained unused for many years and the buildings standing there fell into disrepair. In the 1990s, there were plans to build a housing estate on the vast area. Even a local plan was adopted for this purpose, but this will soon be officially changed. The former hippodrome will be replaced by a park instead of a housing estate.
By a decision of the city, the former hippodrome will be transformed into a green space. Together with the residents, a new name for the area was chosen – the Racing Park on Konna Street. Now it is time to finalise the formalities – the adoption of a plan that will give the site protection. Work on the document has now been completed. The draft local plan covers the quarter between Konna, Ksawerowska, Długa and Wyścigowa Streets, except for a strip of land along the first of these streets.
One of the abandoned buildings on the site of the future park. Photo MCDRAGOON/wikimapia.org
“Here, single-family housing has already been established, such as on the entire estate, and this is something the city does not intend to change. The same is true at the corner of Długa and Ksawerowska Streets – a multi-family building already stands here. But that is the end of it, we do not allow any more residential development in this quarter,” says Magdalena Talar-Wiśniewska – says Magdalena Talar-Wiśniewska, director of the Municipal Urban Planning Studio.
The area of the former Horse Races in Ruda Pabianicka. Photo: lodz.pl
The draft plan was viewed by several thousand people and the housing estate council. There were no comments on the document, which will now go to a session of the City Council. Thus, by the end of the summer holidays, the park may already have a local plan in place. Once the master plan has been adopted, the next step will be to tidy up the park area. It is planned to lay out walking paths, set up benches and waste bins and install new lighting. These works are planned to be completed next year.
Source: lodz.pl
Read also: Squares, Squares, Parks | Urban Planning | Greenery | City | Łódź
Subject: Park instead of housing development. The former Łódź hippodrome will remain a green oasis
