The plans of Somogyi Béla utca are renewed: there will be more pedestrian areas, more green areas, more trees and more terraces in the street. Józsefváros Municipality finances the construction facilitated by BKK.
The public space will be renewed in the coming months with construction works starting during spring 2022 and ongoing mainly during summer.
The full financial coverage of 220 million HUF gross necessary for the renovation of Somogyi Béla utca between Blaha Lujza tér and Gutenberg tér is provided by Józsefváros Municipality. Previous plans were revised and the new plan complies with the guidelines of the district’s strategic documents (Urban Development Concept, Integrated Urban Development Strategy, Climate Action Plan, Climate Strategy), in particular with the development of green networks, multi-level greenbelt and biodiversity. Thus, the street will become significantly greener and livable.
Main components of the street’s future:
– the junction with Blaha Lujza tér will be open to pedestrians only,
– the area in front of Molnár Ferenc Magyar–Angol Két Tanítási Nyelvű Általános Iskola will broaden and become a waiting area,
– pavements will broaden, there will be new places for stalls in front of the buildings,
– 350 m2 of flower beds will be created and more than 30 new trees are expected to be planted, while of course protecting the existing ones.
The street will become a one-way street towards Stáhly utca and the roadway will be at pavement level. Stáhly utca will remain two-way between Márkus Emília and Somogyi Béla utca.
Street alignment also helps to make traffic safer. More than 50 parking spaces will remain but will be reduced by about 30 compared to the current situation, including the junction with Blaha Lujza tér.
Broader pavements, more green, more terraces, safer traffic and micromobility provide a chance for a lively use of the street.
The plans are available via this link >>>
The construction is expected to take place between May and September 2022, but the preparatory works may begin in April already. The works will cause difficulties for people living here, but we are trying to minimize this as much as possible. During the renovation, the entire length of the street will be closed to vehicular traffic from May, while pedestrian traffic will of course be guaranteed by the contractor. During the construction, a loading space of significant size will be set up at both ends of the street to ensure the continuous operation of shops, services and institutions. During the works, Europeum shopping center and its underground parking continue to operate undisturbed. We ask for your patience and understanding for any inconvenience during the construction works.
The staff of the Urban Planning Office of Józsefváros Municipality constantly reach out to all vendors, service providers and institutions concerned. The plans and details of the construction will be presented during a community meeting on 20th April by the Municipality at H13 (Horánszky utca 13.) from 6 PM. We are going to continuously inform the public about the process of the construction.
Further information on the construction may be requested from BKK and potential complaints should also be addressed to the facilitator BKK via info@bkk.hu email address. For comments on the future of the street and furniture needs, please contact Józsefváros Municipality at somogyibelautca@jozsefvaros.hu.
In parallel with Somogyi Béla Street, the construction of Blaha Lujza Square is on schedule to be completed by autumn 2022, and the privately funded renovation of Corvin Áruház is also expected to be completed in the spring 2023.