WARSAW

Lech Kaczyński: The city needs modern residences and office complexes

Damian A. Zaczek: Mr. President, what is your emotional approach to the capital?
LECH KACZYŃSKI: This is my city, although I know that some consider me an outsider from the Tricity. I was born, raised and have lived and studied in the capital. Later, at the beginning of the 1970s, I moved to Sopot and later moved back to Warsaw. Then I was briefly on the Baltic coast again before moving permanently to Warsaw. So, I feel like a Varsovian, although I admit I have connections with the coast.

What kind of atmosphere prevails in Warsaw – other than the one connected with the weather?
For me, clearly, the best platform for comparisons is the Tricity, with which I feel a connection. Warsaw has a strong intelligentsia, one that is much larger than that of other Polish cities. This fact combined with the city’s painful history and that of its residents in the 20th century has to a large extent shaped the Polish capital. I myself was raised in a family with patriotic traditions in Żoliborz, so I believe that I understand this. Warsaw, like every city, also has its weaknesses...

You don’t feel any intellectual pressure from Kraków?
No. The Warsaw-Kraków rivalry is a myth. I like Kraków. People are generally friendly to me there.

Why is Warsaw a city worth living in?
Certainly because of its dynamism and daring as well as because the city is very open. If I were campaigning for presidential office in Gdańsk and there were suspicions that I was a Varsovian, I wouldn’t have a chance – with all due respect to the Tricity. Despite my connections with the coast, I was elected president of Warsaw. The capital also doesn’t have a problem with the fact that two of my deputies (of four) come from Upper and Lower Silesia. Of course, they have been residents of Warsaw for several years.

What bothers you in the capital city?
The things that bother me about the city are partly manifested in other cities, such as traffic jams. It is upsetting how much work is needed to maintain the cleanliness of Warsaw’s streets. In terms of people, there is one type of insecure citizen who regrets that he or she can’t be a Varsovian. When I lived on the coast and traveled to the capital, people said I was “from the territory”. I can’t stand that expression. Supposedly, in the Tricity they also use that phrase to describe people from the provinces.
Another thing I dislike about Warsaw is its architectural chaos. I realize that this state of affairs is the result of 45 years of communism. Take, for example, Teatralny Square, which could be a major attraction for the city. On one side we have the National Theater and on the other Jabłonowski Palace, while several hundred meters farther are modern skyscrapers from the 1960s. This is only one example. If eliminating this chaos in architecture is at all possible, then it will take at least two generations to accomplish. We could improve the situation if we were able to apply a little elasticity in spending EU structural funds. Today the use of EU funds is limited by a number of restrictions.

Saski Palace also has yet to be rebuilt. It could be exactly as before the war.
I think that the reconstruction of Saski Palace, like that of the Bruhl Palace, will be successful. It is the last large monument that requires reconstruction. However, I am also thinking about something else. I would like to make Praga district, between Targowa Street and the Vistula river, the second part of Warsaw’s central district. This area has a large number of wonderful pre-war buildings which, given adequate funds, could be transformed into an attractive neighborhood. Some tenement houses are being renovated and others are horribly neglected. This is because some buildings are taken care of by relatively wealthy housing communities and others are not. If these tenement houses are in the hands of private owners or housing communities, there is very little city authorities can do. However, we must make an effort to lend those areas where ownership issues are regulated new beauty.

I see you are a supporter of a traditional Warsaw.
Yes, but the city also needs modern residences and office complexes. I support the idea that Warsaw should have its own Manhattan – between Babka traffic circle and Towarowa Street all the way to Zawiszy Square and Jana Pawła II Avenue. However, it is important to me that the central district be even more attractive. The main agents in this process are monument conservators. I understand that it is not a simple task to renovate many old or historic buildings because their tenants are from the social margins. This is a singularly difficult problem.
One of Warsaw’s advantages are its parks and gardens. The capital, at least in the center, creates the impression that there are more green areas and parks than in other European cities. Saski Gardens, Łazienki Park, Agricola, parks in Powiśle district, part of Pole Mokotowska – all of this is located in the center of Warsaw.

What is lacking in Warsaw infrastructure?
First and foremost three bridges, one of which will be completed in three years. One should be built in Śródmieście district at the end of Karowa Street, the second in the north and a third south of the city.

Isn’t the Świętokrzyski bridge at the end of Tamka Street just a few hundred meters from Karowa?
If we want to make Praga a part of Warsaw’s center, and that is my long-term plan, then the Świętokrzyski bridge is not enough. Another bridge is needed over the Vistula from an extension of Karowa Street to the Praski Port. If we could use EU structural funds for this purpose, this plan could be implemented in eight years. Apartment complexes, of course, would be built with private funds.

What can the city do with its structural funds?
In general investments in infrastructure. Aside from bridges, we want to construct first and foremost roads. The exit route from the city by way of Krakowska Avenue through Raszyn and Janki towards Katowice, Kraków, Wrocław and Łódź is too narrow. This is hell on earth for drivers. There should be a second road to the center of Warsaw from Janki. It cannot be built on the right side because of limitations created by Okęcie airport. Construction will have to be launched on the left side, towards Ochota and even Włochy. The second clogged city artery is Puławska Street, which should be relieved by the construction of a parallel road. The situation on the right bank of the Vistula improved somewhat after the expansion of Miedzyszyński Embankment. I think that on the right side and parallel to the Vistula river, Warsaw should have a two-lane road for those who do not need to cross over to the left bank of the river on the Północny, Grot-Rowiecki and Gdański bridges. This traffic would arrive at the less overloaded Świętokrzyski bridge. The idea is to relieve the Śródmieście district.
My dream, one that I really shouldn’t mention, is a wide tunnel in a north-south direction under the center of Warsaw. In a few years traffic jams in the city will reach such gigantic proportions that we may have to introduce some of the solutions applied in London – large fees for driving into the center by car.

What about the metro?
In 2006 the metro should reach Bielany district. Please be aware that for some time to come, Poles won’t be using public transportation in large numbers. The car is still such a relatively recently acquired possession that people are reluctant to trade in their cars. Of course, we are also thinking about a second metro line running in an east-west direction. There is one proposal that involves using already existing tracks that run underneath the center of Warsaw.

Is Warsaw a safe city?
In recent years the number of street fights dropped and the activities and the efficiency of the police and City Guard have increased exponentially. Today the situation is better than several years ago, but far from ideal. There is still a great deal of room for improvement. We are working on this.

What does the Palace of Culture and Science (PKiN) mean to you?
To be as brief as possible the building represents a reality that cannot be hidden, although I am not a fan of the structure. You have to admit that it plays important social and business functions and houses the Pałac Młodzieży organization, cinemas, theaters, offices and a swimming pool. The palace’s drawback are its high overhead costs, particularly on higher floors. PKiN will also contain a European institution responsible for security on the EU’s external borders and is very pleased to receive such a localization.

The Palace will also house the Socland Museum of Communism. Is the museum needed?
For young people – yes. I won’t learn anything new in it because I lived through communism for 40 years. The experiences of modern history museums shows that these types of cultural centers play an important role.

What are your favorite spots in Warsaw?
I am from Żoliborz district, so that is the area to which I am most attached. Otherwise, I like the areas surrounding Piłsudski Square very much. The previously form of Zwycięstwa Square was also one of my favorites – it was left unrenovated for some time and I like wide open places. I remember the 106 bus terminus there, from which you could get to the student dormitories at Jelonki where many of my friends lived. The Millenium building there now doesn’t fit in this area. I like Saski Garden and Saska Kępa district, Kolonia Staszica near Filtry and another area that everyone who has a university degree enjoys – the Royal Route between Nowy Świat and Krakowskie Przedmieście Streets.

Thank you.

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