Little things

Dear Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, mayor of Warsaw, here are a few suggestions that you might find useful and an inspiration for  the work ahead of you in 2011. And best wishes for the new year!

Mladen Petrov

Yes, it’s time for new year’s resolutions once again. However, I promise that these are going to be quite different. Whoever said that making promises for the new year is something that only people can do? I strongly disagree. This is why I would like to make a few resolutions for someone – or rather something – I spend most of the year with; and although we have sometimes had our differences, I believe that we still love each other. As things between us can only get better, I have decided to come up with a list of resolutions for Warsaw.
If you ask anyone involved with investment in real estate, especially those guys in sharp suits who cruise the region looking for prime properties to acquire, Warsaw is a really great place to be right now. I have a reputation in my office – and outside of it too – as a grumpy, hard-to-satisfy sort of person. This is why it is crucial to let other Varsovians speak in this piece – otherwise my list could run on for a few pages. Here is what my Warsaw-based friends came up with.
1. An end to using salt for clearing the snow in the city. Every year the city  of Warsaw spends around  PLN 100 mln on clearing snow from the streets. Drivers often complain that they see no difference as they remain stuck in the traffic, but those who don’t drive see the difference mainly in terms of their shoes being ruined by the salt. I am sure Varsovians have to spend more on shoes than the city spends on clearing snow. A friend of mine suggested wearing white shoes, but no self-respecting Varsovian would ever be caught dead in white boots. One word: gravel!
2. Bus drivers who care. The city is spending more on the modernisation of the public transportation system. As a result we get to ride in new fancy buses and trams, which are also more friendly to handicapped people on wheelchairs and mothers with heavy pushchairs. There is, however, one thing that seems to be unknown to some of the drivers: they are obliged to assist those in need to make their journey more comfortable. For starters, it would be enough if they got up out of their comfy seats for a few seconds to help someone to get on the bus or tram. They may not know this, but we do – their job requires them to do so.
3. Open a Gap store. It is hard to believe, but yes, in Warsaw, the home of over 1 mln sqm of modern retail space, not one  shopping centre accommodates a store of one of the most iconic American clothing brands – even though the chain is making its way through Europe. The last two years have seen openings in Sofia and Bucharest, but as yet no store has appeared elsewhere in Central Europe. It’s time for some good news, though. With its finger, as ever, on the pulse, ‘Eurobuild CEE’ has found out that a franchise agreement has already been signed and the opening of the first Gap store in Poland is closer than you think.
4. Some construction work actually getting done on the site of the planned Museum of Modern Art.
5. The renovation of the Polonia stadium. Warsaw has two rival football teams: Legia, which in 2010 celebrated the opening of its refurbished stadium; and Polonia, whose stadium on ul. Konwiktorska desperately needs a facelift. “It’s time to stop thinking of just one club when it comes to sport in Warsaw,” one of my friends e-mailed me.
6. Less stairs and more lifts. The renovation of Poniatowski bridge took two years. The historic bridge is a Warsaw landmark, but unfortunately it remains inaccessible for disabled people and those who for some reason don’t have a fetish about climbing a huge number of stairs several times a day. Under the same category, I have also received a number of requests for clean – but more importantly – functioning elevators in the subways under Rondo Dmowskiego. Believe it or not, but there are people who prefer to jaywalk rather than risk getting stuck in a suspect-looking elevator in a dark and smelly underpass. Yes, in the very heart of Warsaw.
7. Miscellaneous. Switch off the traffic lights in Żoliborz district at night time; convince more people working in Warsaw but registered elsewhere to start paying their taxes in the capital; more cycle paths in the city centre; public nappy-changing stations and rooms for breastfeeding mothers; a Four Seasons hotel…
My personal wish is for someone (important) in City Hall to at least read this list.