From a dingy, unsafe area at night, to a vibrant and attractive city street, 24/7. That’s the plan for Vasagatan. This is what the vision looks like.
One of the city’s busiest streets is to get a facelift. By day the street is crammed with cars, buses and other heavy traffic, as well as cyclists and pedestrians. Road safety and accessibility are issues, according to the City of Stockholm, which now plans to rebuild the street.
In addition to building separate pedestrian and cycle lanes, planting trees and improving the lighting, the area’s property owners are taking the opportunity to put in a request to improve the look of this, at times, uninviting city street.
The City has therefore teamed up with City i Samverkan and signed an agreement with a number of property owners, who will part-finance the cost of improvements.
“The plan is to make Vasagatan more people-friendly and attractive,” explains Christer Bergmann, Property Manager at Fabege. “The pavements will be widened, space will be created for more outdoor cafés and there will be improvements to the street lighting.
At the moment, many people feel that Vasagatan is a rather dingy, unsafe area.”
“We want the working group to tackle this perception by making it safe and pleasant, 24/7, with outdoor cafés, dining, hotels and local services,” says Christer Bergmann. “We think these kinds of businesses can help attract people to the area at all times of the day, to give the place a more continental, vibrant feel.”
The City of Stockholm will begin refurbishment of the actual street and pavements in 2018-19, while the vision for a 24-hour Vasagata is still in its infancy.
Footnote: Fabege owns a property at Vasagatan 38.
