Winter wonderland

At long-last, the veritable winter has turned up. First days of January brought harsh frosts (day-time highs below –10C), yet the first winter episode was snow-free. The first proper snowfall was witnessed on Friday, 15 January; lasted since early afternoon until late evening and covered the ground with eleven centimetres of brand-new white powder. For comparison, maximum snow cover during the previous winter (on 9 February 2015) reached 4 centimetres (and melted right away).

The sight I woke up to behold on Saturday a week ago. While it had snowed temperature had been barely below zero, hence the snow was wet and thick. No wonder trees were bending under its weight. Temperature overnight had fallen to some –6C, hence shyly shining sun did not cause snow caps to drop.

Afternoon. After a bright morning sun has been occluded by clouds. I stroll around to gloat over the magnificence of winter. The sight caught from ul. Zimowa in NI brings to mind “White as snow” by U2. A pity we had not enjoyed such weather during Christmas. Peaceful, slightly dark, silent place. May the moment last!

Further up to Mysiadło, where side streets have not been cleared of all snow, rather it has been beaten and its compact layer is vehicle- and pedestrian-friendly. For inhabitants of terraced houses any bigger snow precipitation is a challenge, since front-yards and drives are too tiny to heap up masses of fallen snow.

Walking east, I get to premises of bygone PGR Mysiadło. Swathes of land covered with snow and a row of trees marking a boundary of the capital bring to mind… labour camps in Siberia. The association does not seem legitimate, since the only common element is a relatively large piece of flat land under the snow…

As I strut about towards ul. Puławska I notice heavy snow has not deterred motorists from moving about (I drove nearly 40 kilometres on that day, so why do I grumble?). Yet traffic jams congest side roads in Piaseczno. Here, clogged up ul. Wiśniowa, towards ul. Łabędzia, where a queue of cars before intersection with ul. Puławska is half a kilometre long. Situation is worsened by the fact some drivers use summer tyres useless in such conditions – setting a car in motion on ice is nearly impossible.

Here comes our saviour. Ul. Raszyńska in Piaseczno, tractor with a plough removes some of the snow from the street and puts down sand on it. Road clearance on roads governed by Piaseczno is a crying shame. Back yesterday, a week after the snowfall many roads were still covered with frozen slush…

And the outcome of the plough’s work. Worse than the day before. This is a regular ice, fortunately clearly visible, so less treacherous. Drive slowly, operate all pedals gently and use engine braking in advance to slow the car and provided no object cuts in on you unexpectedly, you should avoid going into a skid.

Here, an example of a frequent unsocial behaviour. The egg trader (or someone hired by him) has got rid of snow from their drive by shoving into onto the public street. The “move it away from myself (into no-one’s territory)” way of thinking is not what I put up with…

Last Sunday, level crossing in NI. Construction crews carry on working despite unfavourable weather. A weeks ago western track was ripped off nearly by the station in Nowa Iwiczna. Good to see works move on despite the winter.

And another snap of rail tracks, this time from ul. Mleczarska, the coal line. The Sunday was a gloomy day, yet the snow-covered earth brightened it up. Much healthier for one’s mood than a grey day with drizzle.

One more picture of snow-covered fields. Further from Warsaw in Mazowsze such landscapes splay out into the horizon. Here in the distance we see development in Stara Iwiczna and not very old housing estates in Piaseczno (where flat supply overhang is record-high, yet prices are not much lower than in some outer districts of Warsaw which enjoy better transport links with the city centre).

Monday, foggy morning seen from ul. Sarabandy. My journey to work lasted on that day nearly two hours (left home at 7:05, reached the office at 8:55), I guess longer than ever. Ul. Puławska was unusually congested; besides, waterworks crew dug up ul. Sarabandy at its northern end. I ended up driving there and back slowly and then, to avoid dense traffic on ul. Puławska, I turned right into ul. Karczunkowska and took a detour via Dawidy Bankowe (ul. Starzyńskiego was one huge ice rink).

Yesterday. Temperature overnight fell to –13C, morning greeted with clear blue skies and hard rime, setting on trees. Picturesque sights to lap up before they disappear for a while. Forecasters predict thaw is due tomorrow and within a fortnight winter is unlikely to return.

In the afternoon I took a bus to Pyry and marched into the forest. To my surprise, Las Kabacki was not chock full of ski-runners and walkers. Quite disappointing given the weather was conducive to enjoying gorgeousness of the winter which will soon be gone.

Heading towards the bus stop, I take a shot of ul. Puławska from the footbridge over the artery. Note the white shade of asphalt. Road clearance in Warsaw, compared to Piaseczno where the town’s services have buggered it up all along, seems beyond reproach, yet massive amount of salt on the streets are the price to pay. The footwear deserves watering when I get to the office and then at home, not to let salt mix up with the leather. The car looks horribly (in some spots the bodywork is virtually white) and is due for a decent wash-up as soon as thaw arrives. Roll on spring!

Outdoor gym

The first outdoor gym I spotted was the set of equipment next to Multikino Ursynów, in mid-2014. The second, which I not only glanced at, but also I tried out was the one in Ursus, on Easter Sunday this year (despite the chill). The third, which I grew fond of, was on a hill in Szczawno-Zdrój (back at times when the area was not famous).

The fourth one, I have been doing my best to use at least once a week, is next to the pond in Mysiadło. Photo by Kurier Południowy.

It has been here for almost a year. Locals were urging a very active councillor from Mysiadło to lobby for some exercising facilities near the pond. The very area, though located in the vicinity of lots of dwelling, has been infamous for being a hangout for local fans of alcoholic beverages, including those under age. With the appearance of some infrastructure, i.e. new benches, rubbish bins, the gym; after cleaning up the pond and tidying up the surrounding area, better days have come for the place. Local drunkards still sometimes hang around there, but the place is now often full of young parents walking or playing with their offspring, local pensioners and anglers.

The cost of the gym has not burnt a hole in gmina Lesznowola’s budget – for mere 25 thousand zlotys a few machines have been installed and to my surprise, they have not been vandalised. The facilities are in fact solid and have been solidly attached to the ground, so it would take months of workout to build up muscles strong enough to wreck or spoil them.

I typically go there each Sunday morning. Saturday mornings are reserved for swimming pool, so Sunday is ideal. I prefer the early hours, i.e. around 8 a.m., since odds of not having to wait until another community member gets off a piece of equipment are lower. Plus in the very hot August as we have experienced this year, 9 a.m. was often the last hour when temperature was bearable. Despite the small hour, however, I usually was not the only one to use it. The  morning-time users are generally older than me (from their 30s up to their approximately 70s), both females and males. Some stop over here during the morning jogging, some get off their bikes, take a few minutes of exercise and continue the ride, some come with their dogs and while a dog runs around, they work out. I don’t know how about later hours, but maybe youngsters also attend it.

Advantages, apart from the most obvious, namely that one works out – proximity, free usage and being in the open air, meaning one can also catch precious sunrays.

Drawbacks – scarcity of equipment (less than ten pieces) and no possibility to set the “heaviness” of the machines – either you strain too little or too much.

The outdoor gyms falls into the general trend of local authorities encouraging residents to keep fit. Cycling paths, sport fields (not only football pitches), swimming pools, outdoor gyms – having all of this around mobilises at least some sofa-ridden layabouts to move their arses and do something about their body. Just like investment in education theoretically should prevent structural unemployment, investments in citizens’ fitness should yield savings on health-care and elderly-care spending. The progress in medicine has already lengthened our lives considerably, now is the time to fend for the comfort of living, or to make it precise, to defer the moment it decreases as a result of ageing.

A little more comfort in the neighbourhood

Ul. Mleczarska, whose reconstruction has been tracked on PES since late 2014 (most recently in late May 2015) has finally been opened. The completion deadline of 30 June 2015 has actually been met, since in the last days of June the street was virtually ready (and passable), but the official opening on 6 August was for no apparent reason outshined by another ceremony.

Looking north from the intersection of ul. Mleczarska, ul. Słoneczna and ul. Sękocińska. All photos taken on 20 August around 7 p.m. Holiday period this year reached its peak in August and traffic remains sparse. Sun illuminates the road and fields in Stara Iwiczna, turned yellow due to shortage of precipitation…

The railway crossing with the Siekierki single-track line was built in June, as one of the last parts of the whole development. Looking west, towards the sun, about to set in an hour. In the distance, left to the track, a playing field in Stara Iwiczna, built under the high-voltage electricity wires…

As part of the reconstruc- tion, slopes up to the level crossing have been flattened and lengthened. In July the terrain west to ul. Mleczarska occupied for months by huge earth-mounds, was also levelled. Finally one also knows the plots are a private property (though not fenced off). The owner of this land virtually sleeps on money. I have not checked the zoning plans for the area, yet location-wise the spot is perfect both for residential development and for services. The only drawback is the vicinity of the rail track. Although trains do not run here often, but while heavy sets of wagons with coal trundle, folks in the nearby dwellings presumably experience a little earthquake.

The roundabout at the intersection with ul. Energetyczna. Sizeable, splendid, yet lanes are narrow enough to force drivers to slow down to no more than 30 kmph. Nevertheless, the traffic solutions applied, namely separate lanes for right-turns, smooth the traffic out, especially if we bear in mind Poles still tend to get confused when they approach a roundabout.

Civilisation has crept in. Compare the pics to the right to a series of snaps from roughly the same places taken in June 2011. Everything has fallen into place. Motorists have a decent road (I would argue speed bumps could be flatter), pedestrians a safe pavement, cyclists their riding path.

Once ul. Mleczarska was officially opened, another roadworks crew stepped in to revamp ul. Raszyńska in Piaseczno. Works kicked off all of the sudden on 8 August and 12 calendar days after that the street changed beyond recognition. New asphalt, no potholes, decent pavement. The intensity of infrastructure works could imply local elections are to be held this autumn…

Some finishing works will be done next weeks, lanes will need to be marked out, water drainage roadside ditches will need to be reinforced with concrete panels and I wonder whether speed bumps will be put in here. The signage reminds of the previous ones. I drove there 40 kmph and despite flat tarmack and considerable width of the road, the speed did not seem safe. Too many cars coming in and out of properties by the street, too many reckless cyclists and pedestrians trespassing onto the road without taking a trouble to look whether a vehicle is coming to make the customary urban area speed limit of 50 kmph suitable here. We could do with more discipline among all groups of traffic participants…

I only fear four years will not be enough for the government of PiS to lift my neighbourhood out of ruins.

Ul. Mleczarska – pace of construction falters

While up at the top the citizens have voted to change the dweller of the presidential palace, down at the local front, things keep running their course, although recently the speed of works on the closely followed reconstruction of ul. Mleczarska has fallen back… Photo documentation dated 28 May 2015, early evening.

The southern-most section is nearly ready, only a lick of paint to mark out lanes is missing and had it not been for the finishing touches and lack of official usage permit, the section between ul. Syrenki and ul. Sękocińska could have been officially opened. Unofficially, there is even no ban for traffic…

As one moves north, the top layer of tarmac ends, bump, then another one and one more and then it turns out the level crossing with Siekierki coal line tracks has stayed intact. Curbs and heavy concrete slabs lie on the side of the road and most probably await some kind of green light from PGNiG Termika…

Further north newly laid pavement on the eastern side of the street and cycling path on the other side serve as the only evidence of progress. The very road, you just know it is in between, has the very bottom layer of hardened aggregates laid.

To the right – I look east from the intersection of ul. Mleczarska and the new road meant to run towards some new shopping mall envisaged to be erected on the premises of the former Piaseczno bus depot. Again, cart well before the horse, the high curbs will mark the end of this road for months to come. In the distance, intersection of ul. Puławska and ul. Energetyczna and beyond it a large post attracting customers to Outlet Fashion Centre in Piaseczno. The centre, opened 10 years ago has been going downhill for a few years now. Huge “down by even 90%” sales are organised twice a month, and even when price discounts are considerable, car park outside the Fashion House is half empty. Given shoddy quality of most stuff sold there, even after-discount prices seem steep enough to put off brainy consumers.

The roundabout where ul. Mleczarska and ul. Energetyczna cross has taken its shape. Still, a way to go before the piece of infrastructure is finished, not only passable for daredevils who risk suspensions of their cars by venturing there.

To the right – looking into ul. Energetyczna, which will enjoy the status of dual carriageway from the Fashion Centre up to ul. Mleczarska. In the foreground, Student SGH casting a shadow of doubt on the completion deadline of 30 June 2015 (out of reach unless road-building crews pull up their sleeves).

The north-most section remains least advanced. Old lamp posts, which suspend overhead electricity wires, occupy the middle of the new road (and remind where the former Mleczarska ran). Absurdity? Not necessarily, rather another proof of dismal lack of co-ordination. The day before yesterday electricians from the local branch of PGE were switching from old wires to new ones, put underground. The whole operation, which could have been done within an hour in a civilised manner (my father, electrician such works were better co-ordinated even in 1970s), lasted the whole day, including seven hours when locals were deprived of electricity…

And on the northern end of the development, a lion’s share of works is still ahead. I foresee ample traffic disruptions here, but when the works are done, maybe the intersection of ul. Mleczarska, ul. Raszyńska and ul. Krasickiego will not be the scene of prangs...

Also congratulations to waterworks crews. Despite having a map with all installations properly marked, their reckless excavator operator managed to burst a water pipe running beneath ul. Mleczarska. Upshot – interruptions in water supply and necessity to dig up the street to the unplanned extent, since when the pipe was burst, the chaps did not know which valve to use to turn off the water and literally broke down two valves, before reaching the correct one. For the time being the water supply is resumed, but in the coming week waterworks crews will need to mend it and cut off water for the time of repair.

Time to call this wonderful smiling guy who knows the solution to every problem, maybe he will get to grips with the bungling fachowcy…

Weather-wise, May 2015 has been perfect… for studying. So far everything indicates it was the coolest and wettest since memorable May 2010 when the last bigger flood haunted Poland. I’m more than half-way the pre-exam two-week wipe-out. In a week I will have dropped the burden off my neck…

Headway in local infrastructure

1. Park and Ride Metro Stokłosy

When the ground-level, open-air car park for commuters near Metro Stokłosy was closed in October 2013, the revamped parking facility was scheduled to be opened on 15 Janaury 2015. The completion deadline has been met, since by all accounts the car park was finished before the end of 2014, yet it took one quarter more for the general contractor to fix all glitches, put finishing touches and for town hall clerks to issue the occupancy permit for the car park.

At long last, P+R Stokłosy was opened on 1 April 2015. It was supposed to be opened at 4:30 a.m., but when I pulled up there around 7:00 a.m., a chap from technical crew told me the facility was not yet opened. Turned away, I had to drive, for the last time so far, to P+R Ursynów. Quite probably, the car park staff were under-informed, or played an April Fool’s Day’s joke on me. During the press conference staged on the same day by the Public Transport Authority and some officials from the town hall, including deputy mayor, parked cars could be seen in the background.

The car park has the parking charge collection system identical to the one at P+R Ursynów. Once you drive in, you need to collect a parking ticket from the machine. A regular charge for parking is 100 PLN, however it can be cancelled if before leaving the facility a driver authenticates they are in a possession of at least daily public transport ticket. For the time being the system is defunct and gates are opened all the time. Beware though and do not try to use P+R Stokłosy as an overnight garage for you vehicle. On 2 April I witnessed some dim-witted chaps who left their rickety lorry there for the night-time maintenance break and found a billing note beneath wipers. A board with the list of rules and regulations is in front of the entrance, so ignorance of law is not an excuse.

It has been a subject of a heated debate among inhabitants of Ursynów, whether this huge box of painted concrete (the facility will serve also as bus terminus) is a blot on the landscape of Al. KEN, the thoroughfare of Ursynów. Developments on both sides of Al. KEN have been put up in 1990s or later, upon completion of underground line and are quite uniform. P+R Stokłosy’s structure is a misfit. Park and Ride facility at Okęcie tram and bus terminus, of similar architectural style, fits much better the surrounding area.

The car park offers space for almost 400 cars and only 20 bicycles. As for the latter, the number of spots for bike users is horrifically low, while the car parking capacity in the first weeks of usage is utilized in less than 20%, although users of alternative P+Rs have been duly notified P+R Stokłosy had been opened. The new car park has four levels, but from my observations in afternoon (around 5 p.m.) the ground level is not filled up, let alone the empty spaces above it.

Despite some grumbling, I generally appreciate the new car park. It shortens the distance covered by car each day and lengthens the distance covered underground (I sometimes feel like a mole, spending over 20 minutes in the morning and in the afternoon below ground), moreover it helps avoid the most congested in afternoon section of ul. Puławska between ul. Poleczki and ul. Płaskowickiej (hint: ul. Taneczna, Krasnowolska, Poloneza and Ludwinowska come up as excellent detour). All in all, it brings some time and money savings, yet you have to use your brains to work out swinging east to leave a car there is superior to taking a straight-forward route to P+R Wilanowska for instance.

2. Ul. Mleczarska – progress report.

Traditionally, we start from the south, although when yesterday I strolled there to inspect how works moved on, I walked southwards (snaps by Szajsung).

The section from ul. Syrenki almost up to the railway crossing is nearly finished. The pavement on the east side is ready, as the cycling past on western side of the street is. The very road still lacks the top-most abrasive layer of tarmac and most probably it will not be laid until the very last days of construction (heavy vehicles use this road to reach construction site, to the decision to leave this section a little unfinished is reasonable).

I wonder whether all arrangements between the investor and owner (PGNiG Termika) or administrator (DB Rail Schenker) of the rail track running to Siekierki plant have been finalised. Not a single step has been taken to initiate modernisation of the railway crossing, while on both sides of the tracks construction of the road is more or less advanced…

The section between the tracks and ul. Energetyczna has taken shape since the beginning of March. Pavement and cycling path have been marked out. Laid curbs indicate the road will be slightly winding. One can also see an intersection with a road running into plot of former bus and trolleybus depot (torn down a few years ago). Cart well before horse. Modern lamps post have been put up yet the old ones, carrying overhead electricity wires, remain. The development could do with a more comprehensive approach.

Looking at four-lane ul. Energetyczna towards ul. Puławska. One can discern where two roads will run, yet without peeking at plans beforehand, one will not make out where a huge roundabout, replacing traditional intersection of ul. Mleczarska and ul. Energetyczna will be built.

The section between ul. Energetyczna and ul. Mleczarska is least advanced. The new road will be shifted west in relation to its previous trail. The nut tree first from the left will have to chopped down to give way to the cycling path.

And the last photo (finer playing part of an intruder), taken from the corner of ul. Krasickiego in NI and ul. Mleczarska. The fence of the property at the south-west corner of the intersection was pulled down and new, makeshift one, put up. Some pipes have also been laid underground, below the dug up parcel of land parallel to the road. According to my neighbour (allegedly having it on good authority), works will kick off here for good in May and completion deadline of 30 June 2015 is not in question. We shall see :)

Ul. Mleczarska – some progress visible

Over three months since my recent posting on modernisation of ul. Mleczarska little was going on in the site. Despite mild winter pace of works was sluggish until mid-February, when temperature crept above zero for good and works grew apace. The completion deadline of 30 June 2015 seems achievable.

Much has been done on the southern end of the development, between intersection with ul. Syrenki and intersection with ul. Sękocińska (on Piaseczno side) and ul. Słoneczna (in Stara Iwiczna) – curbs have been laid on both sides and new pavement put up. The very road is formally open for drivers and apart ripping the old tarmac, no steps have been taken towards building a brand new road.

I have no idea what the ditch on the western side on the road has been dug for. The posts for more than sure carry telephone wires, the out-of-ark infrastructure of Telekompromitacja Polska. In the background – a recently modernised natural gas pumping station. Gmina Lesznowola keep moving ahead!

A Marian shrine (whose presence in this place could be traced back to pre-WW2 decades) at the corner of ul. Mleczarska and ul. Sękocińska has been covered with protective foil and moved a few metres further west. If works are carried on swiftly, in May local grannies might gather here to pray.

The ditch extends further north. If I were to bet what its purpose is, my two guesses would be either sewerage, or, more probably, putting underground electricity wires. Given how overhead electricity wires are prone to freaks of weather, possibly many low-voltage line should run beneath the ground to ensure continuity of supplies during storms or heavy snowfalls. Note amount of rubbished scattered around... Shame!

The pavement on the eastern side of the street is an absolute novelty on the section north of ul. Sękocińska and its appearance probably is going to be the biggest upside of the modernisation. Pedestrians will finally be able to walk there safely, without having to dodge sideways when a vehicle comes near. To the left – a fine example of Polish squalor. What makes people keep so much gratuitous “wealth” on their properties?

In the foreground – railway crossing, where tracks running to Siekierki power plant cut across ul. Mleczarska. The crossing is to be refit somehow as well. In the background – two mammoth (and some littler) mounds of earth amassed to raise terrain under the newly built street, especially in the vicinity of the crossing where ascent is to be less steep.

Further up the road little has moved on since my visit in late November. Again I wonder what makes people in cars worth several thousand zlotys take such bumpy paths and risk damage of suspensions of their cars. Is saving a few minutes, a few zlotys and a few kilometres really worth it?

A closer look at earth mounds reveals the one in the distance has been already depleted. Lots of soil however still awaits being used up. I'd be curious to find out who the land west of ul. Mleczarska belongs. Given its superior location, millions of zlotys lie here, so why no one bother to bow down and pick it up by selling these plots. Zoning plans for this area have been enacted and the only drawback is the vicinity of railway tracks, however this should be bearable, given how infrequently coal trains run here.

Apart from ripping the asphalt and stocking up mounds of earth or sand, little has been done on the intersection of ul. Mleczarska and ul. Energetyczna where a sizeable roundabout is to be built. I appreciate some infrastructure solutions in gmina Lesznowola are well ahead of their times, even if at first glance they seem absurd.

The north-most section between ul. Energetyczna and ul. Raszyńska exhibits the lowest progress of works. Some pipes have been left on a field west of the street, tarmac has been ripped halfway and reaching terraced houses to the right is still possible without having to flounder in mud (but from the other end).

Next photo coverage expected around Easter.