GB No. 1(16)/95
In the beginning of February Mr Eugeniusz Ciszak, the administrator of the district of Katowice, decided that the A4 highway would run through Katowice, Ruda ¦laska, Zabrze and Gliwice, that is through the centre of Upper Silesian conurbation. The decision was met with considerable indignation in local media. For example, Michał Smolorz, a journalist from Dziennik Zachodni, called the investment "a hell for 15 generations" and "an A-bomb beneath the window. It is a pity, however, that those who criticise this decision in the media do not question the usefulness of developing any highways, or at least those highways, which are located in and around the district of Katowice, but only suggest that they should be moved further south to forest and agriculture lands, which are still relatively densely populated. Unfortunately, they do not see that possible realisation of their project would provide many people with a troublesome neighbour- the highway-and nature and landscape losses would be even greater than in the case of the administrator's project.
The long-postponed decision has to be opined by the interested village districts and local government. The decision must have been influenced by Mr Bogusław Liberadzki, the Minister of Transport (Minister Transportu), who, seeing during his visit to the most developed part of the country that local people were very concerned about the location of A4 highway, advised them to "start to think economically".
Grzegorz K. Wojsław
Green Federation (Federacja Zielonych) - Tychy
reprinted from Zielone Brygady 3/95