Planners have been selected for two harbour and waterfront areas. Plan amendments are to be prepared for €37,900 excluding VAT – not a new promenade, completed berths or the start of construction.
A waterfront is more than a row of berths
Along an urban coast, boats, footpaths and roads must accommodate many needs at once. Zadar has now announced the next planning step for Dražanica and Maestral: the consortium of KONUS from Zadar and EKOMENA from Zagreb has been selected to amend two spatial plans.
The decision is dated 12 October, and the city’s announcement 16 October. The bid amounts to €37,900 excluding VAT. It covers revision of the detailed plan for Dražanica bay and the urban development plan for Maestral harbour. This is the price of planning services, not the total cost of later waterfront construction.
What the planning is intended to address
According to the city, the harbour areas and adjoining waterfront are to be considered together: boat berths, walking and cycling routes, traffic, parking and green spaces. The city also points to damage to seawalls and existing landing places, and locations where waves reach the road.
Considering these uses together matters in everyday life. Additional parking can compete with a continuous footpath; a berth requires access as well as water space. Good waterfront planning must reconcile these uses in the same area. The selection of a planning firm alone does not yet reveal which solution will be chosen here.
Not yet a construction contract
The city says the contract will be signed after the selection decision takes effect. Public discussions are planned before adoption of the amendments, followed by the required opinions and consideration by the city council.
This stage therefore still leaves unanswered the questions visitors often ask first: when will construction begin, which routes might temporarily close, and how many new berths will actually become available? The announcement does not yet provide a reliable basis for a specific construction phase or a reservation. Our illustration likewise does not show an approved design.
The next useful step is to look at the drafts
Anyone living nearby or keeping a boat there should follow the next public consultation on the plans. Routes and areas can then be assessed from drawings rather than statements of intent alone. Specific objections about access or an intersection are more useful at that stage than speculation about an allegedly completed project.
For a walk along the coast, this selection announcement initially changes no general access rule. It shows what the city is working on. Whether it produces a more usable waterfront will depend on the subsequent planning and implementation stages.
Evidence
Sources & date
Sources support the facts. Planning notes and recommendations are Golden Beach editorial assessments.
Time-sensitive information may change. Please check the linked primary source before travelling.
