A few years ago, the Bálna Budapest complex was built on an underutilized area of Pest’s District IX riverbank, and as its popularity has grown, the neighboring public parks are only now just starting to be developed, too. The rapid wave of refurbishments recently reached the nearby Nehru Part riverfront space as well, which had long been a neglected zone despite the vicinity of Bálna, a dock located here for international tourism ships, and the needs of local residents – up until now. The recently completed renovations resulted in more green areas, sports facilities, and a huge playground.
Located just a short stroll south along the Pest riverfront from Bálna Budapest, Nehru Part (“Nehru Bank”) has long been an open space meant to provide city dwellers with recreational areas, but for many years it was neglected to the point of becoming an eyesore. However, as part of Budapest’s ongoing TÉR_KÖZ project – which also brought about last year’s refurbishment of downtown Szervita Square – District IX’s Nehru Shore has now received a facelift, as well.
Although the renovation is not quite as comprehensive as it was originally planned to be, the city officials could still upgrade all of Nehru Part’s important features, such as the playground, the sports facilities, the fitness park, and the skate park, according to Tamás Sándor, the manager of the final winner of the tender, S-Tér Kft.
We start our tour of the revived Nehru Part from Boráros Square, where we find Budapest’s brand-new skate park under Petőfi Bridge.
This is truly an ideal location for the city’s skaters, because this way, the possibilities of a previously pristine spot are now exploited, and the skate park is highly popular among both skaters and bikers. Here, nobody bothers the skaters and they don’t bother anyone either, as the nearest apartment blocks are further away, and the ramps and half-pipes do not interfere with a freshly renovated public park.
The skater community was also involved in the planning, while the pillars of the bridge were painted by Budapest’s transportation company. They didn’t consult with the designers, but they still managed to choose relatively well-matching colors.
Earlier, the public transport company’s boat stop was installed by the bridge. The connection with the river was very important all along, as one of the aims of Budapest city officials is to prevent the huge international cruise ships from being docked at central areas of the waterfront, occupying the city’s most valuable bank-side spots and obscuring the panorama. One of the more favored boat stations is now at Nehru Part, which calls for this area to have a well-kept and tidy look, because it is important to provide a nice first impression for visitors who first see of this stunning city after stepping out of their ships, aboard which they often spent many hours traveling.
Not too far from here we find renovated sports facilities, where in addition to a soccer field, there are also three basketball courts, chess tables, and equipment for open-air workouts.
The park can be divided into two parts; by the water we find the colorful and multifunctional seats by VALYO’s designers, while the inner area is filled with regular benches. We can already tell that the seats will require constant cleaning, as the neighborhood’s ‘street artists’ can hardly control themselves.
In the middle of the park lies a huge playground, where 15 exciting pieces of equipment are pretty much sorted into categories to suit the needs of different age groups. Here, there is also a building with restrooms, drinking fountains, and bins for garbage and recycling.
Opposite from Bakáts Street, there is a green oasis populated by perennial plants. The edge closest to the main road looks a bit like an abandoned gravel path, but as we found out, here they plan to install a biodiverse garden. This means that there are countless seeds underground at the moment, which will blossom in the springtime, creating a basically self-maintained green area.
On the park’s side near Bálna Budapest, we can sunbathe and have picnics, but some areas are left bare to make room for future event venues. In the foreseeable future, the parallel Közraktár Street will be renovated, and at the same time the bikeway will be moved further from the Danube shore, as at the moment, a narrow strip of pavement is shared by bikers, walkers, and runners alike, which is not ideal. On the whole, the park is now neat and usable, so it’s a good time for everyone to check it out before the weather gets too cold.
