The fact that this rule is not always clearly audible, is because of the dynamics in tone when pronouncing words (in the Polish language).
Yes, I would think so.
Sorry, Jacek, I cannot deliver samples of my speech; I have no mike handy to record my voice.
But believe me, the synthetic "Jacek" voice is completely wrong in "ulica"; it should be "u-
li-ca". "He" sounds so-o-o Czech, :-) This is actually a good example to demonstrate the Czech-Polish difference in stress. Use translate.google.com to translate Polish "ulica" to Czech "ulice" then press those little speaker icons in both panes. You should hear very clearly the exaggerated sounds "u-
li-ca" vs. "
u-li-ce", pronounced by the same "speaker".
Some Polish dialects, such as Highlander's dialect, or more specifically Podhale dialect ("under mountain meadows", foothills, piedmont) usually put the stress on the first syllable (or on a preposition if it exists).
By the way, the word "ulica" comes from Hungarian and it originally meant a gorge, ravine, entrance.