Lord mayor makes a big promise to Budapest: Renovations are coming!
There are 5240 pedestrian crossings in Budapest. More than half of them have been renovated in the last three years. This year, another 1000 pedestrian crossings will be renovated by Budapest. This was promised by Gergely Karácsony, lord mayor of the Hungarian capital.
Gergely Karácsony posted the following on his official Facebook page:
“In the last three years, Budapest Public Road Ltd. (Budapest Közút Zrt.) has renovated more than half of the 5240 pedestrian crossings in the capital. We will continue the programme, renovating more than 1000 pedestrian crossings this year.”
The Mayor added that the aim is to have all pedestrian crossings in Budapest in perfect condition within a few years, napi.hu writes. “We want a city where people feel at home and safe. And to do this, we need to put the safety of the most vulnerable road users first when developing the city,” he added.
Danube embankment flood defences planned along current line
The Budapest municipality is proposing to build a levee along the northern Roma Danube River bank following the current defence line on Királyok and Nánási Streets, as the most effective and safest way to protect the natural environment and leisure spots, Mayor Gergely Karácsony said on Wednesday.
Karácsony said that after a fresh review of the plans, the municipality has proposed returning to the safest option, which also has the broadest public support and the best chance of protecting nature in the area. The levee will be built with European Union support, he added.
Deputy Mayor Gábor Kerpel-Fronius said the municipality conducted “ample research” into Budapest residents’ preferences regarding the plans. The chosen option will preserve the natural state of the embankment and will ensure better flood defences than one directly on the riverbank, he said.
Some 160 trees will have to be felled for the construction, while a levee directly on the riverbank would cost some 700 trees, he said. At the same time, the levee further inland would cost some HUF 28 billion (EUR 74 million), 25 percent more than earlier plans, he said.
Tímea Szabó of Párbeszéd said the previous plans, adopted under the leadership of Mayor István Tarlós of Fidesz, were about “protecting the interests of real-estate speculators”. The current municipality is working to protect nature as well as all those using the embankment as a leisure and sports venue, she said.
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Source: napi.hu, MTI
“[T]he previous plans, adopted under the leadership of Mayor István Tarlós of Fidesz, were about “protecting the interests of real-estate speculators.”” *ROLLS EYES* How about, instead of whining about his predecessor, this guy does something about the aggressive bums accosting people on the streets and in underpasses, making sure the stop lights are synchronized (how many times do you cross half the road on green, reach the island, and then the light on the other half is red… – even on Karoly korut!), separate the cyclists and peds (walking between the Szabadsag and Erzsebet bridges on the Buda side is a nightmare), ensure the sidewalks are cleared from unauthorized cafe terraces, etc.? Nah, he’ll chop down some trees instead and blow smoke up our…