"Save Sofia" presented a new approach for planning major urban renovations

"Save Sofia" presented a new approach for Sofia for planning major urban renovations with adequately written technical tasks, describing clearly and specifically what end result the Sofia Municipality wants to obtain after investing millions of Sofia residents' taxes.
The party has chosen to illustrate it with a technical task for the renovation of "Hristo Botev" Blvd., aiming for a complete reconstruction, combining a balance between all participants - pedestrians, cyclists, public transport and cars. The task envisages that the tram route be separated from car traffic, and the stops be fully accessible - in the direction of the Five Corners as stop islands, and in the direction of the Central Station - as Vienna stops, where the roadway is raised to play the role of a platform from which people with reduced mobility can easily board the trams.
In the text of the task, published by "Save Sofia" we read that it includes high requirements for road safety, including continuous sidewalks at the intersections of the boulevard with small streets and a requirement that the sidewalks be made of granite slabs, which is a requirement of the current but unimplemented municipal standards. At oblique intersections, the task requires the designers to reshape the shape of the roadway on the straights and to create several micro-squares that would prevent high-speed entry into the small streets.
The proposals of "Save Sofia" They also envisage the creation of a continuous green strip along the sidewalks, separating them from the roadway, in which, in addition to trees, barrier shrub vegetation will be grown.
“This is not just an idea for a boulevard, but a demonstration of how all major renovations should be planned – with the end result and the people who will use the space in mind“, adds Stefan Spasov, municipal councilor from “Save Sofia”.
“The main problem with renovations in Sofia is not only in the implementation, but starts much earlier – with weak technical specifications. When you are not clear about what result you are looking for, you cannot expect a quality project”, Stefan Spasov also commented. According to him, the practice of the Sofia Municipality is to write mediocre specifications with general requirements, which often remain formal and incomplete. This allows designers to apply outdated or inappropriate solutions and the project not to address problems in the scope if they are not specifically described in the terms of reference.
“If we want a different result, we must start with a different approach – with a clear, detailed and ambitious terms of reference that sets requirements for every aspect of the project“, says Eng. Severina Gicheva, an expert at “Save Sofia”. According to her, a good terms of reference does not simply describe activities, but defines how the space should function and look after the renovation. The technical terms of reference proposed by “Save Sofia” has also received a positive opinion from the Union of Architects in Bulgaria.
”Save Sofia” states that since the beginning of the mandate they have been insisting that this approach become a standard in the work of the Sofia Municipality, but so far the administration has not been willing to implement it. “Quality costs money - of course. But we must ask ourselves how long ugly and morally outdated streets can be patched up “as is” and lie to ourselves that we are improving the infrastructure of our city,” concluded Spasov.