Due to the new organization of traffic on Vitosha Blvd., Patriarch Euthymius Blvd. and "Fritjof Nansen" street from the European Center for Transport Policies (ETCP) signal the SDVR as "dubious" document with incorrect content. The ETC claims that Protocol No. 15, published on the website of the Metropolitan Municipality, is missing pages… The chairperson of the association, Diana Rusinova, insists that the Minister of Internal Affairs, Kalin Stoyanov, show a document that would make it clear whether the decision was agreed with SDVR officials and traffic police experts. The new organization of the movement also caused civil protests. What else is happening… Diana Rusinova, chairwoman of the European Center for Transport Policies, spoke to FAKTI.
- Mrs. Rusinova, the new organization of the movement on “Vitosha“ caused a lot of controversy, we have protests. How do you generally view what the municipality has introduced?
- The question is not only what they introduced, but how. I personally twice heard it quite boldly claimed by representatives of “Save Sofia” and Deputy Mayor Iliyan Pavlov, that the project with which they introduced the new traffic organization was completely legal. First of all, a few days ago during a live broadcast on one of the national televisions, the municipal councilor from “Save Sofia” Stefan Spasov stated: “Let me respond in order to all the suggestions that were made. First, the project is completely legal. It obeys the letter of the law, and that's exactly why reverse sloped parking spaces look like this. And then he went through all the coordination procedures approved by the traffic police, SDVR and all competent authorities..."
On Friday, during the extraordinary meeting of the transport committee at the SOS, the deputy mayor Iliyan Pavlov very confidently announced that: “Every single institution and structure that has anything to do with this project has passed coordination. Period!“
- And your opinion may be different…
- For two weeks, I and my colleagues from the European Transport Policy Center have been claiming that this organization is completely illegal, and we have explained several times that the procedure was violated. Moreover, SDVR confirmed that they never approved this project, it was not even entered for approval. The fact that the municipality allowed itself to carry out illegal actions, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. Behind these actions are hidden a number of criminal acts of the main actors. Something for which we have notified the competent institutions, and in a timely manner.
The first project of the new administration of the CO was found to be in violation of two laws and six by-laws. And so it turns out that the people who promised during the election campaign to eradicate illegal practices and to govern better than before, have blatantly violated laws that affect people's lives and health, and especially road safety.
I will not comment on the project in detail because there are too many problems with it. The only solution is for this insanity to be removed immediately.
- You also measured how the marking was done. What did your measurement show…
- Regarding road markings, let's start with what the Ordinance on Markings says, namely: “Road markings in yellow color are only used to delineate broken lines denoting areas prohibited for standing and parking of road vehicles, and for the delineation of lanes intended for the movement of vehicles from regular lines for public passenger transport“.
I would like to ask the municipality, with its legal project, where exactly do the yellow-colored bicycle lanes fit in? And that's the least… We measured the road marking with a device calibrated and certified to show the standards of light reflection and it turned out that the marking did not meet the standards at all. Light reflectivity at night 22 millicandelas, with a norm of at least 300. Speculations that we - from the European center, were not certified, etc. are ordinary excuses that the state administration uses to justify its incompetence.
- And we come to the fact that the new reorganization of the movement goes to court…
- We have submitted a request to the Administrative Court of Sofia City based on Art. 250 of the Administrative Procedure Code and we demand that any activities related to the implementation of this ILLEGAL project be stopped immediately. We also demand that all illegally placed road markings and traffic signs be removed.
Imagine that there is a fatal traffic accident right now. For example, a trolley hits a cyclist? Then who will bear the responsibility? The driver who may have messed up because we don't know if what was done was legal. The draft has not been agreed upon, if there is a draft at all, because no one has seen one so far and no one has seen a draft. The driver was confused by conflicting signs, the cyclist also died. So who is to blame? I ask "Save Sofia", the mayor Terziev, me, you, SDVR, the people - who will be responsible? It is precisely for these reasons that we insist that this project be cancelled.
- What violations of laws do you think there are?
- First of all, the reconciliation procedure was violated. The project itself cannot be coordinated due to the fact that such a project in Sofia is impossible to be coordinated. I remind you that Sofia does not have a valid and up-to-date general plan for the organization of traffic (GPOD), and such projects for traffic organization and safety must be part of the GPOD, otherwise there is no way to agree on them.
- And this has cost the city more than a million leva…
- In fact, no one can say and it is unlikely that we will know the true value of this project. Some quantity bill was uploaded but it was not valued. There is no project, nor an explanatory note to it, it is not even clear who the designer is. In other words, only "Save Sofia", the mayor and the contractor of the project know how much it costs.
- Do you have communication with the mayor Vasil Terziev?
- No, but in this situation, I personally see no reason to maintain communication with arrogant and self-righteous people who are not inclined to hear an opinion different from theirs.
- We also saw how to park – at certain times, a violation must also be committed in order for a car to enter the outline…
- If this project had been consulted with experts and not with presumptuous graphic designers, a very good result could have been achieved. Perhaps then a reasonable solution would be found that would not clog the center of Sofia and force people to violate the Road Traffic Act.
- Why was it done – for the benefit of cyclists or drivers… Do you see an idea in the whole thing...
- I only see a desire from a group of people how to impose their views by force and regardless of what the public interest is. These people are obviously ready to impose their ideas and projects at the cost of lying, breaking the laws and rules of this country. In reality, they told so many lies and tried to manipulate us all. When they ran out of arguments, they resorted to xenophobic and racist comments about me, which was unfortunate and ugly.
Anyone who tells these people that they are wrong – become enemy number one. Their behavior is dangerous because it borders on totalitarianism. We are in power and will do as we please, your laws are something we do not recognize. The power is ours. This is exactly how they behave.
And the risks for our capital with these projects of graphic designers are many. On the one hand, they threaten our safety when we move through the streets or wait for a bus at the bus stop. On the other hand, in the absence of parking places, places to charge the commercial establishments, we risk that the center of Sofia will decline. The people with the stores will start looking for more attractive places where people have a place to stop and go in, where they can stock up and stuff. Naturally, only shops with basic goods will remain in the center.
Prices will start to fall, people will move out and we'll turn our downtown into a sunken hole.
This will not happen today, but in a few years. The risks are many, and that is precisely why we must seek dialogue and some sense. Beauty cannot be forced, but other people should understand that. Apparently, they will learn it the hard way and at the expense of us - the taxpayers.