2024-05-09 11:16:30
In order to be able to solve the problems with the cleanliness of the air in Sofia, we must continue with measures that stimulate this. One of them is alternative transport, being able to move by bicycle, being able to move on a walkable sidewalk, as well as with the development of public transport. These are things that happen and take time, and I understand them, people, as this was also a topic during the campaign, Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev told journalists today, when asked about the project for the new organization of traffic on Blvd. Patriarch Euthymius” and about the citizens’ protest.
When asked that “the European Policy Center has filed a lawsuit against the traffic management decision and whether it believes there are any violations because they refer to a 2017 regulation,” the capital’s mayor replied: “According to the team, there are none, if any , the court will issue a decision”.
Asked if he was worried that there were protests against a decision that was supposed to ease traffic, Vasil Terziev said that it should be clear that he stood behind this decision. “I believe in the expediency of this project and that the changes that are being made in the long term are for the good and what is sometimes missed is that this is only a small part of the changes that are being made. No one is deaf, we are listening to the people about the parking spaces and we are looking for solutions. We are looking for places to implement underground parking lots, we have several locations, but everything cannot be done at the same time,” said the mayor of Sofia, quoted by BTA.
He noted that the city cannot stand still because everything is not perfect. “Every single change is painful, and when Vitosha Boulevard was closed, when the zones were introduced, when they made us wear seat belts, when we had to learn to stop on pedestrian crossings and accept that pedestrians have rights,” said Terziev.
Asked about the dialogue with the citizens, the mayor of Sofia replied that in terms of communication, he realizes that it could have gone differently. “I recognize some lapses on our part, and we will fix it, even before we start talking about it. This is a project that has been discussed many times over the years, and that is very important to know. This is not a project for which “Save Sofia” or Mayor Terziev came up with, this is a project that has been included in the plan for sustainable urban mobility for over ten years and has been reaffirmed in various reports of foreign architects who have dealt with urban planning of cities,” said Vasil Terziev.
“If the decision falls in court, we have proven that we comply with the court’s decisions and implement them. We read the laws, we read the regulations, and if it falls, it will change,” said the mayor of the capital.
Vasil Terziev commented on the topic of the new organization of the movement on “Patriarch Evtimiy” Blvd., after participating with the official Minister of Education and Science Prof. Galin Tsokov in the opening of the 14th Sofia Science Festival in “Sofia Tech Park”.