BSP-Plovdiv voted against a pedestrian zone along “Hristo G. Danov…

The group of BSP advisers in the local parliament of Plovdiv will not support the proposal of the mayor of the “Central” district, Georgi Stamenov, for the conversion of the part of “Hr. G. Danov” in the section of “Betoven” St. to “Ruski” Blvd. in a pedestrian zone. This is stated in a declaration of the PPGOS of the “Coalition for Bulgaria” on the occasion of the upcoming vote on the item at the meeting of the General Assembly on Thursday.

The four councilors remind that in recent days, as a result of the announced intention, several inquiries, signals and objections were made by owners of residential and commercial properties along the street and its adjacent territory. In them, citizens express their disagreement with turning it into an entirely pedestrian street.

The group of municipal councilors of the BSP made a request with entry No. 94012-2995/18.04.2024 to Mr. Georgi Stamenov-Mayor of the “Central” District to provide information regarding the construction documentation for “Reconstruction of “Hr. G. Danov” – from “Betoven” street to “Ruski” blvd. At the moment, there is no answer to the inquiry, the socialists report.

Interested citizens also state that they did not get access to the information they requested about the construction documents, regarding the street repair, and express doubts about the legality of the administrative and construction activities.

There is no information that a public discussion was organized, that a technical specification was presented for such an investment intention. And the dissatisfaction of the affected citizens in objections to various institutions contain over 120 signatures.

Eng. Kalin Milchev, arch. Kostadin Palazov, Minka Sarneshka and Iliya Gatev draw attention to the fact that the position of the Regional Colleges of the Union of Architects in Bulgaria and the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria is presented, where they are in solidarity with the concerns of those living and working in the area around the Natural History Museum – Plovdiv.

“In the General Development Plan and in the accompanying General Plan for the organization of traffic in the city of Plovdiv, it is not envisaged that “Hristo G. Danov” Street will be a pedestrian street”, emphasizes arch. Kostadin Palazov.

BSP – Plovdiv pay serious attention to the fact that in the event of a ban on vehicular traffic on part of “Hr. G. Danov” traffic will also be disrupted on two other streets in the adjacent territory – “Doctor Nikola Genadiev” and “Alexander Ekzarch” streets.

The direction of the transport flow from the street “Hr. G. Danov” only on “Betoven” street will create another “plug” in the transport chaos of our city, Plovdiv socialists are categorical.

The planned parking pockets and charging stations for electric cars indicate that the advertised conversion of this section of the street into a pedestrian one is not the result of thorough research and consultation, but a momentary thought of the administration, the councilors also note.

They state that Plovdiv is not just an open-air museum, but a living city, and this requires a complex solution to the problems, not their deepening. Observance of the prescriptions of the OUP and the Transport Communication Plan is the obligation of the Municipality, remind the BSP.

“We have been elected to represent the citizens of Plovdiv and we empathize with their concerns. Therefore, we insist on the transparency and legality of the administrative procedures regarding the repair and reconstruction of a part of Hristo G. Danov Street and we declare against the conversion of the cited part into a pedestrian street,” commented the chairman of the group, Eng. Kalin Milchev.

According to arch. Palazov “shared use of the section with reduced speed and priority pedestrian traffic is a compromise option.

The Socialists propose to the Mayor of Plovdiv Municipality, Kostadin Dimitrov, to take the necessary actions to secure the section and reduce the speed, with the appropriate signs and safety equipment, agreed with the responsible institutions and the NINKN.