When the roadworks were completed, the company "Latvian State Roads" promised the "4.studija" program that in the near future this section of the road would be handed over to the municipality of Ropaži, which would then also carry out road safety improvements. Two years have passed, but the road has not been handed over to the municipality and no improvements have been made to pedestrian safety.
Although the filming of 4. studija took place on a weekday at around 10 am, when traffic is not the heaviest, cars were moving continuously in different directions, and the sign indicating a residential area did not slow drivers down.
In the very center of Garkalne, the driver is still king and pedestrians have to adapt because nobody thinks about them except themselves. People walking to the shops, the clinic, the municipal services, the municipal police, end up in a place where the footpath practically ends and there are no safety measures for pedestrians to cross the street.
"I have seen situations where a person in a wheelchair cannot cross the road. Nobody lets him pass, but he has to get to the day center," said resident Iveta.
Pedestrians coming from the other side of the road are in an unenviable situation because there is no footpath on either side of the road. Every day, Iveta is forced to walk along the side of the road while pushing her pram. She has jumped into the ditch several times.
"There is no pavement. With the baby, with the pram, and someone overtakes. There's nowhere to go! Overtaking is very common here. Good - if State Roads doesn't want to put a zebra crossing there for now, at least they would have put up a stop sign saying that overtaking is forbidden through a populated area," said Iveta.
"I would never send my grandchildren to this shop because I know I have problems myself. They cycle and I have problems going here myself," added resident Zaiga.
Lilita pointed out that passengers are forced to walk along the side of the road when they get off at the bus stop across the bridge, which is particularly difficult in winter when it is freezing.
Residents are still puzzled as to how Latvian State Roads forgot about pedestrians when reconstructing the road, and only built a pedestrian crossing near the school. Everyone was anxiously waiting for the new school year to start and for the number of cars and pedestrians to increase.
Nothing has been done to improve pedestrian safety because, as it turns out, the company Latvian State Roads has not yet handed over this section of road to the Ropaži municipality, as promised two years ago.
Therefore, the municipality cannot take any measures to improve pedestrian safety. Meanwhile, the Ropaži Municipality Council explained to "4. studija" that the municipality has done its job and is waiting for action from Latvian State Roads.
But it turns out that the same decisive move is awaited by Latvian State Roads, which also says it has done everything to hand over the road to the municipality.
"In November 2022, Latvian State Roads sent a letter to the municipality with an invitation to take over the local road Ādaži-Garkalne (V46). The cadastral process was initiated and on July 14, 2023 a letter was sent to the municipality that the section had been registered in the Land Register. LVC is currently awaiting the Municipality's decision on the acceptance of the road. This will be followed by changes in the legislation," the Communication Department of the State Enterprise Latvian State Roads stated in a written letter to the program.
