Rīga center-Ziepniekkalns bicycle route unfinished for months

Take note – story published 1 year ago

Several kilometers of an unfinished bicycle trail connecting the center to Ziepniekkalns has been left unattended since last summer. It was scheduled to be completed by spring. There has been a mess in the area for months, but those responsible for the project have allegedly not known it, Latvian Radio reported April 25.

Jobs have been left in different stages. Some places have been covered in gravel, some are just dug up. Residents addressed by Latvian Radio are dissatisfied.

“It's money thrown in the wind. Not finished. Nothing has been thought out to the end. In any case, [someone] is not thinking with their head.'m sorry, but I can't say anything else.”

“It looks ugly. It should be finished."

“It's very tragic. I hope it will come together and restart with the warmer [weather]. It was very positive, in fact, that it was actually started because it would really fit in here."

The project is also welcomed by the Ziepniekkalns Association. However, its head Signe Ušacka recalls that the Riga City Council planned to complete the trail in December last year.

“Jobs are scheduled to resume in early May after a technological break. This could be May 2,” Jānis Vaivods, executive director of the city council transport department, told Latvian Radio.

“On April 6, we had a snowy day that certainly couldn't do the job. As regards additional circumstances, a letter from the building contractor on price increases related to events in Ukraine has also been received at present, as in all construction sites. But that's not why the jobs are not continuing,” said Vaivods, adding he had not known about the condition of the site.

“I'm sorry, but I have gone to a lot of other objects. If you have any photos, you can send them to the department, and we'll take control of it,” said Vaivods.

The opposition of Riga City Council and former Mayor Oļegs Burovs said that such statements embarrass the responsible authorities.

“It is a pity, and it is absolutely wrong, that the Transport Department, along with the politicians responsible for it, is finding it out from Latvian Radio. Construction materials are also placed on the site; there could be theft,” Burovs says.

The nearly six-kilometer trail is now scheduled to be completed by July. 

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