A concerned resident told the program: "The Riga City Council is proposing a project for a cycle path and wants to cut down more than 145 trees. Trees grow very slowly, and is it really necessary to cut down so many? Why two cycle paths in Imanta? To cut down so many trees for the sake of a few riders? Slokas Street is also beautiful because there are trees around the roadside."
Posters on Dammes Street inform residents about the municipality's intention to build a long cycle path through Imanta. However, the program's observations show that people are not interested in seeing photos of which trees will be cut down and what is depicted on the information sheets in general. Therefore, people know practically nothing about the construction of the new cycle path.
Oto Ozols, Deputy Head of the Cycling Infrastructure Department of Riga City Council, explained that a cycle path should be built there because the current path is actually a pavement that has collapsed, and it is narrow and not safe enough for pedestrians. "So our goal is to create a cycling infrastructure that is completely separate from cars, completely separate from pedestrians. Along the whole route from Ķīpsala to the Jūrmala cycle path, including the recently built Slokas Street cycle path leading to Babīte," he said.
The municipality even compares Imanta to a small town, where there are plenty of cyclists. They have also carried out a count of riders by installing a radar-like device near the railway.
Between 8 and 9 am, the device counted between 200 and 300 cyclists, which could mean that about 2000 cyclists cycle to and from Imanta every day.
"The cycle path is routed in the Imanta area via Jūrmalas Avenue, through the center of Imanta. The project also includes the installation of pavements, cycling infrastructure, and quite a few trees. We have plans to plant 137 trees and to add shrubs. We will create landscaped squares for pedestrians, and provide environmental accessibility to public transport stops. This means that this is not just a cycling project, but an urban project," said Ozols.
In total, more than 100 trees will be cut down in Slokas Street, Dammes Street, Anniņmuižas Boulevard, Bebru Street, Kurzemes Prospect, Jūrmalas Avenue, Kandavas Street, Daugavgrīvas Street, as well as in Durbes Street for the construction of the cycle path.
The trees will be felled and the bike lanes built by May 2026. Ozols promised that in Imanta, mostly damaged, dangerous trees will be cut down and thinning works will take place.
