Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius, the parliamentarian aspiring to lead the capital, claims that the majority of Vilnius residents can get by without cars in the city. Therefore, according to him, the widening of the streets to be narrowed by the current mayor Remigijaus Šimašius is unnecessary. Therefore, the "libertarian" points out that movement by bicycle, on foot, and by public transport should be encouraged.
"What is proposed by absolutely all the candidates for the post of the city of Vilnius, except for me, is to solve the problem of city traffic jams by using even more concrete, even more gasoline and even more asphalt. The result of this will be what is called the induced demand effect, in the sense that the more infrastructure we do for cars, the more cars will be on city streets. Therefore, the main proposal is to solve this problem sustainably, by diversifying the city's movement infrastructure, building bicycle paths, well-maintaining pedestrian paths, promoting car-sharing platforms and creating incentives for Vilnius residents to move in such ways", commented TV Raskevičius on Monday for "Delfi" television.
The politician claimed that more than two-thirds of Vilnius residents live less than 15 kilometers from their daily "destination". Therefore, in his opinion, with the existence of adequate infrastructure, most of Vilnius could do without private cars
"About 70 percent Vilnius residents currently live in the capital within a radius of no more than 15 kilometers from their daily means of communication and destination. This essentially means that all means of movement are possible in Vilnius, not only cars," the mayoral candidate asserted.
Žygymantas Šilobritas (ELTA)
