March 5 this year. municipal council and mayor elections will be held. The MadeinVilnius.lt portal will publish articles on the city's most pressing issues, the answers to which are submitted by the candidates for the post of mayor of Vilnius, throughout the month until the elections. The questions were asked to candidates who exceeded 5% in the last year of polls. threshold of electoral votes.
Almost all the candidates for the seat of the mayor of Vilnius answered the questions asked by the portal: Artūras Zuokas, Valdas Benkunskas, Mykolas Majauskas, Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius, Lukas Savickas and Rasa Budbergytė. The chairman of the LLRA-KŠS party Valdemar Tomaszewski (Polish Waldemar Tomaszewski) did not provide answers.
We asked the candidates whether they plan to initiate changes in the current one Ukmergė st. - Žalgirio str. – Geležinio Vilko st. at the intersection. For many years, this place remains the most congested intersection in the city. It is a rare case that there are no traffic jams in this area during peak hours, where drivers sometimes spend dozens of minutes. Candidates for city mayors answered whether they are going to do something and change this situation.
Will actions be initiated to reconstruct Geležinio Vilkos - Ukmergės st. - Žalgirio str. intersection?
Arthur Zuokas
Artūras Zuokas is preparing to update the project proposals from 2007 to build a viaduct in this place. Such a decision, according to the candidate, could reduce congestion. The candidate notes that the old project will be revised, new traffic flow simulations will be taken into account. An overpass at the intersection could increase throughput in this part of the city.
"We have also planned other comprehensive measures that will help unload this heart of Vilnius transport, such as, for example, the installation of "Statyk ir Važiuok" parking lots at the entrance to Vilnius. Currently, about 140 thousand cars arrive and leave the capital every day, which is half of the registered light vehicles in the city of Vilnius. Therefore, "Statyk ir Važiuok" is a very important measure that will reduce the traffic coming to Vilnius from the surrounding municipalities of Kaunas, Ukmergė, Varėna and Molėtai. This is exactly what the Sustainable Mobility Plan envisaged in 2018 - to install modern "Stayk ir haijuk" parking lots for incoming transport at a distance of 7 km from the center", says A. Zuokas.
The politician plans to expand the network of free parking lots where drivers could safely leave their cars and continue their journey to work or the city center by public transport or other car-sharing platforms.
Valdas Benkunskas
The next candidate for the mayor's chair, Valdas Benkunskas, plans to install a tunnel in this place. Such a solution would ensure uninterrupted traffic flow at the current intersection.
More tunnels and an overpass are planned to be installed in other parts of the city.
"We also plan to solve the problems of traffic jams at the intersections of the highest intensity by installing a tunnel at the intersection of Kalvarijju and Ozo streets, a tunnel at Kareivius and Žirmūnų streets. at the intersection, the tunnel at the intersection of Scientist and Iron Wolf, and the viaduct connecting Konstitucijos and Narbutos streets," says V. Benkunskas.
Mykolas Majauskas
Mykolas Majauskas didn't say much. The candidate mentioned that an overpass could be installed at this intersection in the future.
"Based on expert conclusions, we will boldly invest in increasing the capacity of this and other major intersections in the city, including viaducts connecting different streets," commented M. Majauskas.
Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius
"Freedom Party" candidate for greater changes in Geležinio Vilkos - Ukmergės st. - Žalgirio str. intersection is not provided. According to T. Raskevičius, traffic jams in this place occur not only due to the characteristics of the infrastructure, but also due to the large traffic of cars moving in a specific place at the same time. The candidate will seek to implement the goals set in the city's sustainable mobility strategy until 2030 and develop infrastructure that will encourage Vilnius residents to choose alternative means of transportation.
"In order to control the traffic flows at the specified intersection, it is necessary to optimally adjust and calibrate the traffic light control system, implement software changes to the system, so that the system adapts to the changing traffic flows as flexibly and optimally as possible. The reasons for the appearance of "tails" (when a queue of vehicles waiting to turn in blocks oncoming traffic) should also be assessed and appropriate solutions should be proposed," the candidate adds.
Lukas Savickas
"Traffic jams in Vilnius are formed due to many irrational decisions: narrowing of streets, low-quality ones public transport systems, haphazardly implemented urban development. This problem needs to be solved comprehensively. Increasing the capacity of streets must be a priority, and problematic intersections in the city must be adapted to heavy traffic", L. Savickas briefly discusses the problem of congestion.
The candidate says that he will not reinvent the wheel, but will use the help of experts to solve the problem of this intersection.
"We have excellent experts who can provide technical solutions that are rational and actually reduce traffic jams." My job is to ensure the political will to implement these decisions", the candidate adds.
Rasa Budbergyte
"A project has already been prepared, which, according to experts, is adequate. A two-level intersection will be built, which would prevent roads from crossing at one level," says the candidate for Vilnius mayor.
According to the politician, thanks to such a decision, it would be possible to abandon the traffic light, which stops traffic and causes traffic jams. Rasa Budbergytė, who became the mayor, would strive for this decision to be implemented as soon as possible.
