Due to the discussions regarding the construction of the road in Balsiai and Ožkinii and the bridge over the Neris, we must clarify the information that was published without even asking the municipality about the city's plans.
The construction of a new street through Balsius and Ožkinius is not on the city's priority list: there is no project for it, so there are no project discussions. But the need for the construction of this street, and at the same time the bridge, is obvious, which is why it is named in the General Plan - this topic will have to be returned after the implementation of other currently important city projects. Maybe in ten years.
The problem is obvious - Balsiai is connected to the central part of the city by the only two-lane Verkių Street, and in the event of a serious accident here, a large part of the city would remain isolated. Most of the residents have felt the problem of Verkių Street, which is quickly "clogged", and have been waiting for a solution for a long time. Although some of their communication problems have been solved by the new Balsiai educational institutions built by the city, active movement does not decrease due to other daily needs.
"The decision to widen the existing Verkių Street would have a significant impact on the Verkių Regional Park - some trees would have to be removed, and the need for diversification of connections would not be solved in this way. That is, we would continue to have that only connection with the central part of the city", pointed out the chief architect of the city, Mindaugas Pakalnis.
The general plan provides for a new street of category C, which would lead to the bridge, and it would be designed as two lanes. Regarding the installation of wider, four-lane streets, great debates arise even when planning them in the central part of the city, while on the outskirts of the city, as noted by both traffic management specialists and urban planners, there is no need for such streets.
Balsiai district is distinguished by the fact that, as an urban unit, it is far from the central part of the city and is surrounded by a valuable natural environment, but it does not have a developed social infrastructure, there are almost no services and jobs.
"Creation of so-called sub-centers based on the principle of decentralization is the most effective way of managing outward expansion of cities. No one has come up with a better one yet, said M. Pakalnis. - The sub-centre would be built at the expense of both the green belt and the wide highway planned in that area. All this territory was returned to the former owners by the decisions of state institutions and courts. So, in order to install that green belt along the street, the land would have to be bought, and judging by the standards, there is enough greenery around. Since the highway will no longer exist, there is no longer a need for a buffer strip of greenery, and we foresee the creation of services and jobs in that area. Perhaps some apartment buildings could also appear here."
The municipality has also received an offer to "move" the bridge to a more convenient location for the applicants. But then, according to M. Pakalnis, the bridge would be moved towards the citizens of the plots, whose legitimate expectations we would possibly violate: "They bought plots and built houses, and we would try to install a bridge in their environment. Now it's the other way around - people were building knowing that a bridge is planned here and now they're trying to bring it down on the heads of their neighbors."
