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Massive City Revamp Tests Belgraders’ Nerves

September 15, 201708:51
With no end in sight to the multiple reconstruction projects taking place in central Belgrade, some wonder whether politics – not traffic considerations – is behind all the disruption. 

Traffic jam at Brankos Bridge. Photo: Beta 

The construction work in central Belgrade that began with the reconstruction of the Slavija Square in May has expanded to encompass major parts of the city centre over the summer.  

Starting from Branko’s Bridge, a number of main squares, boulevards and streets are now partly or completely closed to traffic.

Pedestrian routes and public transport lines have been diverted, forcing foreign visitors and locals alike to find new pathways through the capital.

Covered in dust, echoing to the sound of heavy machinery, and surrounded by steel fences, the Oslobodjenje Boulevard and Slavija Square, with a new fountain in the middle of it, form the epicentre of the deadlock.

Those citizens worst affected by this, of course, taxi drivers. According to local news daily Blic, they describe the current situation in one word: catastrophe.

“Branko’s Bridge in the direction of New Belgrade – Catastrophe. Gazela [bridge] in both directions – Catastrophe. Pancevo Bridge both directions – Catastrophe,” the paper noted, summarizing their fury.

Belgrade citizens will have to remain patient, however, as the work is not scheduled to finish until autumn, City Manager Goran Vesic warned.

He has urged Belgraders to use public transport instead of their own vehicles and, above all, to avoid the most congested points of the city.

“The work on Slavija will be completed by November 16, on the Oslobođenje Boulevard by October 22 and on Branko’s Bridge by November, and so we will complete the great project that is now in progress,” Vesic told Serbia’s national broadcaster RTS in an upbeat tone early in September.

The city management has received criticism for building the fountain in Slavija first, only to close it down because of subsequent road construction surrounding it. Photo: BIRN/Milan Radonjic

Concerns That Politics is Playing a Part

The opposition, meanwhile, accuses the city authorities of starting more reconstruction projects than it can handle in order to have a stream of openings ready for the mayoral elections due in spring 2018.

On August 29, Deputy Mayor Andrija Mladenovic dismissed claims that Belgrade has been “blocked” for election campaign purposes, insisting that it was “business as usual”, and appealing to the solidarity and patience of the citizens.

“In just over a month, after the work in Slavija is finished, we will have a completely new look in this part of the city and it will all be worth it. It will really be something amazing to see,” he told BIRN.

He also said that a significant change to the original plans – which foresaw building pedestrian underpasses underneath Slavija Square – had been done out of necessity:

“Frankly, it would have been best to have the underground passages. They would make the traffic flow easier,” he said.

“However, after consulting the planners, we realized that this would take much more time, and be several times more expensive. So, we chose this shorter version. Otherwise, this part of the town would be blocked for a full year or even more,” he added.

Responding to claims of poor planning in the work on Slavija, where the fountain was finished before the rest of the infrastructure work started, Mladenovic said this snarl-up reflected the fact that several projects linked to the square were interconnected.

Work on the rest of the square had to wait until some key construction permits came through. “But this is all of secondary importance,” he insisted.

“Once Slavija is finished, coupled with its park and the Oslobodjenje Boulevard, it will completely transform the image of this part of the city, which is also one of the worst for traffic.”

Cosmetic Reconstruction Job

However, Zoran Alimpic, former Deputy Mayor of Belgrade and opposition councillor in the City Assembly, says the city has made a mess of things.

“The City Hall obviously does not operate in a transparent manner, or distribute responsibilities properly, so the situation is a bit chaotic,” he said.

Alimpic said the real problem on Slavija Square is managing the heavy flow of traffic, and above all the pedestrian traffic, which the current project will now not solve.

“Slavija is a specific location and a meeting place for seven streets. Without underground passages, this is a pure cosmetic reconstruction that does not deal with the basic problem,” he asserted.

Ljubica Slavkovic, from the “Ne da(vi)mo Beograd” initiative, which was formed to oppose the reconstruction of the city’s riverside area, said the decision to start so many projects at the same time revealed the contempt the City authorities felt for the citizens – and would have more serious consequences.

“Fences are being put up in streets with no regard for how people are going to get around them, but what’s even worse is that much of the work is obviously being done in a hurry and is therefore not of a high quality,” he said.

“That means it will have to be done again, soon. This absurd waste of time and money is just inadmissible.”

However, Predrag Mitrovic, a foreman overseeing the removal of asphalt in Kralja Milana street, says he and his co-workers are doing a fine job.

“In Ruzveltova street, we finished our section six days ahead of the deadline, and I believe we will be ahead here as well,” he said.

“The other groups are also making good progress, too. Belgraders are a bit edgy, it is sometimes difficult to get past, or to find a place to park – but we will make it through together.”

Mitrovic also noted that the weather is far better now, compared to a few weeks back, when temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius.

However, he also feels officials have made a mistake in dumping the plan to build pedestrian underpasses in Slavija Square.

“We could have done this very well, as we have plenty experience in this kind of work. It would have been better – but this is what they have decided, so this is finally how it is going to be,” he said.

This article was published in BIRN’s bi-weekly newspaper Belgrade Insight. Here is where to find a copy.