The intense construction season on Riga streets has closed. This was the first year when the newly elected Riga City Council worked with its own budget, implementing its own priorities. LETA invited Riga Vice Mayor Vilnis Kirsis (New Unity), in charge of the transport infrastructure in the capital city, to tell about the achievements, and whether the criticism about the mistakes has been grounded.

How do you evaluate the performance of the local government and your own performance this year?

This year was dynamic, and largely it has been spent with the historical heritage that we received [from the previous council]. We received a rather neglected city. Especially in the area I am in charge of - infrastructure. Every couple of months we receive fines on taxes calculated by the State Revenue Service from the previous periods. We received court verdicts about competition violations, fines for waste management monopoly. Then, there was the construction cartel and other cases. Unfortunately, throughout the whole year we dealt with correcting historical mistakes.

What is an achievement is the fight for the Recovery and Resilience Facility. We managed to achieve that Riga will receive almost EUR 300 million for different infrastructure, mostly public transport, projects. We have also managed to establish good cooperation with the government. We have made the first steps away from the e-ticket system in public transport to a new system. There are signs of progress, such as QR tickets. And subsidy for Rigas Satiksme municipal transport company has been reduced by EUR 14 million.

This past summer we conducted the largest street repairs of the past years, not only in the center, but also in neighborhoods. The Cabinet of Minister will decide on an extraordinary loan for repairs of four bridges - Vansu Bridge, Zemitana Bridge, VEF Bridge and Vairoga Street Bridge.

As the Riga City Council decided on amendments to this year’s budget, there were reports that EUR 2 million allocated for repairs of yards in the neighborhoods have not been absorbed. Why has this program stopped?

Mostly yards among residential apartment buildings belong to private owners. Even though it seems that those are streets, those still are private properties. The local government has no rights to invest money in private properties. In previous years, the previous council was not very worried about these legal irregularities, but we want to do it by the book, therefore we are looking for different ways. My colleagues are working on co-funding programs that will include not only the yards and internal streets, but also benches and playgrounds.

It was also said at the council meeting that the Transport Department is not doing well with implementation of the planned projects, just 39 percent of the planned projects have been completed.

This mostly refers to investment projects. Several years ago, these projects were started on wrong foundations, and now we are correcting mistakes. For example, Brasas Bridge that was included in the budget. Several years ago, repairs were planned for Brasas Bridge. A conclusion was drawn that the bridge is in such a poor condition that it cannot be repaired and a new project is necessary. The new project was designed by architects free of charge, just for the sake of their reputation. When a job is done free of charge, it is hard to press on deadlines. It had to be ready in January, but it is ready only now. The same refers to Deglava Bridge. The previous work has been of low quality, and now we have to deal with consequences.

Who is to be blamed about problems with Brasas and Deglava bridges?

I think everybody participated in it, but mostly these projects were developed during the office of [Transport Department director Emils] Jakrins.

How much money has been allocated for construction of Brasas Bridge and how much has been spent already?

The construction project is ready and is in the process of coordination. A procurement has been announced and will soon be completed. Dismantling of the old bridge has been started.

How much money is needed to build a new bridge?

About EUR 17 million. But it will be clear after the tender is completed as we see signs of overheating in the market. Not only construction, but also design costs are growing. If due to the cartel case, some of the construction companies are excluded from the tender, prices will grow even further.

You already mentioned Deglava Bridge, where the costs increased from slightly over EUR 5 million to EUR 14 million. What mistakes were made there? How much did the bridge cost?

Increase of costs occurred because just cosmetic repairs were planned, which, of course, are cheaper than capital repairs that turned out to be necessary eventually. All this delayed the project for some six months or so. The total costs would reach about EUR 15 million.

The Riga City Coalition calls itself the coalition of changes. There were changes planned in relation of car drivers, cyclists and pedestrians in the streets of Riga. It all turned out into a scandal about traffic bollards. What went wrong on Caka Street?

People want very gradual change. They don’t want to get up in the morning and see that everything has been turned upside down. Even though they believe that our habits should become friendlier to the environment, it should happen gradually. This is the main mistake. These projects had been too fast. However, speaking about the traffic bollards, this summer was not the first one when they appeared on the streets, they have been there since 2014. We see that they improve safety. Somebody does not like them, in some places they probably are not in the right place, but it is the smallest part.

My conclusion is that changes should be carried out step by step. I see improvement of public transport in the city as my priority because only public transport can seriously reduce the number of cars on the streets. We also should take our climate into account. No matter how active cyclists we have, only some are using bicycles in winter.

Early this year there were reports that already in summer Rigas Satiksme will organize the extended routes to Pieriga regions - Jaunmarupe, Sauriesi and Balozi. The year is almost over, but buses are not running on these routes.

We are ready to organize these routes. We have had talks with the Pieriga local councils and the Transport Ministry. The problem is the financial issue. No matter how efficient public transport is, it causes financial loss. Of course, we may not carry Pieriga residents on the account of Riga tax-payers. This is a matter or Pieriga local governments, how much they are ready to co-fund these routes. They are now thinking about it.

Could the clarity about such routes be when Pieriga municipalities adopt their annual budgets?

I would say rather when they make the decisions that they are ready to co-fund losses from these routes At the moment, when they are ready to make this step, they should decide on the budget.

Has the Riga City Council considered all pros and cons of such routes? The better the traffic with Pieriga, the more people move there and Riga again loses residents and taxes.

Yes, but there is another process. About 100,000 residents of Pieriga are commuting to Riga every day. If there are no such routes organized by Rigas Satiksme, their cars will not disappear anywhere. We should think about solutions. We should create good public transport infrastructure in the whole area of Riga metropolis in order to prevent the private transport smog. According to a poll, one third of Riga residents who decide to move to Pieriga choose to do so because of noise, unpleasant environment, dust, cars.

There were earlier proposals on metrobus routes. What is happening with this idea?

Only several months ago, in June, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Riga and approved our plan for the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The first variants on the metrobus line have already been discussed. It is not a fast process because a separate lane should be built. At the same time, it is a cheaper variant than tram. We plan to complete the metrobus line in 2025 or 2026.

I understand that one final stop will be by Ikea store, where will the other stop be?

By the Cental Train Terminal. The route will go along Caka Street.

If a metrobus needs a separate lane, how will you fit it on Caka Street where there was no space for two cycling lanes?

A metrobus is in fact the same as a trolleybus or electric bus. In our case it will be a trolleybus. It is good if it has a separate lane, then it does not have to be stuck in traffic jams, but it can also use other lanes.

I assume that in 2026 we might come to a solution that we will have another public transport lane on Caka Street. Thus, it might have two public transport lanes and two lanes for other transport.

Where will you place cycling lane?

We decided in the committee to move bicycles to Barona Street.

Thus, cycling lanes on Caka Street were a temporary measure, knowing already that they will not stay there?

I would say that Caka Street was an experiment. After repairs, when people already got used to using only two lanes on the street instead of four, it was a good time to try it out. It turned out however, that this delays public transport, and this is not a good solution.

I think that until 2026, many things will change in the Riga center in terms of traffic. For example, we should develop the so-called low emissions zone. The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the air quality improvement plan, providing for low emissions zones. This could cover the whole center of the city. It would mean certain restrictions for cars, reduce the transport flow in the Riga center.

Does low emission zone in the Riga center mean that cars with diesel engines will not be allowed to enter the center or that there will be a fee for entrance?

There is a study underway. One of the tasks is to develop an action plan, including the necessary measures. It is too early to tell how exactly this will work, but it is clear that we will not do without any restrictions.

When is it planned to introduce the low emissions zone?

The bill provides that it should be done in 2023-2027.

The local government discussed with the Transport Ministry mobility centers outside Riga where people could park their cars and then use trains or other public transport to go to Riga. What about these plans?

There are many and different mobility points. Starting from the Central Train Terminal, which is regional and national point, and ending with a usual train station where you can change transport vehicles. The mobility problem in Riga is that there is a good train passenger network and there is a good Rigas Satiksme public transport network, but these networks live their own separate lives. When you step out of the train, let’s say, at Ciekurkalns station in Riga, you don’t even understand where you are, whether you are in Riga. These two networks should be linked together. It should be done with the help of these mobility points, when you don’t have to go far from the train to get into a tram, trolleybus or bus.

Another category is park&ride spots. I am sure that they should not be in Riga. They should be in Garkalne, Baltezers or Babite. Then you get on the train and go to the city center. You should not go to Alfa or Spice shopping malls to get into Riga. As these park&ride spots should be outside Riga, the city cannot solve this, but only imply solutions. In the next planning period, the Transport Ministry has earmarked EUR 60-70 million for such park&ride spots. If this project succeeds, we will have a complete transport chain. A person living outside Riga will be able to come by car to the Riga border, hop on the train, hop on another public transport in the city. It is important to introduce a unified ticket. A special work group in the Transport Ministry is working on it.

Will the European train we are building in Riga fit into this system?

Definitely, yes. The Central Train Terminal is a stop for the speed train where one can change to other trains or Riga public transport. These trains will also have stops in Tornakalns, Janavarti in Riga.

How are talks going on about next year’s budget? What will the main investment projects in transport sector be?

There are negotiations ongoing. For the third year, Riga has a zero budget or a negative budget. Last year revenue from personal income tax was redistributed, giving 5 percent away to the government, which meant minus EUR 30 million for Riga.

This is thanks to your party member, financial minister.

The whole Saeima, all coalition politicians supported it. This money went mostly to the health care system that definitely is in need of money. Residents of Riga also need health care system. This year, increase of the non-taxable minimum income is an important thing. It is good, but it is on the account of local governments.

Riga’s main problem is that there is infrastructure, but there is no financing for maintenance. We have a street network, but there is no money for cleaning snow, mowing loans, collecting waste, repairing potholes. This will be the number one priority - to maintain what we already have in a good condition.

What can you say about political situation at the Riga City Council? Is the coalition stable?

The coalition is stable on all important votes - the budget, appointment of officials. Thus, I have no doubts about stability of the coalition right now. I have to admit though that there is a difference of opinions on some matters. I do not plan to run for the parliament elections, but some colleagues plan to do it. The elections are coming, and it also creates the mood. Overall, however, there are no doubts about stability.

You have mentioned the mistakes of the previous city council. Has Vilnis made any mistakes this year?

Apparently. I am quite critical about myself and I am able to admit my mistakes. One of the mistakes was Duntes Street where the traffic lanes were not planned correctly. I gave Transport Department director Vitalijs Rienbahs a chance to prove himself in the position. It required several months during which he proved that he was not able to head the department. Now I would have given him less time or no time at all.