Kaladze’s Weekly Priorities: New Transport Links, “Take Care of the City” Campaign
Each week, the municipal government of Tbilisi holds a meeting at City Hall. Preceding this week’s meetings, Mayor Kakha Kaladze remarked on several topics of interest.
The next step in the new above-ground metro plans, which will serve more than 150,000 passengers, was officially begun. Kaladze said that the tender for the development of the plan will be announced by the end of the month. The plan, first announced last week, will extend the Tbilisi metro by adding an above-ground station at Samgori and a track, with seven stations, all the way to Lilo Mall. Kaladze expects the new public transportation option to “reduce vehicle movement, traffic congestion, and air pollution…a serious problem in the city.” The line is projected to be built in the next three-four years.
Kaladze also noted another massive public transportation project: a train linking Tbilisi and Rustavi. He ordered a technical-economic survey on the potential of the project. The Tbilisi-Rustavi link is scheduled for development after the Samgori-Lilo above-ground metro.
City Hall has prepared a draft law which aims to tighten sanctions on air pollution. "We are talking with a lot of people about improving the existing ecological situation and what steps should be taken to correct it. One of the main problems is air pollution…One of the reasons for this is the absence of specific regulations for transportation, placing, processing and developing large-scale construction projects, construction sites, and cargo transport within Tbilisi,” explained Kaladze. The new legislation is designed to prevent the dispertion of solid particles into the air. The legislative package proposes tighter regulations, and stricter fines, for several construction site practices that are harmful to the environment.
“Of course, construction is not the only problem. Another serious problem is [vehicle] emissions and public transport,” and, by the end of 2019, Kaladze promised, there will be a completely new plan for public transportation. He also mentioned the extensive planting of trees, flowers, and shrubbery being conducted throughout the city and the construction and rehabilitation of city parks.
Kaladze also mentioned a new social campaign that City Hall will soon launch, called “Take Care of the City.” The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness, raise citizens’ feelings of social responsibility, and develop more of a culture of stewardship in the city.
Justifying the campaign, Kaladze said, “There are frequent cases of deliberate damage to renovated squares and streets. There are many such instances of vandalism, and we have video footage which we will definitely show the population.”
“The campaign will allow all citizens to engage in the process of taking care of the city and of the existing infrastructure, green areas, and maintaining cleanliness. I am sure that many people will be involved in this project and it will have many supporters, because what we are working on is our own city,” said Kaladze.
Finally, Kaladze recognized the risky process underway at the Tbilisi Zoo, where on Wednesday, South African veterinary surgeons worked to remove part of an elephant’s tusk. The elephant, named Grand, was brought to Tbilisi Zoo from Yerevan Zoo in 2014. The complicated operation was completed successfully. A film crew from the BBC was there to capture the process, there to make a documentary film about the Tbilisi Zoo. Kaladze wished good luck to the elephant, the surgeons, and the BBC filmmakers alike.
By Samantha Guthrie
Image source: Tbilisi City Hall