Administrative Court stopped the project for traffic reorganisation in the center of Sofia

The Administrative Court in Sofia on May 16 ruled to stop the traffic reorganisation in the center of Sofia because it is not based on any administrative act or law. The ruling can be appealed within three days. Earlier, Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev admitted for the first time that insufficient communication with members of the public on the project was a mistake.

"Save Sofia" said that after they get acquainted with the court's reasoning, they will most likely appeal. Even before the decision on the European Transport Policy Centre's appeal became clear, the mayor of Sofia decided that the controversial project should again be widely discussed and admitted that they owed the public clarity and dialogue. Terziev commissioned a working group. It will involve all stakeholders and if there are reported problems, a solution will be sought to improve them.

Vassil Terziev, Mayor of Sofia: "The bike lanes will not be removed, on the contrary, where they exist they will be fixed, where they do not exist they will be added, for us this is important, that people can travel by bicycle."

The long arguments over the new traffic arrangements were the reason the meeting was delayed today. The Bulgarian Socialist Party demanded the resignation of deputy mayor for transport Ilian Pavlov.

Ivan Takov - BSP municipal councillor, chairman of the Transport Committee in Sofia Municipality: "The trolleybuses on Rakovski street are running about 90 seconds late. Yes, they run about 30 seconds faster on Patriarch Evtimiy Boulevard, but this is happening without the third light on Fridtjof Nansen Boulevard."

GERB also demanded deputy mayor Pavlov's resignation.

Proshko Proshkov - municipal councillor from GERB-UDF: "If no one can agree to return to the old arrangement of traffic, we are not against it, we do not want to remove the bike lanes, but there were enough good opinions where these bike lanes should be, where they should be built to have a better balance."

The scandals about the new traffic and parking adjustments in the centre of Sofia continue in SCS

The deputy mayor for transport responded that they had no record of trolley delays and cyclists have doubled since the new cycle lanes were put in. They also showed the project coordination protocol.

Ilian Pavlov - Deputy Mayor for Transport: "All projects for traffic organisation and regulation are coordinated with the Traffic Directorate of the Sofia Municiplaity and the Traffic Police – Sofia Directorate of the Interior and now I will show you the protocol with the members, we can go to the point of "Patriarch Evtimyi" and below it says ‘coordinated’."

However, the "Traffic Police" again said that the project was not agreed with them in writing and that a representative of the institution did not participate in the final discussion of the project. The traffic police are still waiting for the municipality to send them a request for an opinion.

"If, of course, the Sofi Municipality wishes this to happen.

- And, if it doesn't want to?

- I cannot give a specific answer. It means that we cannot give our assessment whether the constructed section complies with the Bulgarian legislation and whether it is safe for traffic," explained Commissioner Nikolay Krusharski, director of the Traffic Police Department at the Sofia Directorate of the Ministry of Interior.

"Traffic Police" has not agreed on the new project for traffic changes in the centre of Sofia.

Images by BTA

Mayor Terziev invited all the expert groups to join in order to have a constructive discussion.