Municipal policy Majority of Helsinki’s decision-makers to side with Sörnäistentunnel – HS report reveals who are still hesitant

Sörnäistentunneli will probably go through today at Wednesday’s city council meeting. More delegates are voting in favor of building the tunnel than against the tunnel.

Based on the call round made by HS, the two largest groups on the board are very cohesive internally in the tunnel decision. All but one of the Coalition’s delegates say they will vote for the tunnel.

The Greens, on the other hand, oppose the Sörnäistentunnel as one front. All the Greens reached say they will vote against the construction of the tunnel.

All the delegates reached by the Left Alliance are also against the tunnel. Throughout this fall, the Greens and the Left Alliance have been united in public opposition to the tunnel.

The Sörnäist tunnel is a 1.6-kilometer-long car tunnel that is to be built underground to connect the Sörnäinen coastal road and the Hermann coastal road. The city government gave the project its seal last week.

In the Demar Camp the lines instead crack in the tunnel decision. At last week ‘s city council meeting, the SDP’ s votes were evenly distributed when Nasima Razmyar voted in favor of the tunnel and Elisa Gebhard against it. Razmyar says he is still voting in favor of the tunnel.

During the HS round, most of the démarches either did not want to state their position or were not reached at all. In addition to Razmyar Cloud Thursday has been actively advocating for the construction of the tunnel in recent weeks and days.

Hilkka Ahde said he supported the tunnel while Sinikka Vepsä and Mahad Ahmed said they were still uncertain about their positions. In 2018, Vepsä voted against the town plan that made the Sörnäistentunnel possible.

Timo Harakka instead, he announced on his blog on Tuesday night that he would unexpectedly vote against the project.

Also the majority of the fifth largest group in the council, ie basic Finns, said they were either insecure or unwilling to state their position.

However, it is to be expected that the party will vote in favor of the tunnel. Party team leader Mari Rantanen says he is on the side of the tunnel, and also in the vote of the city government Jussi Halla-ahon with voice. The basic Finns also supported the construction of the tunnel in 2018, when the council decided on the town plan.

Jussi Halla-aho told HS that the group will discuss the matter on Wednesday just before the council meeting. The aim is to find a common position for the group, but opposing views will also be accepted.

Of the smaller parties, the delegates of the Movement Now say they support the tunnel, but will still make a formal group decision before the meeting. Of the RKP’s five delegates, three say they are on the tunnel side, one is insecure and one was not caught on HS’s turn. The Christian Democrat commissioner was not reached.

City center officials say they are unsure. The Helsinki District of the Center issued a statement on Tuesday stating that the party is critical of the tunnel project and calls for more comprehensive studies as a basis for decision-making. It therefore seems likely that the city center delegates will vote against the tunnel, even though they have not yet stated their position in the HS survey.

HS reached 85 delegates 75.

Tunnel In the HS survey, 31 delegates openly sided. 22 of them are from the Coalition Party, three from the RKP, three from Liike Nyt, two from the SDP and one from basic Finns.

With a total of 85 delegates, 43 delegates are needed behind the majority.

It seems that this majority is formed precisely behind those who vote for the tunnel. Demarists with 13 delegates and Basic Finns with 9 delegates will rise to the position of solvers.

Although the positions of the demarches are still largely hidden at this stage, the party has spoken out in public for the construction of the tunnel. Of the delegates, only Gebhard and now also Harakka have publicly stated their opposition to the project. It is therefore likely that a majority of the group will sit on the side of the tunnel at the council meeting.

While the majority of basic Finns behind the tunnel can also be considered very likely, it seems that the votes will be gathered by the majority at the town hall on Wednesday night.

Sörnäist tunnelist has become the biggest controversy in Helsinki ‘s municipal policy during the autumn. The conversation revolves around three themes. The tunnel is seen to affect, above all, traffic congestion, life on land in Kalasatama and the climate.

The Coalition Party and the SDP have defended the tunnel on the grounds, among other things, that it will streamline traffic and enable the construction of new public transport lines. The construction of HS’s call round was also justified, for example, by the comfort of the Kalasatama area.

“Crossing the street will be easier as the amount of ground traffic decreases. A quieter space with green areas is likely to increase cycling, walking and enjoyment, ”comments the Coalition Party. Elina Valtonen.

Demareiden Hilkka Ahde in turn appealed to the opinion of the city’s traffic planners. Officials believe the construction of the tunnel is a prerequisite for the construction of the planned Jokeri 0 light rail. The Jokeri 0 line would run from Herttoniemi via Pasila to western Helsinki.

“Who do I trust if I’m not an expert? Nor do I believe that motoring will increase significantly as a result. Helsinki’s public transport is so great that it is worth using public transport because of the price of petrol, ”said Ahde.

Basic Finns Mari Rantanen for its part, it based its decision on the transport system as a whole.

“Here we have to look at the whole. We start from the fact that it is possible to move around the city by all means of transport, ”Rantanen comments.

Dispute and uncertainty about the tunnel issue, however, has been raised by the fact that the city has not conducted any studies in which Joker 0 would be built without a tunnel. Thus, there is currently insufficient information to support decision-making, many believe.

“I am voting in favor of the restoration, as the proposal has not looked at options to improve traffic without a tunnel that takes up a lot of urban space,” the Greens said. Pekka Sauri commented on HS.

The Greens and the Left Alliance are also strongly opposed to the tunnel, citing climate action. Helsinki has outlined its emissions reduction targets in its strategy, and according to the parties, the construction of a tunnel for passenger cars is in conflict with this target.

“Helsinki is committed to being carbon neutral by 2030. This requires the climate to be taken into account in all activities. It is no longer this day to make massive investments in a project to increase transport emissions, ”the Greens said Emma Kari comments.

Left Mia Haglundin according to the tunnel will also only shift congestion to other parts of the city.

“Increased motoring would also cause problems for traffic in central Helsinki,” said Haglund.

The Helsinki City Council will meet to decide on the tunnel project on Wednesday at 4 pm. The meeting can be followed on the Helsinki Channel. In addition, HS will broadcast the meeting live.