Reader’s opinion|The Chamber of Commerce of the Helsinki region and important real estate owners in the core city oppose the conversion of Kaivokatu into a public transport street.
Helsinki the city wants to prevent Kaivokatu drive-through traffic (HS 10.9.). At the same time, it removes another important cross-traffic connection of the core center.
The Chamber of Commerce of the Helsinki region and important real estate owners in the core city oppose the conversion of Kaivokatu into a public transport street. They expressed their opposition in their statement on the transport system draft for the central city (YLJS). The city has assessed the effects of the draft incompletely, therefore the conclusions are also misleading.
The vitality effects and traffic have not been compared to the current situation at all, but Kaivokatu, which has already been converted to 1+1 lanes, has been taken as the starting point, which has been compared to cutting off Kaivokatu completely from car traffic.
Despite requests from the business community, the City of Helsinki has not re-evaluated the effects of closing Kaivokatu and compared them to the current situation. It is clear that the change will increase traffic jams, and passenger car, service and delivery, taxi, bus and rescue traffic will also suffer from them. The effects are reflected in the street network south of the Esplanade and more broadly in the city center.
In the observational photos, Kaivokatu, which has been transformed into a public transport street, looks green and attractive. It is good to remember that despite the ban on car traffic, Kaivokatu would still remain a busy traffic thoroughfare. The number of tram rails and cycle paths would double, which means significantly more trams and cyclists than at present that hinder walking and endanger the safety of pedestrians.
Additional construction possibilities that improve the comfort and attractiveness of Kaivokatu are limited, so the benefits and disadvantages of the decision must be carefully evaluated in political decision-making.
Markku Lahtinen
Director, Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce
The reader’s opinions are speeches written by HS readers, selected and edited by the HS editorial board. You can leave an opinion piece or familiarize yourself with the principles of writing at the address www.hs.fi/kiryotamielipidekeisuis/.
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