"City should not be a racetrack" – Warsaw's outrage at the deficiency of government action to improve safety

For pedestrians – narrowie, crowded pavements, underground tunnels and footbridges. For drivers – wide multi-lane carriageways, on which they can run without a sweatLinnia.

On 13 August there was a tragic accident in Mokotów: A 45-year-old driver first hit a female at a pedestrian crossing, then hit a bus halt where people were standing. 2 people were killed as a consequence of the incidental and 5 were injured.

A week after the tragedy in the area, there was a protest. People blocked the four-lane road, dissatisfied that it was besides wide and the drivers were speeding. Protesters besides pointed out the deficiency of lighting at the intersection.

"Police let for excessive speed" 1 of the banners preached. 1 of the protesters, Cuba, recalled the tragedy 5 years ago in the Bielany erstwhile the driver did not brake and killed the full family. Darius besides came to the protest, which as a pedestrian does not feel safe in Warsaw.

"City should not be a racetrack. For example, the long, simple and wide Marszałkowska Street contributes to dangerous behaviour of drivers. The death on Voronica should be the last death resulting from officials' negligence," he said.

Protesters Kubańczyk besides chose the most dangerous point in the capital – the intersection of Krucza Street with the 3 Cross Square. "Two times I was forced to run from a car that wouldn't stop. It was beautiful scary. The atmosphere among drivers increases their aggression. I feel it besides erstwhile I get behind the wheel," he said.

Is the accident in Mokotów a “red line” for the Warsaw authorities? According to Jan Mencwel, the activist of the “City is ours” movement and a associate of the Capital Council, we are dealing with “to sweep the substance under the carpet.”

"The driver is guilty, but this pedestrian crossing was checked 7 years ago and considered dangerous. According to Mencwel, the Municipal Road Administration, which is simply a branch of the president's capital office, has inappropriate priorities and boasts, for example, about regular street milling, spending "heavy millions of zlotys". ‘PR for good surface condition. This is of course good, but the most crucial thing is security," added the activist.

ZDM spokesperson Jakub Dybalski referred to activists' allegations of excessive road milling. "Should roads fall apart? We guarantee that the materials from which roads are built are of the highest quality. I don't argue with the absurd, too. I would like to do everything at once, but we are doing it at the rate we can," he said.

Dybalski besides confirmed that on Woronicz Street, where velocity limits are limited to 50 km/h, all another driver crosses this threshold. He besides noted that velocity control is beyond the competence of local authorities.

"Photos were taken from us at the applause of all parties, society and parts of the media, based on populist arguments. The consequence was an increase in road accident statistics" he recalled.

The danger from speeding drivers is not the only nuisance for pedestrians in the capital. Many complain about the inaccessible environment: alternatively of crossing the ground, people gotta usage underground tunnels or footbridges.

Paweł Skwarevski, on the initiative of halt Cork, believes that this is the best solution.

“On the 1 hand, we have anti-car activists who want to narrow down roads and talk about irresponsible drivers, and on the another hand, the same people support the liquidation of subways and footbridges. Their liquidation is simply a mistake, they work perfectly," said Skwarevski, and the activist said that it was hard to remember the cases in which the car hit individual on a pedestrian bridge or in a subway.

At the same time, it does not consider the difficulty of access to tunnels and footbridges for disabled people as an argument. "It's a shot in the ft due to the fact that that's how the authorities say they can't usage a 171-year-old invention – a passenger lift," he added.

‘Stop Corkm’ is besides opposed to narrowing the roadway, even if it is not about the elimination of the lane. According to Skwarevski, wider belts are safer due to the fact that the driver has the chance to execute an evasive maneuver erstwhile an unexpected situation occurs.

For example, erstwhile a pedestrian walks out onto the road and does not pay attention to what is happening around him or erstwhile a cyclist shows responsibility. Otherwise, Jan Mencwel's activist sees it, explaining that the narrowing of the roadway is automatically seen as "taking the lane", although not always so. Talking about narrowing the roadway refers to additional elements that supply the same roadway and bandwidth but prevent the improvement of advanced speed.

Another anti-example cited by activists is Grochowska Street, where in any places there are six or 7 lanes and long sections meet without pedestrian crossing.

“Remember that we have inherited the capital from erstwhile generations. Warsaw was built with the widest possible roads and capacity. Now we fight it and slow change it. The street network should distribute traffic across districts, but traffic in the centre should be based mainly on public transport," explains Jakub Dybalski.

In his opinion, there is no request to narrow the streets everywhere. Each place should be considered separately to fit the environment.

"You ask whether the streets are besides wide, but on the another hand in fresh years people complain that it is impossible to leave Mokotów, due to the fact that a tram to Wilanów is built, and the alternate – Puławska Street is besides narrow," he said.

The ZDM spokesperson besides said that the city's president was halfway through the implementation of the intersection modernisation program, which was considered dangerous.

On the President's office's website, we read that respective 100 light signals and slowing thresholds are installed in Warsaw all year, roofs and roundabouts are built to reduce the velocity of drivers. president Rafał Trzaskowski promised that the changes to Voronica would be introduced by the beginning of September and will shortly present a temporary solution.