Architects criticize Bucharest City Hall plans to speed up traffic downtown via infrastructure projects

The planned changes downtown Bucharest, where the City Hall plans to create a subterranean mall and car park, together with some underground passes, were recently criticized by several Romanian architects, who argued that these developments will destroy the architecture, green area, walking areas and biking lanes in the city, just to help cars cross the city faster.

The recent debate, organized by the Order of Architects (OAR) in Romania and representatives of the civil society, highlighted the likely destruction of the larges boulevards in the North of Bucharest - Kiseleff, Prezan and Aviatorilor by building underground passes which should ease traffic (in picture). Architects however argue that using ring roads around Bucharest is a far better solution and that it would help preserve the central area of Bucharest. “Nobody wants to build underground passages on the Champs-Elysées to speed up traffic,” said architect Dan Marin. The famous Paris boulevard is a symbolic area in Paris and not a high speed lane, even if it is use for car traffic, the architect went on. Transit traffic should be redirected outside the city and not onto suspended streets downtown. “Architects and specialists don't have a problem with the underground car park and mall themselves, but rather with the construction of these passages, which are destructive and not even necessary,” said Mircea Ochinciuc, president of OAR Bucharest. But even underground constructions, which are anyway not yet approved by the Ministry of Development, have elements visible above the ground, and in some areas in the Charles de Gaulle Square, these elements will be four meters tall, he went on explaining. The Order of Architects' recent historic study tries to argue that the boulevards Aviatorilor, Kiseleff and Prezan are part of a Class A historic ensemble. In the past, they were declared a protected area, but the Culture Ministry refused to classify them as historic monuments and allowed the construction of the passages. Information emerged in the media last year about the underground car park and mall, but the project was not then finalized on paper. The Bucharest City Hall said it was planning to build the project under private – public partnership, with a budget of EUR 60 million from the city hall and EUR 40 million from a private investor. The name of private investor Nelu Iordache and his construction company Romstrade were then mentioned in connection to this contract. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: OAR)