City Hall wants pedestrian day a month downtown Bucharest, plans facilities for bikers

Bucharest could become a greener capital for at least a day a month, should the proposed measures to turn downtown Bucharest into a pedestrian area for a day and to introduce parking areas for bikes in public buses be enforced.

The Bucharest City Hall plans to build car parks at the outskirts of Bucharest to free some of the traffic that usually goes into the city and reduce pollution, aiming to connect car parks with public bus lines serving the city, said Ioana Şuteu, representative of the Environment Division with the Bucharest City Hall. Planned measures target the transportation in the city, green areas and recycling. Public buses will have parking areas for bikes while a public system for renting bikes is also in plan, said the City Hall representative. The City Hall is riding the wave of the recent boom in bike transport in Bucharest, as more and more people seem to be interested in alternative, less polluting ways of transportation. Expanding the downtown area and turning some of it into a pedestrian area for one day a month are also on the City Hall's list. Green areas in Bucharest should be expanded, with a green belt around Bucharest mentioned again among plants, as well as green shelter belt in large crossroads and near main boulevards. The Bucharest City Hall also plans to promote green roofing and environmental education. editor@romania-insider.com