Easter preparations: Bucharest to be decorated with lights, major boulevard to become pedestrian area

The center of Bucharest will be decorated with Easter lights this year, deputy mayor Aurelian Badulescu told local News.ro. This would be a first for the Romanian capital, which so far was decorated with lights only for Christmas. However, the City Hall is currently waiting for proposals from lightning company Luxten Lighting, both in terms of costs and on what streets to be lit up. Moreover, Calea Victoriei, one of the busiest boulevards in downtown Bucharest, will become a pedestrian area in the weekends around Easter, mayor Gabriela Firea said earlier this week. The area will be cleaned up in the coming period, and shows will be organized there around Easter, from Friday evening to Sunday evening. Firea also said that some Bucharest residents requested a pedestrian area in the capital, and she considered that the best option is Calea Victoriei, but not in the state it is today, dirty and with many abandoned commercial premises, reports local News.ro. “If you go now on Calea Victoriei, Magheru Boulevard or the Old Town, the city looks like it was bombed, deserted. And it’s not the case. However, the reality on the ground is terrible. We were told that many spaces are not leased anymore because the prices are too high. But those who have such spaces in the downtown area also have civic responsibilities. If they fail to rent them and continue to keep the prices up, they could at least arrange them,” Gabriela Firea said. Referring to Bucharest’s Old Town, the mayor said that several sanitation measures have been taken, including at the request of terrace owners in the area. More garbage bins will be installed there, and more police teams will patrol the area. She insisted on the fact that the capital’s center looks “deplorable,” as there are many buildings with dirty facades, shops with windows that haven’t been cleaned, and many posters on the building’s walls. Thus, the local authorities have begun a cleaning action that targets Calea Victoriei, Magheru Boulevard, and the Old Town. Free Wi-Fi Internet in Bucharest public transport, mayor says Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com