Car Club: Budapest cannot afford not to be able to cross the Chain Bridge by car
Will Budapest be able to afford not to cross the Danube by car for 3 km in its heart? – this is the question asked by the Hungarian Automobile Club regarding the fact that cars cannot drive onto the Chain Bridge, which was opened yesterday. They put it this way: as a result of the reduction of road capacity, traffic on bypass roads will increase and environmental pollution will also increase – it was said in the program of the M1 Hírádó.
Autoklub: Can Budapest afford not to cross the Danube by car for almost 3 km?
Cordons and racks line your Chain Bridge. Although it was handed over after a year and a half of closure, the old traffic order was not restored. Signs indicate that pedestrians and motorists may not use it.
Currently, only BKK flights, taxis, bicycles and motorbikes can drive onto the bridge. It remains closed to pedestrians and motorists. And this will certainly remain so until the summer of 2023, when according to the mayor’s plans, the final traffic order of the bridge will be decided.
While Gergely Karácsony previously supported the renovation of the Lánchíd and called it urgent, in May 2020 he is already talking about the need to postpone the repair, because there are more important things, and he would prefer to give money for them. However, the government announced in August 2018 that it supports the joint renovation of the Chain Bridge and the Castle Tunnel.
The works finally started with a delay of one and a half years and due to continuous tendering, they cost 5 billion. However, the mayor denied this at the partial handover.
“The renovation of the Lánchíd will be carried out for a lower amount than the estimated value of the public procurement, the investment is not over yet, but so far we are completely within the budget and within the deadline” said Mayor Gergely Karácsony.
“The capital does not fulfill the agreement with the government” Zsolt Láng told Világgazdaság. The government commissioner emphasized that the condition of the six-billion government subsidy is that the total or partial restriction of motor vehicle traffic does not exceed 18 months. But Gergely Karácsony does not fulfill this with the current handover.
The mayor stated that he will not decide on this alone. Previously, he spoke several times about the fact that motorists could even be permanently banned from the Chain Bridge.
Will Budapest be able to afford not to cross the 3 km long Danube by car in its heart? – this is the question asked by the Hungarian Automobile Club. They put it this way: as a result of the reduction of road capacity, the traffic on bypass roads will increase and the pollution of the environment will also increase.
Kázmér Kovács, the chairman of the legal committee of the Autoklub, said on the M1: banning motorists from the Chain Bridge was a wrong decision.
“We are very confident that the capital will realize that all such experiments are counterproductive, because the greening of the city contradicts the aspects of the green capital. According to a previous survey, motorists drive approximately 30,000 extra kilometers when all crossing options are closed. said Kázmér Kovács.
The mayor is waging a determined fight against motorists – writes Metropol. The portal notes that Gergely Karácsony failed again. As they say: he boarded the bus at the Lánchíd crossing only to have spectacular photos taken of him.
Metropol supported this with a video showing the mayor taking a bus across the Chain Bridge. And after the videos, photos and photos have been completed, he gets into a minibus waiting on the Buda side and from there he continues his journey not by public transport, but by his official vehicle.
Gergely Karácsony handed over Blaha Lujza Square just a few days ago. Like the Chain Bridge, the square was not completed according to the original plans. In the end, the investment cost more here too, by HUF 400 million. Among other things, the planned elevator was not built and it will be difficult for the disabled to use the underpass. However, the mayor proved his success as mayor with a selfie showing him and a public toilet.
Featured image: The Chain Bridge on the opening day of the renovated road, December 16, 2022 (Photo: MTI/Zoltán Balogh)