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Residents of the Mežaparks neighbourhood have brought a legal action against the Riga City Council’s Urban Development Department, seeking to annul the felling of 87 trees to make way for the installation of cycling infrastructure, Latvian Television reported on September 6.
The trees in question are located in the Mežaparks neighbourhood and are at risk along the planned Brasa–Sarkandaugava–Mīlgrāvis cycle route.
Last year, a public consultation took place regarding the felling of trees specifically in connection with the construction of a cycle path in this area, and, after tallying the votes, it was concluded that the majority of residents were in favour of preserving the trees.
“The main complaint is that the local authority may not have taken the arguments put forward during the public consultation properly into account and authorised the felling of the trees. The Nature Conservation Agency also pointed out that a solution should be sought that would allow the trees to be preserved, as they fit in with the cycle path infrastructure,” states the claimant, Ilona Barkovska.
Initially, 96 trees were due to be felled, but the revised plan reduced this to 87 – nine fewer trees – which Riga City Council describes as a positive achievement.
“On a day-to-day basis, it is very clear that the railway embankment is actively used; there are well-trodden paths there, people go for walks and cycle, but the area is not properly developed, and as part of this project, we plan to create a cycle infrastructure linking the neighbourhoods of Brasa, Sarkandaugava and, further on, Mīlgrāvis – which will form a cycle route alongside the railway line that will have virtually no intersections with motor traffic,” says Oto Ozols, Deputy Head of the Riga City Council’s Cycling Infrastructure Department.
“There was a public consultation on tree felling; we received feedback and then, in collaboration with the local community association, surveyed the route on site, walked it with the designer and also made adjustments to preserve as many trees as possible,” he explains. “We created narrowings in the carriageway on one street, installed tree root guards and routed the cycle path round the trees – the solutions that were put forward during the public consultation have already been improved.”
The Brasa–Sarkandaugava–Mīlgrāvis cycle route is a 5-kilometre-long cycle path that will connect several railway stations where mobility hubs have already been built. Separate footpaths and cycle paths have already been designated at the mobility points, but the rest of the infrastructure is still at the design stage.
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