"Rethinking Lviv Streets"

The project "Rethinking Lviv Streets" was held at the Center for Urban Studies. The presentation dealt with current shortcomings in infrastructure and urban planning, while offering effective methods of addressing these problems.

Campaign activists stressed a number of troubling issues in Lviv: traffic congestion, vehicular encroachment – parking and traffic – in designated pedestrian zones, the shocking state of disrepair of public transportation, undeveloped bicycle infrastructure, unmaintained public spaces, deteriorating playgrounds, and a host of other problems encountered on a daily basis.

Drawing on the profitable experience of cities in Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and others, campaign organizers looked into suitable methods and mechanisms of addressing the challenges of urbanization now facing Lviv. Those who attended the presentation were also confronted by the difficult experience of cities in North America, especially that of Detroit, the once industrial giant which is being transformed into a ghost-town, with more than half its population having already abandoned the city. Campaign organizers caution Lviv city authorities against inviting a similar fate and have begun to implement their approaches here. Their preliminary findings will be reported at a future meeting.

Demyan Daniliuk of Lypneva.com describes one of the campaign’s goals: "We won’t be moving those who’ve been driving for years already – especially people in high-model cars – over to bicycles any time soon. This would be incredibly difficult. And especially here, in our country, where fines for road violations don’t have any effect and the highway patrol is about law enforcement in name only. Still, there are a lot of people who don’t own cars yet. Our focus is to encourage those people to use bicycle transport."

Lypneva.com’s extended the invitation to the discussion to all concerned for Lviv’s future, and who are interested in ways of developing our hometown.

Meeting Agenda:

• presentation: "Rethinking the City Streets"
• coffee break
• short film series on infrastructure improvement