It all started when after working in the countryside, E.Mildažytė tried to return to her home in Užupis. It turns out this is by no means an easy task. The TV host noticed that city administrators decided to dig up almost all the main streets in the capital at the same time, and not just once, but in different places.
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“I fully understand that streets and city utilities need to be maintained and repaired. But could there be some kind of schedule? Instead of streets being closed at the same time with equipment standing in them,” she wondered in a post on Facebook.
The woman openly worries about what awaits the capital’s traffic very soon – with the start of the school year. E.Mildažytė considers: when students unfamiliar with the city traffic arrive, and parents try to bring children right to the school doors, chaos will become uncontrollable. “Or maybe they won’t drive anymore, because now it seems almost impossible…” she pondered.
In her post, E.Mildažytė raised the question of why such intensive street repairs are happening right now. She wonders if it is related to Lithuania’s upcoming presidency of the Council of the European Union or the upcoming elections.
“We live in Vilnius, not the Euro-bureaucrats,” said the TV host, also drawing attention to rumors that the funding for repairs is closely linked to politicians’ desire to show off.
“The city belongs to the townspeople, not the city council members. And the residents live here permanently, not just before elections,” E.Mildažytė stated firmly.
As if traffic disruptions due to repairs were not enough, the woman pointed out another recurring problem in spring and autumn – mass events such as runs and bike marathons.
E.Mildažytė has a specific proposal for the city authorities: why not let the residents of Lazdynai, Pilaitė, or Paneriai enjoy these impressive events?
“And they are Vilnius residents too! These districts also need well-maintained roads, beautiful greenery, and city events. And the logistics and organizational matters would probably become much cheaper…” she wrote. According to the woman, witty slogans created by advertising specialists have long ceased to impress and do not compensate for the system’s shortcomings in the capital.
She concluded her statement with a stern warning to politicians. She reminded that people live in Vilnius permanently and are evenly distributed across all neighborhoods, from Pašilaičiai to Naujoji Vilnia.
She aptly compared the attempt to fix the city only before important foreign guests’ visits to showy actions from the past.
“One should not think that the city should be fixed like a show only before the ‘gentlemen from Europe’s tours.’ We have already seen this movie. When that Gorbachov came…” the woman summarized her post.
Due to this situation, Žmonės.lt contacted the Vilnius city municipality. Once we receive a comment, we will update the text.
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