The IPN news agency identified some issues that affect the Chișinău municipality and asked the candidates who run for mayor of the capital to present solutions.
Victor Chironda, the "Forța Nouă" Socio-Political Movement candidate said that the underground passages in Chișinău are major obstacles for people with reduced mobility.
According to the candidate, Chișinău must abandon these underground passages and double the number of surface pedestrian crossing points. Until then, underpasses must be kept clean and illuminated. If the number of surface pedestrian crossings is doubled, then the underground passages can be used only as commercial spaces, while being leased to private investors who would agree to repair and maintain these assets. The advantage of this approach is that the municipality would not spend public money for the renovation of unnecessary underpasses.
The candidate claimed that investing in repair works is a waste of money. "With the ten million lei spent on repairing the the National Hotel underpass, several tens of terrestrial pedestrian crossings could be set up and illuminated", said Victor Chironda.
Valeriu Munteanu, the Save Bessarabia Union candidate, is of the opinion that the underground passages in Chișinău are "perhaps the worst places in the city", due to "lack of vision, lack of household spirit, indifference and merger of the interests of the City leaders and of the economic administrators of these passages".
The candidate considers that the solution is the allocation of financial sources from the municipal budget for their repair and the regulation of the economic activities that take place within them, so that, after the repair, the economic activity will organically fit into the atmosphere of these passages. "There are 20 underpasses in the city. Both independent and Chișinău City Hall estimates show that the repair works for a single underpass requires about 5-7 million lei. I am sure that the local budget can bear this expense so that all underground passages are repaired over the course of three years”, said Valeriu Munteanu.
The mayoral hopeful is of the opinion that the underground passages should not be privatized. Otherwise, over time, the underpasses could change their designation.
Valerii Klimenco, the Political Party "Șor" candidate, claimed that the state of the passages is horrible. According to him, "over the course of the past years, local authorities did nothing in this regard, while the "Șor" Political Party, at the request of the residents of the "small sky town", repaired the passage in this micro-district and showed how it should be equipped and how it should be done from an aesthetic and comfort point of view”.
The candidate said that, based on this experience, the Political Party "Șor" urged Chișinău authorities to emulate the repair works in all other underground passages. "Moreover, we were ready to provide funding for these works from the party's budget, thus the city would have made significant savings. In response, Chișinău City Hall officials assured us that they will repair the passages by themselves”. Valeri Klimenco claimed that repair works did start in some locations, however, after a six month period, none of the repair works is finished.
Valeri Klimenco stated that the Șor Political Party will win the elections in Chișinău and, within two months, will repair all 20 underground passages, so that they will become "as beautiful and safe as the passage near the Airport".
