On Friday, in Riga, at the opening event of Tērbatas pedestrian street, visitors massively disregarded the distance rules set due to Covid-19, so the organizers review the planned program and, if necessary, are ready to completely cancel cultural and entertainment events.
Tērbatas summer street was planned as a pedestrian street with some small-scale cultural stops. She explained that, being aware of the need to resolve the situation, the planned program is being reviewed and changes are being made. If necessary, the organizers will be ready to cancel cultural events completely. “The organizers are considering the possibility of Tērbatas Street as an efficient pedestrian and bicycle street without cultural events,” Jentkus said.
Initially, a representative of the administration informed that, given the number of listeners yesterday, the organizers had canceled the performance of Matīss Čudars on Saturday evening, emphasizing that the safety of visitors is a priority. The municipality later announced that all planned cultural events on Tērbatas Street would be canceled on Saturday and the street would simply remain open to pedestrians and cyclists.
“We call on the residents to be responsible and take care of their safety – to observe a distance of two meters and not to go to the places where temporary people’s condensations form occasionally,” Jentkus said.
According to her, in order to promote safe distance during the performance of the group “Carnival Youth” on Friday, the Riga Municipal Police (RPP) supervised the concert attendees, “controlling and addressing those present about observing the distance”. Also, at the request of the organizers, the artists repeatedly reminded the scene of caution, inviting them to narrow down. As evidenced by video and photo fixations on social networks, distance was not achieved.
Jentkus stated that even before and during the opening of the pedestrian or “summer street”, the residents were regularly called upon to take care of their safety and to follow all the established epidemiological safety measures. According to the organizers, about 400 people watched the artists. According to the RPP, up to 500 people could be present in the quarter where the Carnival Youth group performed in accordance with epidemiological safety rules.
RPP public relations representative Toms Sadovskis told LETA that all free police resources in the center of Riga had been assigned to Tērbatas Street during the concert, and visitors had been warned that the mutual distance had to be observed. Police also asked musicians to be reminded of the need to distance themselves between songs.
Unfortunately, the interest in the event was too great, so many visitors ignored the reprimands of the police, said Sadovskis.
The municipal police have approached the event organizers with several recommendations on how to plan further events.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Health Ilze Hänķele (AP) plans to invite the Riga Interim Administration to a meeting on Monday, July 20, at 3.30 pm, “in order to explain the restrictions of epidemiological safety in person and prevent future risks”. In his turn, Mārtiņš Staķis, the candidate for the position of Riga Mayor of “Attīstība / Par” (AP), has stated that organizing concerts, if the distance cannot be ensured, is not allowed. “I believe that the Riga Interim Administration should review the plan of measures planned on the street. Events where distance cannot be ensured should be canceled,” the politician urged. In social networks, people have expressed the opinion that what happened is the responsibility of the HR itself, because the temporary administration of Riga is connected with this party, whose Minister Juris Pūce was the leading leader of the issue of dismissal of the Riga City Council in the ruling coalition.
The Minister of the Interior Sandis Ģirģens (KPV LV), in turn, announced that the State Police “will come to the aid of the RPP and will intensify patrols, as well as register the material and review the degree of administrative responsibility to the organizer”. “In the Covid-19 crisis, the responsibility for limiting it is once shared equally and it is possible only if all parties do it – decision-makers, regulators and the public. I am not in favor of a police approach, because I believe that cooperation is the most effective,” .
As reported, several opening events of the “summer street” took place on Tērbatas Street on Friday, LETA was informed by the Public Relations Department of the Riga City Council. In the evening, together with the residents of Tērbatas Street, the opening of the street was echoed by the “Carnival Youth” concert. During and after the concert, many people on social networks expressed outrage that the distance was not met at the concert.
In the form of an experiment, Riga Municipality is implementing the idea of a city summer street for the first time, dedicating Tērbatas Street to pedestrians, cyclists, traders and cultural events on weekends.
The status of a residential area has been determined for Tērbatas Street, said Rudīte Reveliņa, Head of the Traffic Organization and Project Management Department of the Riga City Council Traffic Department. The status of a residential area means that vehicles that will be allowed to travel on the street must do so at a speed not exceeding 20 kilometers per hour. Operational and goods delivery transport, as well as residents living on Tērbatas Street can move along the street. At the same time, the municipality invites deliveries of goods and other goods on the relevant day by 10 am.
Transport access to each street block is provided only from one side, Reveliņa emphasized, inviting to get acquainted with the traffic change scheme on the municipal website.
Also, vehicles are still allowed to cross street intersections. The representative of the Traffic Department emphasized that no one has lifted the traffic rules on the pedestrian street, therefore pedestrians are allowed to cross intersections only at the green traffic light signal.
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