Plans to close Krišjāņa Barona Street to car traffic postponed until summer

At present, the operators of underground utilities have begun major repair work on Aleksandra Čaka Street, which will continue over the coming months; therefore, closing the adjacent street to car traffic would cause greater congestion.

Consequently, traffic restrictions are planned to be introduced in summer, when most of Riga’s schoolchildren will be on summer holiday and traffic in the city will be less intense.

At the same time, the municipality has not yet made a decision on exactly how the traffic restrictions will be introduced.

We remind you that Riga City Council’s Transport Department has developed three possible options for restricting traffic on Krišjāņa Barona Street.

The first option would restrict motor traffic at Matīsa Street and Stabu Street by installing the so-called “brick” sign.

According to Emīls Jakrins, acting director of the Transport Department, the main benefit would be that Krišjāņa Barona Street would no longer be convenient for drivers who use it as an alternative to Brīvības Street or Aleksandra Čaka Street. The disadvantage of such changes is that the restrictions would apply only at specific locations, meaning drivers could continue to use other sections as before.

The second option is said to be “the most radical solution”, as it would restrict manoeuvres with regulatory signs at almost all intersections of Krišjāņa Barona Street.

In other words, once the road signs had been installed, drivers would be able to continue straight ahead at only some of the intersections of Krišjāņa Barona Street, while at the others they would have to turn. This solution would ensure access to all properties while making the street inconvenient to use as a through route. The disadvantage of this scenario would be that motorists would drive more kilometres in the city centre, while traffic flows on the adjacent streets would also increase.

The third option would involve installing No. 302 “No vehicles” signs on every block.

However, this scenario has the most drawbacks, because the “No vehicles” sign does not apply to people who live or work in the relevant section. It would also be difficult to monitor and verify, and would prevent, for example, customers of paid car parks from travelling along Krišjāņa Barona Street.

At present, none of the options has been approved, and specialists from the department and the responsible institutions are continuing to assess all the options, along with their advantages and disadvantages.