The mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, announced in the middle of April that he intends to make the part of Pest's lower quay south of the Chain Bridge completely car-free. Taking into account that in recent years, Karácsony's activities as city manager have been given a prominent role by plans and measures aimed at narrowing the possibilities of car transport and increasing the burdens of the citizens of the capital who use cars, Századvég took a closer look at the mayor's transport policy.
The capital's left-hand drive has been narrowing the possibilities of car traffic for years!
As an introduction, it is important to recall that in 2019, shortly after taking office, Gergely Karácsony raised the idea of banning diesel cars in the capital, and then
IN 2020 - USING HIS EMERGENCY AUTHORITIES MADE POSSIBLE BY THE PANDEMIC - THE MAYOR DECIDED IN ONE PERSON TO ESTABLISH BICYCLE LANES AT SEVERAL POINTS IN BUDAPEST (BARTÓK BÉLA ÚT, ÜLLőI ÚT, NAGYKÖRÚT, ANDRÁSSY ÚT).
On the one hand, the bicycle paths in question led to significant traffic jams, and on the other hand, due to their design, the car lanes became life-threateningly narrow in several places. It is telling that, in view of the appearance of the coronavirus epidemic in Hungary, the government made public parking free in April 2020, but Gergely Karácsony made it clear earlier that, if it were up to him, parking in Budapest would remain paid.
In addition, in August 2020, the capital's left-wing leadership launched a "traffic calming model project", in the framework of which parking restrictions were introduced at 15 locations in Budapest and 250 new traffic signs were erected. It can therefore be concluded that Karácsony's latest announcement is a direct continuation of his single-focused traffic management policy that ignores the needs of car users.
Source: YouTube
Coming to the halfway point of the municipal cycle, it can be stated that Karácsony's performance as city manager, similar to the activities of the former Free Democrat mayor Gábor Demszky, is limited to ideological warfare with the right-wing government, to voicing political communication products without real content, and to taking symbolic steps that are not suitable for solving the capital's substantive problems and challenges. .
GERGELY KÁRÁCSONY'S "OPENNESS" TO POLITICAL MACHINERY IS INDICATED THAT, IN ORDER NOT TO DAMAGE THE ELECTION CHANCES OF THE LEFT, JUST FOLLOWING THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS, THE MAYOR ANNOUNCED THAT HE WISHED TO COMPLETELY REMOVE THE RAKPART SOUTH OF THE CHAIN BRIDGE.
as he "recognized that the campaign may not be the best time" to make the announcement in question.
This was not the first time that Karácsony treated campaign aspects as a priority above all else: in the summer of 2021, the mayor told the German Die Zeit that "ensuring the human rights of asylum seekers is our moral duty and part of our program, but we will not print it on our election posters ”, since “we cannot win an election with this”. It is also important to note that this approach has significant "traditions" on the left, among other things, former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány himself admitted that the ruling MSZP-SZDSZ coalition was able to "survive" the 2006 parliamentary elections with "hundreds of tricks".
THE QUESTION CAN BE LEGITIMATELY ASKED WHY THE MAYOR DOESN'T INCORPORATE THE OBSERVATIONS AND REAL DEMANDS OF THE CITY'S RESIDENTS, AS WELL AS THE OPINIONS OF THE PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN ALL TRANSPORT POLICY DECISIONS.
In relation to the 2024 mayoral election, it may be a warning sign for Karácsony that one of the most decisive reasons for the national downfall of the left in April was precisely the indifference to the expectations of the electorate. According to the announcement of the Magyar Autóklub "instead of ideas" , during which the possibility of diverting quayside traffic underground must also be examined.
Furthermore, the construction of the P+R parking lots and the development of suburban transport cannot be postponed either, the announcement reads. "We believe that Budapest can be made greener, friendlier and more functional at the same time without making it impossible for certain groups of road users, namely motorists," said the Hungarian Automobile Club.
(MTI)
Source: Origo.hu
Featured image: MTVA
