In Kyiv, there are plans to optimise the route of the backup heating network. Following protests by local residents, meetings with the community and a search for alternatives, the authorities have agreed to review their plans and save some of the trees.
This was reported by the Kyiv City State Administration.
The revised route means that 160 trees will not need to be felled to lay the utility lines.
The city authorities insist that only 10 trees are scheduled for felling, whilst some of the trees will be pruned.
According to the Kyiv City State Administration, the proposed changes do not contravene current legal, building, technical and technological standards. They also add that they have taken into account the construction timetable and the requirements for backup power sources.
"According to experts, there is no viable and realistic alternative to the current project, given the very tight deadlines for preparations for the heating season," the administration stated.
It is not specified exactly which experts the Kyiv City State Administration is referring to.
It should be recalled that the city authorities had previously rejected alternative routes for the heating networks proposed by experts from the Union of Architects of Ukraine. At the time, community activists claimed that the Kyiv City State Administration was using the excuse of a ‘lack of time’ as a pretext, as they were unwilling to seek a consensus.
According to the tender documentation for the project, the heating pipeline was originally to be laid along Teremikivska Street, rather than through the park. The community demanded technical justifications for the change in route.
The felling of trees in Teremky began back in August this year. According to the plan, 662 trees were to be felled, including some that were over a hundred years old. The local community protested against the felling, but the police forcibly removed people from the felling area.
