Local residents protest about lack of access roads to new shopping mall in Split.
Residents of Mejaši neighbourhood in Split organized a protest today, blocking all traffic at the pedestrian crossing in Vukovar Street, at the spot where an access road to the Mall of Split shopping centre will be built. Walking in heavy rain, around two hundred residents wanted to show what will happen in that part of the city once the shopping centre opens, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on October 19, 2015.
After just a few minutes, a huge traffic jam was created in both directions, so the peaceful protest proved to be an excellent way to simulate what will happen in that part of Split if another access road to the shopping centre is not built on the western side, which would connect Zbor Narodne Garde and Josip Jović streets. That is the only demand of the residents of Mejaši, who fear that traffic jams in their neighbourhood could become permanent.
“This is just a warning. We will not stop here, since we will not allow that, because of someone’s negligence, lives of helpless children become threatened. They will not be able to reach the school, and we will not be able to drive our cars”, said one of the protesters Zrinka Olujić, who was joined by Draško and Ankica Radić, who were adamant that the city of Split must not allow the opening of the shopping centre until the traffic and utility infrastructure is not completely ready.
“We will immediately convene a new meeting of citizens and decide on further steps. All of us are aware what will happen here, and the city authorities know that as well. But, I do not want to politicize this issue, since the guilt is borne by all the local authorities in the past decade. Split mayor Ivo Baldasar told us to be patient, that the western access road will be completed as quickly as possible, but why should we believe him? We have seen that all our temporary solutions remain for decades and turn into permanent ones. We do not want that to happen this time as well”, concluded the Mejaši neighbourhood council president Vice Mihanović.
