On the 10th of November, local elections are to be held in Slovakia, and foreigners who are older than 18 and have permanent residency in Slovakia can vote too. In the past two weeks we have brought you information on how to cast your ballot and what the plans of Bratislava's mayoral candidates are. You can find it on our webpage www.rsi.sk in the Politics section. Today we will tell you what the candidates have in store when it comes to transport and parking.
Bratislava's budget this year has €369.4 million in revenues and €354.4 million in terms of expenditure so basically it has a surplus. Almost half of the budget is spent on public infrastructure and the public transport company.
The incumbent mayor Ivo Nesrovnal, a lawyer by profession, promises to improve the quality of public transport in the city by continuing to modernise it via new buses, trams and modern stations and repairing roads. He plans to continue building the tram line linking the Petržalka borough with the rest of the city. The incumbent wants to see more commuter trains coming into Bratislava at peak hours so people living outside the city will not use so many cars for commuting to work. Commuters who use their cars should be able to leave them in parking lots at Bratislava's outskirts and be motivated to use the public transport to reach their workplace thus avoiding traffic jams. Nesrovnal adds that, under his leadership, 269km of roads and 12 underground pedestrian crossing points have been reconstructed and if re-elected he will continue in this respect.
Building parking lots for commuters at the outskirts can be found in the programme of other candidates too. Matúš Vallo, an architect by profession, wants them too, adding that the parking policy in the city should give priority to residents. Public transport should be supported by creating bus lanes and a traffic system that gives priorities to buses, trams and trolley buses at crossroads. He also wants to revitalize some smaller train stations in various parts of Bratislava that could be used by commuters and to finish the tram line linking Petržalka borough with the rest of the city and build a tram line through Nivy all the way Podunajské Biskupice. Easier access for people with disabilities to public transport is also on his agenda.
Ján Mrva, who is currently the mayor of the Bratislava borough of Vajnory and a surveyor and cartographer by profession, wants to build such a fluid traffic system that it will not take more than half an hour to travel from any location to another within the city. He plans commuting transit points in Petržalka, Bory, Vrakuňa, Podunajské Biskupice, Rača and Vajnory where regional trains and the city's public transport lines will meet. The reconstruction of now unused Filiálka railway station is also on his agenda. Trams should have priority at crossroads, all crossing points for pedestrians and public transport stops should be wheelchair accessible. Mrva also supports parking lots outside the city centre for non-residents coming to work while those within the city should be reserved for residents.
Vaclav Mika, the former general manager of Slovak public radio and television and an economist by training, says trams should be the main focus of public transport in Bratislava, thus promising the quick completion and extension of the tram lines to the end of Petržalka to Janíkov dvor, Zlaté piesky to Vajnory, from Dúbravka to the center of Bory with an extension to Volkswagen and further to Devínska Nová Ves. Those with permanent residency in Bratislava should be entitled to cheaper tickets on public transport in the city. He also wants special bus lanes and intelligent crossroads where traffic would be regulated in such a way that trams have priority. Mika joins the rest of the candidates when it comes building parking lots at the outskirts for commuters coming by car. He also wants to reconstruct the now unused Filiálka railway station near Trnavske Myto which will be used for commuter trains.
Iveta Plšeková, Bratislava's current deputy mayor and a GP by profession, also wants to reconstruct the now unused Filiálka railway station near Trnavske Myto, finish the tram line to Petržalka and build new ones to Vajnory and Devínská Nová Ves. Parking lots for commuters outside the city centre are on her agenda. She also wants to improve the parking policy in the Nové Mesto borough
Viktor Bereš, an entrepreneur,wants to invest €1 billion in building a subway network in Bratislava that should allow people to travel from Rača or Dúbravka to the city centre in 4 minutes. It should be a private-partnership project. He also wants to modernize the public transport companies' buses and improve the parking policy.
Miroslav Vetrík, a teacher, wants free public transport for children, mothers of small infants and older people who are Bratislava's residents. The rest of city's permanent residents should have a 50 percent discount. He wants to complete the tram line to Petržalka, build parking lots for commuters outside the centre and parking houses for residents inside the city.
Roman Ruhig, an entrepreneur, focuses on building safe street-crossing points for pedestrians and wants to introduce a special toll system only for cars used by non-residents. The income will be used to finance the transport infrastructure in the city.
Jaroslav Brada, a lawyer, wants to build a subway in Bratislava too but does not give more details on how it could be financed. He also modernize the current transport infrastructure and persuade more drivers to use public transport. Bratislava's permanent residents should benefit from discounts for public transport tickets.
We could not find what candidate Andrej Trnovec's plans are on the topic discussed today.
