Residents dissatisfied with the open-air bars in the old town: without the grandparents who have lived here for many years, the city will be dead.

Stiklių Street residents are dissatisfied

Stiklių Street is one of those places in Vilnius Old Town for which many changes are planned in the near future: part of this street is delivered to pedestrians and, at the same time, to new tables in outdoor cafes. But at least some locals and entrepreneurs are not impressed by the innovations.

Already presenting the plan for the circular movement in the old town and the sections of streets closed to cars, residents have tried to ask Mayor Remigijus Šimašius and Deputy Mayor Vytautas Mitalas why the reconstruction was carried out without discussing it with the local community. .

Then they did not receive a response, but a few days later they received an invitation from V.Mitalas to speak remotely. Aušra Lukošiūnienė, a resident of Stiklių Street, came forward to this meeting 15 minutes She stated that she and other residents of this street do not oppose outdoor cafes on her street:

“We are not a housewife, we like cafes, we are happy with the cafes on our street and nearby, which have tables outside:” Amatininkais “,” Stiklių Alude “,” Lokiu “,” Stiklių Kavine “,” Markus “. It seems to us that a 150m long street is enough for them.

But if the municipality and the cafes, which do not have tables on the street, and the stores, which apparently consider recycling as cafes, think that more is needed, we would like such decisions to be made democratically, in a timely manner, without risk of fire or health. “

According to residents, the municipality that announced the new plans did not consult with residents, trying to introduce a procedure that did not work elsewhere: Serious problems arose on Savičiaus Street, with the Platform operating near the station. Also, the timing was not right: the COVID-19 threat required distance, a second wave of illness could occur, and residents would have to find a way out on their own when their street became difficult to cross due to the set tables. .

They also saw security loopholes due to non-compliance with fire requirements, not to mention the fact that the Romanian embassy is located here.

If the municipality and the cafes, which do not have tables on the street, think that more is needed, we would like such decisions to be made democratically, at the right time, without putting out fires and threats to health.

Not cafes, but bars.

Asta Baškauskaitė, President of the Old Town Community Association and Pylimo Elder of the Old Town Eldership, supports Stiklių st. population.

According to her, the Vilnius municipality has divided two things into one and is trying to solve them with a single bridge: the traffic on this street in the old town and the development of tables outside. However, there were already traffic decisions three years ago, so now giving up part of the street to pedestrians just seems like a desire to allow more outdoor café tables to be built here.

It is true that A.Baškauskaitė is not inclined to call these places cafes; According to her, coffee is the place where coffee is poured, and the places that operate at night don’t really live to leave coffee checks at cash registers. These are bars, so there are also open-air bars.

The president of the Old Town Community Association recalled the year 2017, when, according to her, the municipality wanted to turn Savičiaus and Stiklių streets into an area for outdoor cafes, and Savičiaus st. residents only found out when traffic was closed and cafes began bringing tables to the street.

Residents agreed to meet with municipal leaders, businessmen, spoke and believed that such decisions could not be made without discussion and would not be made. However, as soon as they left, they learned that a press release on Savičiaus Street had even been distributed. deliver to pedestrians, which meant the transformation of this street into an area of ​​outdoor cafes.

“Then I thought: What am I doing here and with whom are we interacting here? – A.Baškauskaitė, who participated in that meeting, did not hide his disappointment. – We already knew that a similar situation had been planned for Stiklių Street, pretending that there were problems with traffic etc.

I myself have been living in the old town for a long time, I know there was traffic on Stiklių street when cars flew from the Presidency to the Town Hall. No one can argue that people drove there towards the Town Hall and more towards Užupis. But it was necessary to distinguish between those things, be it a traffic problem or the desire to install cafes and bars outside.

People could not breathe the air because everyone was sitting at home and waiting for the moment, everyone seemed to have more serious health problems, etc.

Then in 2017, as a community, we separated those two themes, called a meeting at the Salom Salja Nėris Gymnasium, invited residents, and posted announcements in public places for both grandmothers and young families to see. Many people gathered, there were representatives of municipalities, our community. And we concluded that the best solution for traffic would be to change the direction of traffic so that cars would not move from the university to the City Hall, but from the City Hall to the university. “

It was a problem for traffic, but the cafes did not want

This was done and the traffic problem was resolved, so there was no need for new outdoor cafes: residents could no longer be afraid of the new outdoor bars. Because, according to A.Baškauskaitė, there were enough difficulties with the existing ones.

Stiklių Street is narrow, the sound is good, so as the warm season approaches, residents will start talking about it again.

“People did not have time to breathe because everyone was sitting at home waiting for that moment, everyone seemed to have more serious health problems, etc. The priority was not to establish an outdoor bar area, but to take care of their health, at least to many people around the world.

But it turned out that the establishment of an outdoor bar area, more important than human health, had become a priority for city authorities. People were surprised and reacted. After all, there was no traffic problem on Stiklių Street, it had already been resolved, it is now possible to walk with a stroller, ride a bike and walk with a puppy. It was fun that the number of flying machines decreased there, ”said A.Baškauskaitė.

Stiklių st. Residents were, as they say, in a relatively quiet situation, except for the problems with the opening hours of bars and outdoor smoking, which was expected to be agreed.

“But now it has become a kind of nonsense and reveals all the letters from the municipality, what is their priority and how they see the residents of the old town,” said the president of the Old Town Community Association.

This is not a leisure area, there is no Vingis park. If the municipality were to take such treatment that the residential area was no longer residential, but had become something else, then it would have to buy the apartments from people at the market price.

Without population, without life

The arguments that the old town is not just a residential area are not convincing to Ms Asta. According to her, it is mainly a residential area: “This is not a leisure area, it is not the Vingis Park. If the municipality were to take such treatment that the residential area was no longer residential, but had become something else, then it would have to buy the apartments from people at the market price.

The second is that they should live with the idea that there will be big problems when there are no inhabitants in the old town. What we have so far in Vilnius’ old town, which is not appreciated and perceived by city officials, is a mix of people, living and coming.

We still have that core: people who have lived in the old town for many years. Those grandmothers, those people whose first and third generations live here. Maybe there was a grandmother’s apartment where she spent her childhood and is now raising her children. Those grandmothers go out to the park and they want to sit in that park, see what’s going on, stay with the puppy, play with the grandchildren. We want children to be able to play in those parks. “

If there are no permanent residents, those grandparents and their cubs, and only famous people or tourists arriving in the afternoons, A. Baškauskaitė is convinced that it will be a dead city. There will be no life and authenticity left in Vilnius Old Town, what visitors are looking for.

Why is everything based on trade? If I want to walk down that street with my puppy, I don’t need a glass of beer or have tables everywhere. If I go to the plaza, are there only tables, where do people go and sit on a bench, not seeing the trade?

The city must guarantee an infrastructure that is not only for commerce. It shouldn’t be earmarked for that, it’s not the taxpayers’ money that should go for it, ”emotionally said A.Baškauskaitė.

Why is everything based on trade? If I want to walk down that street with my puppy, I don’t need a glass of beer or have tables everywhere.

A.Baškauskaitė compared the invitation of the municipality to speak about the changes that have already taken place with the methods of the Soviet Union. The Soviets who allegedly occupied Lithuania deported a large part of the population to Siberia. Therefore, he would compare the current situation with whether the Soviets had offered the deportees a choice of train departure times.

“If we are already moving towards democratic thinking, it should not deprive people of the right to sleep, the environment. You must behave the way you should behave. And the way it behaves now is ugly, ugly,” he said A.Baškauskaitė.

Outdoor cafe areas on Stiklių Street will not be approved

Vilnius Deputy Mayor Vytautas Mitalas says the conversation with residents was successful. It was agreed not to issue permits for new outdoor cafes yet, to operate only those that have been operating before.

“The meeting, in my opinion, was constructive in clarifying some of the issues that are now on the agenda on how to proceed. The most important consensus is that the outdoor café areas that might appear on Stiklių Street could be discussed and coordinated with the Stiklių Street community: businesses and residents. This was a key theme for the opening hours of those cafes, the place where they occur. Other problems: the traffic change was discussed.

But the traffic changes made both on Stiklių Street and on other streets are made in such a way that the entrances used to enter their yards are not closed to residents, they are not closed and on Stiklių Street Changes in directions raise questions, but residents admit this is a follow-up issue after the outdoor cafes, ”V.Mitalas said after the meeting.

The vice mayor ensured that coordination with the community would take place by issuing permits for new outdoor cafes. Until then, the municipality will not approve outdoor cafe areas, and only those cafes that have previously coordinated their activities will be able to work outdoors.