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When, for example, a market, a food truck, an open-air restaurant or the like is to be installed on the streets and squares of the city, the operator behind it usually pays a fee to the traffic office.
This is generally called a public space lease fee.
In Gothenburg, work has been done on the Västlänken infrastructure project for some years.
It sometimes happens that the Swedish Transport Administration, which builds the train tunnel, resides on land that is outside the established railway plan, that is, the fenced section that is largely outside the Västlänken green plank or under land.
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In those cases, the City of Gothenburg has made sure to bill the Swedish Transport Administration for the use of public space.
This spring, the regional director of the Swedish Transport Administration, Jörgen Einarsson, wrote a letter to the municipality requesting a waiver of the fee in cases involving the West Sweden package, which includes West Link. In the way the traffic office bills the Swedish Transport Administration, this would mean large costs for Västlänken and large amounts over time.
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Can pay multi-million dollar sums
The Swedish Transport Administration estimates that there will be at least SEK 50 million in tariffs until 2026, when Västlänken is completed.
This is also just over SEK 50 million which is not in Västlänken’s budget, ie an additional cost outside the project that is charged to the Swedish Transport Administration.
– The municipality has the right to charge a fee for the temporary lease of public space. It is a mission that they have. However, we have had a dialogue with the traffic office about whether the recalls for rail projects really fit the idea behind them. In a way, these West Sweden package projects are also city-owned projects, says Jörgen Einarsson.
He continues:
– The purpose of this fee is rather to collect compensation from merchants or other people who make commercial spaces in these patios. This is how it usually works and does not usually extend for such long periods of time.
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The municipality’s documentation indicates that the Swedish Transport Administration considers the fare to be disproportionately high. Jörgen Einarsson acknowledges that description.
– We prefer to think that it is unreasonable because the Västlänken Project, among other things, changes areas or finances temporary roads as a replacement for the current areas we use and that the city has no costs for it, he says.
Treat everyone the same
The issue has already been handled by politicians in the traffic committee, who rejected the request from the Swedish Transport Administration. Now the issue will be at the city council next week and then at the city council.
City Board Chairman Axel Josefson (M) at the construction of the Western Link on the Rosenlund Canal. Photo: Anders Ylander
Axel Josefson (M), president of the municipal board, expects a rejection in both instances.
– There will be a refusal for them to receive discounts for the land fee and there I have understood that there is a broad political agreement, he says.
Does the Swedish Transport Administration consider it unreasonable to charge a fee when the West Sweden package and West Link are also Gothenburg City projects?
– We run the Swedish Transport Administration like all the other actors who build in the city. We have regulations on how our land is used and how much it costs to use it. I don’t see any reason why we should exclude the Swedish Transport Administration in this matter, but we treat everyone equally.
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