During the winter season, the Riga City Council will centrally ensure the maintenance of all sidewalks, carriageways, as well as bridges and overpasses adjacent to the municipal streets. 174 technical units have been prepared for this purpose, while 115 employees will be involved in winter maintenance work.
Both the internal resources of the Riga City Council Outdoor and Mobility Department - 21 technical units and the equipment provided by outsourced service providers - will be used to ensure street winter maintenance works, with a total of 174 technical units planned to be involved in street maintenance works.
The municipality plans to allocate 7.3 for the centralized maintenance of sidewalks this winter season million euros, while 23 million euros for the maintenance of carriageways, bridges and overpasses.
It should be noted that the amount and cost of winter maintenance work directly depends on the weather conditions and the intensity of snowfall. Therefore, the actual costs during the season can both increase and decrease depending on the amount of work required.
Riga Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs emphasizes: “Last winter showed us that there are things that need to be improved, and we have learned from the mistakes made so that winter maintenance works will proceed more smoothly and qualitatively this year. We cannot predict what the upcoming winter will be like, how much snow will fall and how often we will have to face icing, but on our part we will do everything possible to ensure that the city is prepared for various weather conditions and that Riga residents can safely move both on foot and by car. At the same time, we are aware that in such a large city as Riga, it will not always be possible to clear all streets and sidewalks at once, so the involvement of residents is also very important. As the cold and slippery weather approaches, I would like to remind you of the unified municipal phone 1201, where every resident of Riga can report uncleared sidewalks, carriageways, stops or other dangerous places. These reports help us spot problems more quickly and pass information on to the responsible services so that the necessary work can be carried out as quickly as possible. '
SIA “Rīgas meži” takes care of the capital's parks and squares, managing almost 453 hectares of Riga's parks and gardens, as well as all Mežaparks paths. During the winter season, the company ensures they are maintained and walkways are strewn, mainly using splinters but in more challenging areas such as on ladders, also a mixture of sand and salt to prevent icing.
Maintenance of carriageways, bridges and overpasses during the winter season
Winter season maintenance works in Riga begin with anti-slip treatment of bridges and overpasses, as the changing weather conditions affect these structures particularly rapidly and icing can form faster on their surfaces. Other roadway maintenance works are planned and carried out according to the actual weather conditions and the situation on the streets.
A total of 132 technical units will be involved in the winter maintenance works of the Riga main Street network, including 39 large technical units equipped with snow shovels and moistened salt or sand sprinklers. On the other hand, 15 technical units will be intended for cleaning bicycle paths, while the remaining 78 will be technical units of various sizes, including medium and smaller tractors, adapted to the width and specificity of specific streets. This division of technical units will allow to ensure high-quality and efficient cleaning of streets and bicycle paths.
Street maintenance is organized in order of priority - the main streets along which public transport runs are cleaned first, as well as bridges and overpasses. Cleaning of cycling infrastructure is also ensured. The works are then carried out on streets of lesser significance, or neighbourhoods.
A total of 1645 streets in Riga are planned to be maintained during the winter season, with a total length of 1136 kilometers. The streets are divided into three maintenance categories, and the execution of works is organized according to meteorological conditions and the actual situation on the carriageways.
Winter maintenance of street carriageways in Kurzeme district and Zemgale suburb will be carried out by the supplier association “Roadeks un Laus”, in Latgale suburb and central district - by an association of persons consisting of SIA “Eco Baltia vide” and SIA CBF “ KO”, while in Vidzeme suburb and Northern district - SIA “Vizii Urban”. Winter maintenance of bridges and overpasses will be ensured by SIA “Rīgas tilti”.
Maintenance of sidewalks in winter
Riga municipality will also centrally ensure mechanized winter maintenance of sidewalks adjacent to municipal streets this winter season. In the spring, as usual, a centralized collection of sand scattered on sidewalks during the winter season will be carried out.
According to the binding regulations of the municipality, sidewalks and pedestrian roads should be cleared of snow at least 50% wide, but not less than 1.5 meters wide. It is permissible to create snow ramparts on the edges of sidewalks if they do not interfere with pedestrian movement. It is prohibited to build snow ramparts closer than five meters from pedestrian crossings and intersections.
Winter maintenance of sidewalks will be ensured for a total length of 1056 kilometers, involving 42 technical units of various sizes in the works, adapted to the width, specifics and needs of the historical center.
Maintenance of sidewalks near courtyard roads, as before, will be the responsibility of adjacent territory managers and their janitors. Managers of adjacent areas can carry out additional gritting if necessary, if maintenance work is delayed or particularly dangerous weather conditions, such as thaw, occur. It is allowed to use a mixture of sand and salt for spreading sidewalks, in which the concentration of salt does not exceed 20%.
Support for citizens
Similarly, the Riga City Council will provide the administrators of the adjacent territories with anti-slip sprinkling material - sand. This year, it will be available from November 9th to February 25th every week at the following addresses of the Riga neighborhood population Center and the Outdoor and Mobility Department maintenance Department: 31 Daugavpils Street (Mondays and Thursdays from 9.30 to 16.30); Ieriķu iela 43A (Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9.00 to 16.00); At 6A Gobas Street (Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9.00 to 16.00); 16A victory Boulevard (9:30 a.m. to 16:30 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays).
It will also be possible to receive sand during the autumn leaf handover campaign organized by the Riga City Council - from November 14 to 22 at the following autumn leaf handover points.
For failure to care for adjacent areas, including not cleaning roofs from icicles, the local government may apply an administrative violation process and order the elimination of the violation. If necessary, enforcement can also be ensured - cleaning works will be carried out by the municipality, but their costs will be recovered from the person who has the duty to care for the relevant territory.
Maintenance of stops and car parks
Almost 1500 public transport stops in Riga are cleaned consecutively, mainly, it is handmade. Meanwhile, 6000 “Rīgas satiksme” car parks are cleaned both by hand (among the cars left behind) and by machinery, where access to the parking lot is free.
Answers to various questions about Riga street maintenance works during the winter season can be found on the municipality's website: https://www.riga.lv/lv/ziema
You can follow the latest sidewalk cleaning works online on the Riga City Council website in www.riga.lv, in the section “current about Winter in Riga”.
Residents are invited to report uncleared sidewalks, carriageways, bicycle paths, stops, pedestrian crossings and roofs by calling 1201, 1201@riga.lv an email or filling out an application on the website riga.lv.
The information was prepared by: Ieva Grīsle, Project Coordinator of the External Communication Department of the Riga Municipal Communication Department, e-mail: ieva.grisle@riga.lv
