It has been 3 years since the election of Nikushor Dan as the general mayor of Bucharest. What has changed? Many would say that much is not visible, however, for the first time since 2007, since the term of mayor Adrian Videanu, the capital city hall has started to solve the serious problems of the city, there are measures that do not bring votes and the lost image capital is the main one, but over time will improve the quality of life and reduce the gap between us and civilized Europe. Of course, these 3 years are also accompanied by many failures, ignored pre-election promises and disappointments.

9 good things achieved during Nikusor Dan’s time at PMB

1. Mayor Nikusor Dan’s greatest achievement is that he started unprecedented work on the modernization of the heating system, the mainstay of investment in Bucharest, because the pipes cannot be shown in the election campaign, and no one actually votes for the mayor who replaced them. Unfortunately, however, the pipe replacement leaves Bucharest residents without hot water for weeks and disrupts traffic, and the Mayor General’s communication and sympathy on the matter has been almost zero, which has angered people, even those who sympathized with Nikusor Dan, and I understand that Bucharest should invest in district heating to have a less polluted city and sustainable development.

It is clear that Nikushor Dan did not change 100 km of the main heating network, as he said during the campaign, probably a hundred km of the main network will be changed in total in the first 3 years of his mandate, but by the end of 2024, with the help of a project financed by European funds, if the works continue, as this year, the heating system will be more or less stabilized. There will still be breakdowns, but half of Bucharest will not be left without hot water and heat if the CET (located in the Ministry of Energy) fails.

2. Another good but extremely unpopular thing that Mayor Nikušor Dan and Vice Mayor Stelian Buduveanu started doing charging parking lots in the city center and freeing sidewalks from cars. The goal is that by the end of the mandate, it will no longer be possible to park for free on the central ring. This measure has been used for decades by civilized European capitals, even developed cities in Romania, to optimize traffic and reduce pollution. Until now, there are unfair situations when there is paid parking on one street, and on another everyone parks on the sidewalk for free, parking spaces are marked on streets with potholes, but the situation will change when all streets. in the center will be marked, and those who block sidewalks, pedestrian crossings and destroy green areas will be fined.

Efori Street before and after

3. Another good thing that Mayor Nikushor Dan is doing is that he has taken all the steps, the last tenders are being completed now, modernization of 50 km of tram line in deep degradation, which no mayor has touched since Adrian Videanu’s mandate. The works will begin next year, it is clear that they will end after the elections, it is clear that people will swear because traffic and public transport will be disrupted, but this is what needs to be done so that people willingly leave their cars on the street. home.

4: The White Orb also receives to unlock tenders for the purchase of new vehicles, 100 trams from Astra Arad, 100 electric buses and 100 trolleybusese, who will arrive at the end of his term of office. Of course, many would like the auctions to be won by other manufacturers (compared to Astra Arad for trams and BMC for electric buses) that have more experience in the European market, but like Otokares, bought by Gabriela Firea, they are not top-of-the-line, but they clearly an improvement over the junk that used to walk the streets.

5. Nikusor Dan managed to block the urban chaos, mainly in the city center, where the capital’s mayor’s office has the authority, partly also in the sectors by blocking the sectoral PUZs (less than 2 and 4, where permits have been issued for them). But the decision not to approve the humiliating PUZs is temporary and it also angered those who wanted to build properly, no matter how many of them there are in Bucharest, as well as the real estate sharks who are exerting enormous pressure to change the urban planning law and give PUZs to district mayors. which would be tragic.

The big problem from the urban planning side is that Nikušor Dan only this year unblocked the implementation of the new PUG, a document that, if done right, in favor of the city and not some real estate sharks, could stop the urban chaos in Bucharest in the next 10 years . They are currently working on a new MOPSM, but no matter how hard Nikushor Dan tries, it is hard to believe that it will be approved before the end of the mandate.

6. Another achievement is that succeeded in financially improving the city and liquidating a significant part of communal enterprises that were pressing on the institution’s budget. From two billion in current debt left by the Firea administration and blocked accounts to a stable economic situation.

7. The mayor stopped the cleaning that destroyed trees in Bucharest – one tree only had a trunk and two branches left – but it stopped this process by not giving any more clearing/deforestation notices even where it was necessary – ie for dry trees, nuisance branches, rotten trees. The parks, left in a neglected state during the first 2 years of power, look quite decent (Cișmigi was cleaned, the big bridge, the lake tank was restored, water was introduced into a small place, the playgrounds are now being changed, in Tineretului the alleys and the bridge are being reconstructed). There are large debts in the cities of Karol and Gerestrau, where significant investments are needed.

8. Bucharest finally has road markings. In 2021, most of Bucharest’s boulevards and streets lacked or erased road markings necessary for traffic safety and pedestrian safety.

9. Work on the passage of Doamna Ghika has been completed. The city hall completed the work on the overpass from Doamna Ghica three years late. The construction site was opened in September 2019, with an initial completion date of May 2020. Investments amount to 110,034,377.95 lei without VAT, part of the funds were provided by the City Hall of Sector 2.

10 problems and setbacks during Nikusor Dan’s tenure at PMB

1. Expansion of the continuation of Gencha Street. There, people waited 20 years for the extension of this street from the capital city hall. Work began in September 2019 under the direction of Gabriela Firea and was due to be completed in September 2021. Currently, the City Hall has reached 90% of the first section 4, between Brasov Street and Raul Doamnei Street. work began on the section between the terminal tram 41 and Brasov street, with the transfer of communications, but that’s it, and on section III, after the intersection with Râul Doamnei, although the demolition was done last year, with a scandal, and people were evacuated from the houses, nothing happened . The municipality is only recently applying to appoint a new developer for sections III and IV, so by the end of the mandate only sections I and II will be ready, if at all.

2. Street advertising. Although before he became mayor, Nikusor Dan was a harsh critic of the chaos of street advertising, he has done nothing since he became mayor, even the number of illegally posted ads has increased.

3. Bicycle and separate lanes. Despite being vital to streamlining traffic and improving public transport, during Nikusor Dan’s mandate only separate lanes and bike lanes were built on Floreaska/Dorobanta, which is insignificant for the city’s needs.

4. Stagnation of the consolidation program. At the moment, only two consolidation sites are open, Blănari Street, 14 and Bărăției Street, 50. 8 construction sites opened by the old administration are not even now completed due to disputes with the consolidation company, which did not want to transfer them to the Municipal Fortification Department earthquake-hazardous buildings. However, in 3 years, the administration assessed 80 buildings with seismic risk, received 60 million euros from the PNRR for the consolidation of 17 buildings and 80 million lei from the Ministry of Development for the consolidation of 23 buildings. The works will start this year and next year.

5. The view of the city, basically what a person sees every day, leaving home, has not improved. Of course, no one expected that Nikushor Dan would install relief curbs, flowerpots with flowers, exotic trees, singing fountains, etc., but it is not clear why for the arrangement of a green space in front of TNB, for the repair of the street. tiles on Unirii Square, cobblestones in the Historical Center, maintenance of the building. Mageru, Latin passage, things that can be done quickly with few resources.

6. The metro train is still a phantom, from the suspended highway cycle promised by Sorin Oprescu. Only in the summer, the municipality barely tendered the feasibility study of the first lines, but from here to the start of the first trains, it is an extremely long way, and the municipality has made great progress in this matter.

7. During the tenure of Nikusor Dan, during the last 3 years, 11 hectares retroceded in the IOR park were systematically destroyed – from the mysterious drying of vegetation to frequent fires. Mayor General – Although he is known as the savior of green spaces when he was the organizer of a civic organization, he has not done anything concrete to save green spaces so far. He only said he would check if the repossession was done legally, but 9 months have passed since then and he still hasn’t made a decision whether to challenge the title in court, buy the land or let it go.

8. It was very difficult for the general mayor to assemble a team. Although one of the themes of the election campaign was Fireus’ octopus, part of the octopus still remains in the city hall even after 3 years in office. Added to this is a lack of tact, quarrels with mayors from the alliance.

9. Herastrau terraces. The mayor has repeatedly admitted that a large part of them were built illegally, but he did nothing to demolish them, moreover, he did not implement even the few provisions that the old administration provided. See how many terraces there are in the park.

10. The first 3 years of this mandate were occupied by emergency situations (the fever is cracked, the accounts are blocked, there are no markings on the streets, the grass is not cut), but I did not see there is no big investment project.

11. Intelligent traffic light system, rigid. Only at the end of last year, the capital’s mayor’s office completed the tender for the implementation of the public works necessary for the modernization of the system. The total estimated investment cost for the modernization of the smart traffic light system is 50 million euros, and at the end Bucharest will have 500 smart traffic lights, compared to the 220 it currently has. For the first phase, which involves the modernization and reconfiguration of 85 intersections, grant funding of €11.5 million has been obtained through the PNRR. The intersections belong to a series of 5 radials that provide a connection between important exits from the city with the central territory: Kolentina Highway, Alexandrii Highway, Iuliu Maniu Boulevard, Bucharest – Tirgovishte Highway, Bercheni Highway. The second stage aims to increase the capacity of the existing transport center. It is very good that this is being done, but the work is very slow and the first phase of the work has not even started.