Mayor of the Burgas village of Marinka, Ivan Agafonov, has alerted all possible institutions, insisting on special attention to road safety in the area. He has written a letter to the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, the Road Infrastructure Agency, the Burgas Municipality, and the Burgas Directorate of the Ministry of Interior.
Agafonov reminded of the unpleasant incident from the past weekend, when a student was hit by a jeep on the main road of the village. The mayor pointed out that he had repeatedly raised the alarm about the problem and insisted that urgent measures be taken to prevent fatal accidents in the future. In his letter, he drew attention to the fact that a first-class international road of the National Road Network, the I-9 road, passes through the village and coincides with the European road E87, which makes it extremely busy.
„During the weekends and holidays, as well as during the annual commemoration of the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising in the Petrova Niva area, traffic through the village is particularly heavy. The same road is also used as an alternative route in case of incidents that require the closure of the Burgas-Primorsko road and/or Meden Rudnik IK – Burgas center. When the above events coincide with the summer season, it so happens that besides the traffic for the Malko Tarnovo BCP, all the traffic for the southern Black Sea coast passes through the village of Marinka“.
Agafonov added that in recent years, the village has emerged as an attractive place for many people, both young and old, and it continues to grow, resulting in a significant number of children and teenagers. Numerous commercial establishments are opening, most of which are located along the main road.
„As a resident and mayor of the village of Marinka, I witness countless situations and conditions that can lead to road traffic accidents every day. It is important to remind that in the past, our village has seen two child fatalities on this very road. Additionally, we should not forget the fatal incident in the neighboring village of Krushevets in recent years, when a Border Police vehicle mounted the sidewalk and swept away a stroller with a one-year-old baby.“
The mayor of Marinka said that he was extremely affected, because since his inauguration he had sent a letter to the Regional Road Department-Burgas and to the Municipality of Burgas, requesting several specific measures to be taken, which, according to him, could have prevented the accident over the weekend.
„With a protocol from the same date, all the measures I requested were rejected.“
According to him, at that time it was only decided to refresh the markings on two of the five footpaths on the main road, and a year later only one of them was refreshed.
„During the meeting of the relevant commission, I was left with an extremely negative impression of the attitude of one of the employees from the Regional Road Management in Burgas, Eng. G. Atanasov, who, upon arriving in the village of Marinka, began to admonish me loudly about why I was convening this commission without reason and questioned whether we in Marinka think we are the center of the universe and who would pay for our whims. At the commission meeting, my requested measures to reduce speed in the village and to ensure pedestrian safety were dismissed due to a lack of statistics (or insufficient statistics) on traffic accidents in the area to justify these measures.
To this day, I would ask Eng. G. Atanasov whether the incident this Saturday with the child who was hit is sufficient, or does the statistics need to be bloodier. Is it right, in your opinion, to take action solely based on statistics, or is it more appropriate to have preventative measures in order to avoid fatal incidents?“
He said the mother of the injured child had sent a letter requesting urgent action. Many other parents are also demanding the same and have expressed their readiness for protest actions, including closure of the international road passing through the village if adequate measures are not taken to make it safe.
The mayor and the residents of the village insist on:
- To apply the provisions laid down in Section XIV, Article 61 and Article 62 of the Road Traffic Act and the entire territory of the village of Marinka with the sole exception of the main road (Mihail Gerdzhikov Street) to be introduced as a residential area, which is actually the territory of the village.
- Measures should be taken along the entire length of the main road (Mihail Gerdzhikov Street) to reduce and enforce the speed limit in the village, including the creation of at least three additional pedestrian crossings, a pedestrian traffic light with buttons, and the installation of five speed bumps in the form of raised (artificial) irregularities. These measures should be accompanied by illuminated road signs indicating the pedestrian crossings. Additionally, road widening should be implemented in the form of parking pockets around the commercial establishments located along the main road to reduce risks.
- Ten mirrors should be installed for the perpendicular streets on the main road – Mihail Gerdzhikov Street – the entire main street follows a curve and nearly the whole village is in a bend.
- A speed camera should be installed in the village.
- A roundabout should be constructed at the intersection of Mihail Gerdzhikov, Oborishte, and Vela Peeva Streets.
- And additional measures as deemed appropriate by the specialists.
Agafonov concluded that he remains ready for full cooperation and support in this task and thanked the institutions in advance on behalf of all citizens. The letter will be considered by the members of the Standing Committee on Transport and Traffic Safety of the City Council-Burgas next week.
