Citizens of Laško have had enough waiting, so they have established a civil initiative to expedite the construction of a safe and accessible cycling path between Laško and Celje, or to continue the section from Rifengozd to Laško. The initiative was born in response to long-standing delays and obstacles in the project, which has not progressed due to the lack of response from the Directorate of the Republic of Slovenia for Infrastructure (DRSI) in the past year. The mayor of Laško, Marko Šantej, has also supported the civil initiative by signing it. Finally, in the Municipality of Laško, a meeting date with the DRSI regarding the issue they have been waiting for the whole year has been set.
The Municipality of Laško and the civil initiative are striving for a faster realization of the project, as the cycling path means increased safety, reduced traffic accidents, and better opportunities for recreation and mobility. The municipality emphasizes the importance of the project for the wider local community and the environment. As Mayor Marko Šantej emphasized, the construction of this cycling connection was already included in the previous cohesion period for co-financing, but since not all project documentation and positive opinions have been obtained, the project was dropped from the previous cohesion. „In the municipality, we constantly urge the authorities and seek solutions to complete the project,“ said the mayor. The main reason the cycling connection has not been fully built yet is that the project documentation has not been completed. He recalled that the DRSI does not have the money to develop the project, so the Municipality of Laško has provided funds in the amount of 70 thousand euros in the budget with a rebalance to finance the preparation of the project solution.
Contentious 150 meters
Four kilometers of the cycling connection between Celje and Laško (through Rifengozd, Brstnik, and Jagoče) still need to be built, with a 150-meter section of the route still not placed in space. For this part, the nature conservation institute has not yet issued a positive opinion to the infrastructure directorate, which is the investor of the project, due to encroachment on the Natura 2000 area. Therefore, the municipality sought compromise solutions, even conducting a field visit with the DRSI, the nature conservation institute, and the designer. According to the mayor, this part of the route was then conceptually harmonized, but the final project design was not completed because the DRSI ran out of money for it. The design of this stage would cost several tens of thousands of euros, the mayor explained.
He also recalled that the Municipality of Laško has been striving for a meeting with representatives of the DRSI regarding the continuation of the construction of the cycling connection throughout this year, sending six invitations to the directorate for a meeting, but there was no response – until last week when Laško finally received a meeting date. The meeting is scheduled for October 23, and Mayor Marko Šantej hopes that they will be able to find common solutions because the municipality’s intention is not to exacerbate the situation. He believes that they can come up with a project solution even this year.
The entire article will be published in the printed edition of Novi tednik on October 17, 2024. It will also include the response of the Directorate of the Republic of Slovenia for Infrastructure regarding the cycling connection Rifengozd-Laško.
By Bojana Avguštinčič
Photo by Nik Jarh