Construction of a new exit from the M-8 is being discussed in Korolev
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The authorities of the Moscow region of Korolev are planning to build a backup exit from the M-8 Kholmogory highway, which is constantly congested with traffic jams. The city administration proposes to build a road through the Losiny Ostrov National Park, noting that “taking into account the general development plan of the urban district,” this is the only option to solve the problem of congestion. The Ministry of Transport of the Moscow Region supports the idea. The Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, with which the project must be coordinated, says that they have not yet received information about the new congress. The Greens claim the environmental impact assessment project was poorly executed; they are sure that officials are not considering alternative routes because they want to develop new territories near Korolev.
The Korolev administration published for public discussion preliminary materials for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project “Reconstruction of the highway from the M-8 Kholmogory highway along Vodoprovodnaya Alley to Kaliningradskaya Street in the urban districts of Mytishchi and Korolev.” The new road should become a backup to Pionerskaya Street, which is currently the only exit from the M-8 highway to Korolev. In terms of plan, its route passes almost entirely through the territory of the Losiny Ostrov National Park, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation.
“During peak hours, vehicle traffic is three times higher, congestion occurs, which, in turn, causes acute social tension among residents, especially in recent years,” says the explanatory note to the EIA. “Taking into account the provisions of the general development plan of the urban district, the creation of an alternative Entry is possible only through the lands of the Losiny Ostrov National Park. At the same time, there are already technical roads in the park, which, if the decision on their use is positive, can be used after obtaining approval and developing the appropriate project.” The EIA project was carried out by the Federal State Budgetary Institution “VNII Ecology”, which is engaged in “scientific and methodological support for the activities of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources”.
The Ministry of Transport of the Moscow Region told Kommersant that the reason for the traffic jams is the increase in the population of Korolev by 54 thousand people over the past ten years. “The city is planned to be developed – there are a large number of industrial enterprises, and there are also plans to build residential buildings,” added the regional Ministry of Transport. “The construction of a new entrance to Korolev will allow traffic to bypass the bottleneck on Pionerskaya.” They explained that “the planned section runs along the service road of the national park and will require permission and approval of the route from the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and their development of an environmental impact assessment project.” But the timing of the project has not yet been determined, officials admit.
“From a transport point of view, another entrance to Korolev is necessary,” confirms Andrei Mukhortikov, a member of the public council at the Moscow Region Ministry of Transport. “Pionerskaya Street cannot cope, it has already been expanded.” According to the expert, any plans that concern Losiny Ostrov “are like a red rag for certain categories of citizens,” although there is already a clearing at the site of the planned road, so there will be little harm to the plantings. “The boundaries of protected areas are not something sacred. And if this is needed in the interests of people, as it is now, then with minimal cutting down the road necessary to get rid of traffic jams is worth building,” Mr. Mukhortikov is confident.
However, Korolev resident Igor Grishin claims that the idea of laying a road through the national park in the city was “received coldly”: “For us, Losiny Ostrov is the only place where you can relax and spend time away from the noise of the city. For example, the area where construction is proposed is now filled with skiers.” Mr. Grishin is confident that the construction will simply move the traffic jam to a new place, and the issue needs to be resolved by combating overpopulation and high-rise buildings in the city.
Honored Ecologist of the Russian Federation Vsevolod Stepanitsky believes that VNII Ecology prepared the EIA materials poorly. According to him, the authors “in some places simply rewrote pieces from other materials.” “The list of legal acts used included the law “On the Protection of Lake Baikal,” and among the animals living on the territory of Losiny Ostrov was a chipmunk,” he gives an example. The ecologist was especially surprised by the statement that “the factor of isolating animals (by creating an insurmountable barrier in the form of a road) in the reserved and specially protected area of the Losiny Ostrov National Park, subject to strict adherence to the regime of people visiting it, can also have a positive impact on the growth of their populations ” Mr. Stepanitsky is confident that “the inconsistency of this statement is clear even to non-specialists.” Mikhail Kreindlin, a member of the expert council on the protected area, adds that although the project talks about the reconstruction of an existing road, “in reality this will be a full-fledged new construction, which is not permitted under the law on protected areas.”
A member of the expert council at Rosleskhoz, Anton Khlynov, is sure: when developing plans for building roads through protected areas, officials do not take into account that people need protected areas just like roads, so they do not consider alternative options. “Options that are more environmentally friendly, as a rule, are more expensive, but it’s worth investing in it,” the expert is sure. “Now they don’t want to discuss, for example, the option of laying this road along the edge of the national park, without fragmenting the territories, and insist on the most obvious, but an option that is destructive for nature.” Mr. Khlynov notes: “Such insistence in choosing this particular route suggests that the road is needed to gain vehicular access to undeveloped areas for the further appearance of multi-storey blocks there.”
The Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation told Kommersant that at the moment they have not received any applications about this project and are not familiar with the EIA materials. “To locate the facility, it is necessary to agree with the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources on the types of economic and other activities within the boundaries of the Losiny Ostrov National Park in accordance with Federal Law No. 33-FZ and documentation on the planning of the facility’s territory,” the department added. And they reminded that all project documentation for the facility will have to undergo a second environmental assessment at the federal level.
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