Court rejects Tallinn resident's appeal against late night roadworks
A Tallinn resident's court appeal to revoke the nighttime roadworks permit on a major street was rejected, meaning work on the central thoroughfare will continue overnight.
The appeal was filed by Ilmar Kahro, a resident of Kaupmehe Street, which intersects with Liivalaia tänav, where the roadworks are ongoing. Kahro said the City of Tallinn had not given residents adequate notice or opportunity for input before issuing the permit.
"To tell people in a situation like this that we are now going to carry out roadworks outside their windows at night for a long period of time – in my view, that's not on," Kahro told ERR about his motivation. "I would like to live in a city where decisions are made by listening to local residents, rather than in a city where decisions are made arbitrarily and there is no way to challenge them afterward."
Tallinn's Environment and Public Works Department issued the permit for nighttime work on Tuesday, and Kahro filed the complaint the following morning. He said most questions directed to the City of Tallinn did not meet with a reasonable response. "If you look at the process, the city first indicated that such an idea existed on Saturday, and by Tuesday an official had already signed off on it," he noted.
Deputy Mayor Kristjan Järvan (Isamaa) said the complainant was "picking fights" and trying to attract attention on social media. "There are always some residents who want to pick fights without knowing exactly what the fights are about," Järvan said, adding that such matters can still be discussed in court.
Around 200 permits for nighttime street work were issued in Tallinn last year, and the figure so far this year is 97, Järvan noted. Given Liivalaia is a major road, conducting the work during the day would have caused more disruption to thousands of people. He added that the noisiest job – milling, or removing existing asphalt – progresses at a rate of about 150 meters a day, so no residents should have their sleep disrupted for more than one night.
Kadri Karnau, spokesperson for the city's Environment and Public Works Department, told ERR that the nighttime permit applies only to weekdays; work cannot take place on weekends.
The Liivalaia repairs will take around two months. Asphalt milling and demolition work started this week, with crushed-stone road base and asphalt paving taking up all of September. The deadline for completion of all work, including landscaping and road markings, is October 25.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Martin Kirotar, Marko Tooming
