Ekaterinburg embarks on environmental improvements

SVERDLOVSK REGION

 

Within the next few years, Ekaterinburg is moving into major renovation of three large recreational areas, development of a new park in place of the alley near the Palace of Sports and remediation of Lake Zdokhnya. The plans of the city government are outlined in the latest issue of the Vecherny Ekaterinburg newspaper, RusBusinessNews informs.

 

Renovation works are planned for the Mayakovski Central Park, waterfront area at Lake Shartash and Historical Square. Works on improvement will be continued at the Iset River embankment, which will be converted into a shared pedestrian and bicycle traffic green space "from VIZ to NIZ" (Verkh-Isetsky Plant and Nizhny-Isetsky Plant).

"Pedestrians will be able to walk through the city along the cozy and beautiful Iset riverfront alleys. All around the city, the renovated green areas will delight the eye," Mayor Alexey Orlov wrote in his column.

 

The city mayor promised that the renovation of Historical Square will begin in April 2022, and various scenarios for its reconstruction have been recently presented at the meeting of the Council of Caring Residents. Konstantin Brylyakov, head of the Tour Guides’ Center, strongly advised that the square should be converted into modern recreational and museum space.

 

"Today’s Historical Square is lined with flagstones and stone blocks. I suggest it should be stripped of excessive pavement, giving more room for lawns. The vegetation of the square needs re-inspection to check for old trees, which are in good health and can be retained, and for the trees that need to be removed," Anna Baltina, a co-founder of the Ekaterinburg Parks and Public Garden Community Group, points out.

 

She thinks that the development of the city’s recreational areas should involve more "interdisciplinary" specialists such as dendrologists and soil scientists, and needs proper models for grounds maintenance, including management and investment aspects.

 

"The existing vegetation needs evaluation to make it clear what areas can be designated for new green spaces. It is a challenging task, and I think that Alexey Orlov understands it," the eco-activist says.

 

It is worth noting that new park spaces in Ekaterinburg are already being created through investor funding. The founders of the St. Catherine Foundation - businessmen Igor Altushkin, Andrei Kozitsyn, and Andrey Simanovsky – are going to finance the development of the park in place of the "sports" alley within the boundaries of 8 Marta - Bolshakova – Sheinkmana Streets and Zelyonaya Roscha Park. The project will be prepared by GMP, a German architecture firm.