Riga declares war on unsightly wires

The entangled cables spoiling the view on the streets will become history

Riga Municipality announced today that it will start taking a firmer approach towards reducing or even eliminating the abundance of electronic communications overhead lines that protrude between buildings and across streets and create a generally unsightly look. Another concern is that they are also potentially unsafe as many of these are either abandoned or illegally placed.

The authorities will first resort to the use of modern technology with the help of a drone which will fly and document the problematic spots in the city to create aerial photo data for the officials to inspect later on.

Network operators and residents have 30 days to remove the unsanctioned lines on their own

The initiative is taken up by the Riga City Construction Board as part of the overall drive for urban improvement. It was reported that the crowding of overhead communication lines is owed to two main factors.  

On one hand, these were legally installed years ago when this was also a more common practice but since then have become unused and have deteriorated without being removed. On the other hand, there are cables that have been placed without a proper permit to do so, which means that there is also an element of unlawfulness to it, apart from the unsightly image that they impose. Not to mention that abandoned lines and overcrowding of wires can create a variety of safety hazards.

As a solution, the local administration had already enacted legislation that requires new communication infrastructure to be placed underground, yet the overhead lines are still a widespread problem especially in the old town.

Authorities informed that they will begin their inspections with the area around Krišjāņa Barona Street. They will be aided by a drone in that task. Network operators will have 30 days to remove non-compliant lines, as for the rest those will be removed by the Construction Board.