The Luka local council, located in the historic centre of Rijeka, is currently focused on mapping critical points of traffic congestion and parking capacity shortages in detail. Joško Vitezica, chair of the council’s board, emphasises that the lack of effective on-the-ground supervision and control is the greatest difficulty in their work.
The area of the Luka local council covers 21.86 hectares of urban land where 929 residents live. The surroundings include the Velika tržnica (Grand Market) and the Modello Palace, with the City Tower and the Ivan pl. Zajc Croatian National Theatre in the immediate vicinity. The recent opening of the first pavilion has, it is noted, made the parking situation much worse.
According to Vitezica, a complete traffic collapse occurs during the day, while there are free parking spaces in the late evening hours. A particular problem is the inadequate control of delivery zones, especially in Verdijeva and Zagrebačka streets, where short-stay parking spaces are used for long periods and improperly.
For this reason, the Luka local council plans and proposes the introduction of a restricted access model for the Tržnica zone. This model would primarily be intended for residents of the area, delivery vehicles and people with disabilities. In addition, it is proposed to ensure the constant presence of a traffic warden in the local council area throughout the entire working day.
Vitezica praised the work of the local council secretary, who also received praise from the previous term of the board. Vitezica himself was a member of that previous term. Residents of the Luka local council contact the local council daily and point out specific problems, while cooperation with the City Administration, it was assessed, presents a challenge.
