The city Poltava is well known in Ukraine, as well as abroad. The results of sociological surveys for the last years show, that the city is one of the ten best cities of Ukraine. In 2003, taking to the account the historical importance and the high public image of Poltava, it was admitted to the International assembly of the capitals and big cities. How does the city on Vorskla river lives now? The answer to this and other questions gives our guest – the mayor of Poltava Andriy Matkovsky:
- Now there are many special-purpose programs performed in the city, but there are some, that still seem to be utopian. For instance, the program of transport system development, that was brought to discussion of the territorial community.
- When I once told people about the creating the skating-rinks in our city – a lot of people didn’t take it seriously. I mean no one simply believed that it is possible. We did! And there is nothing special about it. The same can be with playgrounds for kids and about the European garbage bins, and about the so-called “speed bumps”, city lights and so forth. These all are concrete parts of certain special-purpose programs. That’s how step by step we resolve the urgent problems in general. We created a fundamentally new way of the city transport system development.
- They say, that during the President’s visit to the Poltava, the Head of the country didn’t like Frunze street for some reasons…
- -I was on vacation that time, but my colleagues say, that he didn’t like the name, not the street itself.
According to this, even in my election program I said, that I am not a fan of changing the streets’ names. And the point is not only in certain stereotypes, to which people are getting used to and which we should also take to the account. The Frunze street is the longest in Poltava. To change its name, it is necessary first to spend at least 20 million UAH. And think also, how much time and efforts it will take the authorities, industries, institutions and the organizations located on this street to reissue all the required papers. What about thousands of people that live there? Do you realize what will they do? How do we explain them, that instead of putting one or another street to the order, we leave all the junk and the dents, and spend all the money on buying the new papers and plates? If I had the opportunity to talk to the President, I would explain, that the city is ready for such actions, but here we need some kind of the state program to be involved. To say in another words, you can give us, for example, 100 million UAH for its performance, and we well work on it. But again – discussing with people beforehand, what and where has to be changed.
Українська редакція
