Road to the airport as an exhibition for drivers and tourists: Urgent construction of a roundabout and pedestrian paths is needed

(Patria) - The access to Sarajevo International Airport has been a challenge for drivers and pedestrians for years. For pedestrians, mostly tourists landing at Sarajevo International Airport, exiting the airport onto Kurt Schork Street is a real exhibition.

There are no organized pedestrian access routes, no pedestrian crossing or traffic lights, and no roundabout that would somewhat slow down drivers on that road, and tourists only by sheer luck seize the moment and safely cross from one side of the road to the other. They then walk along the road, and an additional problem is that there are no signs for tourists indicating where the nearest public transport stop is or how to get to it. Traffic accidents are frequent on this section of the road, which creates additional insecurity for pedestrian movement.

Tourists avoid consequences by sheer luck (Photo: Patria)

While recording an increasing number of flights and visits, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina has one of the most inaccessible airport approaches. And this should be a priority for any government to ensure the best possible road infrastructure.

Given that the road passing by the airport falls under the jurisdiction of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is clear that Novi Grad Municipality itself is powerless to do anything independently when it comes to arranging that road, its access, and increasing pedestrian safety.

Since the A transversal (Michael Schumacher Street) was built in 2016, there has been talk of building a roundabout at the junction of this transversal and Kurt Schork Street, which would largely regulate traffic flow and facilitate the entry of drivers coming from the direction of the A transversal and Stup.

In April this year, the Municipality of Novi Grad Sarajevo issued urban planning consent to the Public Enterprise Roads of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the construction of a part of the XII transversal, which passes through the municipality of Novi Grad, from the junction of Kenan Dubravić Street, Stupska Street, and Kurt Schork Street.

This is one of the busiest roads in the Canton of Sarajevo and the Municipality of Novi Grad Sarajevo, connecting the Stupska loop, i.e., the Sarajevo bypass, and Sarajevo International Airport.

According to the planning documentation, the construction of the XII transversal with four lanes and a pedestrian path is planned, and the first phase would lead from the Stupska loop to the junction with the A transversal, i.e., the entrance to Sarajevo International Airport, where a roundabout is planned.

By expanding this road from two to four lanes, the Sarajevo airport would be better connected to the highway, as well as the A transversal, and through it, the gravitating part of Novi Grad.

JP Roads of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has taken over the activities of preparing the land expropriation study and the main project, after which the property-legal relations will be resolved.

Roads of FBiH emphasized that after obtaining urban planning consent from Novi Grad Municipality for the section in this municipality, a detailed main project and expropriation study are being prepared in accordance with the spatial plan of the Canton of Sarajevo and the conditions from the urban planning consent (regulation of local roads). They also stated that after harmonizing the project and the study, they will submit a proposal to determine the public interest, which is a prerequisite for initiating the expropriation process of the parcels included in the construction.