In June, four public consultations on the environmental impact assessment regarding the Rail Baltica project took place in an online environment due to social-distancing requirements. “Gathering people’s opinions is also possible in this way and it yields meaningful results,” admitted Rail Baltica’s project expert, Karmo Kõrvek.
In June, a public discussion of the environmental impact assessment programs for the Rail Baltica sections “Ülemiste-Kangru,” “Hagudi – Rapla and Pärnu county border,” “Kangru-Harju and Rapla county border” and “Rapla and Pärnu county border – Tootsi” construction projects took place. All public consultations took place electronically due to social-distancing requirements.
Rail Baltica’s project expert notes that each meeting was attended by an average of 25 people who were involved in the project in one way or another, either out of personal or professional interest.
“Unexpectedly, the environmental impact assessment of Ülemiste-Kangru provided the greatest source of discussion,” Kõrvek pointed out. He added that the section starts from the Ülemiste terminal and passes through the densely populated Rae municipality, where several residential areas are located and also where many new companies will be situated in the future.
“The 16-kilometer-long section of Ülemiste-Kangru runs from the city of Tallinn to the border of Kiili and Rae municipalities, and the railway understandably gives the current region a new look,” Kõrvek added.
Most questions asked during the public discussions were regarding the environmental impact of the location of local stops and their technical solutions, these were answered, but are the subject of more in-depth discussions already in the planning and design phase of specific stops this year.