Recently, Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko inspected the updated tram tracks and the repaired roadway for cars and public transport on a specific section of Kyrylivska Street in the Podil district.
The mayor expressed satisfaction with the "inspection," sharing on his Facebook page that this year "Kyivpastrans" will finally replace the worn-out emergency tracks on Hlybochytska Street. It’s worth noting that Hlybochytska has suffered for decades without a comprehensive renewal of its asphalt surface along with the tram tracks, with only minor patching and repairs being performed.
3 The mayor's inspection of Kyrylivska raised several questions among Kyiv residents, as evidenced by their posts on social media. For instance, Daryna Gulei writes:
“Please tell me, will the reconstruction of Kyrylivska Street continue in 2025, or is that it? All work has been halted before the intersection with Olenivska Street.”
There were also angry comments on the mayor's post:
“Control is necessary. But there are questions: if you are going to engage in such routine oversight of numerous repairs and unfinished projects, when will you address the main issues of Kyiv? If the control system requires such personal attention from the city's top official, then it is ineffective. Isn’t it time to show these officials the door and improve the system itself?”
“Mr. Klitschko, can we see the checklist from your inspection of Kyrylivska? Or did you just do it the informal way, without any methodology?”
4 “I'm curious, how did the mayor inspect the tram tracks? Did he drive over them in his jeep, or did they not bend?”
“I advise Klitschko to check the entire road repair process, not just superficial inspections after the work is completed! The mayor continues to promote himself.”
5 In short, we have a problem with Kyiv's roads. This has been the case for a long time. The situation hasn’t improved much today either. For instance, on Kyrylivska, as previously mentioned, Klitschko forgot to mention how many years Kyiv drivers have cursed the terrible potholes here. He somehow didn’t notice this horror before, nor the similar conditions on many Kyiv streets. The mayor has never inspected the potholes on the roads; he hasn’t cared that, for example, the historic part of Podil has been "frozen" in broken roads for years. This can currently be seen on the Upper and Lower Val streets, where only patch repairs have been done for decades. And the city leadership was satisfied with that. They patched holes instead of doing it the European way. Significant budget funds were "buried" in these potholes. And Podil is a gem of Kyiv!
Today, the head of the Transport Infrastructure Department of the Kyiv City State Administration, Ruslan Kandybor, is forced to admit that there is a difficult situation on Hlybochytska, Upper and Lower Val streets due to worn-out emergency tracks.
At the same time, he points fingers at his predecessors, stating that “the tram tracks in the city have not been changed for over 50 years.”
6 What a convenient position, isn’t it? For years, engaging in primitive pothole patching on the roads, and now pointing fingers at predecessors. And if a part of some road is asphalted, the Kyiv authorities promote themselves in every way possible, trying to show how caring they are. PR amid the horrific Kyiv roads.
A Kyiv resident Igor Kurylo writes:
“Vitalii Volodymyrovych, I invite you on an exciting tour of Podil, particularly on Hlybochytska! You’ll see rare views of broken curbs and unique rail artifacts. Wear comfortable shoes; the road is an adventure.”
And what about the sidewalks on Hlybochytska! This is a horror of the 21st century! However, the mayor does not walk these paths. Nor does the head of “Kyivavtodor,” Fedorenko.
7 8 A Facebook commenter Sasha Horbonos addresses Klitschko:
“Do something about Hlybochytska, the Lower and Upper Vals – the tram tracks are dangerously protruding above the concrete slabs.”
On some sections of Hlybochytska Street, pieces of rusty rebar are already visible between the tram tracks on the old concrete slabs.
9 We are waiting for the repairs on Hlybochytska to begin. The mayor assures that this will happen in 2025.
Earlier, “Kyivavtodor” stated, in response to an information request from Kashran NEWS, that in 2023
“on Hlybochytska, current (minor) repairs of the roadway were carried out with hot asphalt concrete mix covering an area of 343.6 m2 and sidewalks covering 10 m2. The total cost of the work was 361.3 thousand UAH.”
0 This once again indicates that instead of a capital repair along the entire length of the street, they limited themselves to minor work. They poured 383 thousand budget UAH here. And what is the result? Hlybochytska remains as terrible as ever. Today, Klitschko plans to allocate new financial resources here. And so it goes on endlessly?
This is a typical picture of Kyiv. With such approaches, we won’t have European roads anytime soon.
You could name dozens or more streets where only minor asphalt work has been done. For example, from 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, they tackled the Railway Highway: here was minor repair work covering a total area of 287 square meters, as well as crack sealing work with a sealing machine amounting to 1084 running meters. The total cost was 266.9 thousand UAH. When will the Railway Highway be in excellent condition? We are waiting.
1 Now let’s look at Voznesensky Descent, where pothole repairs on the roadway were also financed. And what is the situation now? For motorists, this road remains terrible, especially when descending near the Upper Val.
“Kyivavtodor” reports that they have eliminated potholes on Zolotoustivska. Klitschko should inspect this street: here are road “waves,” not asphalt coverage.
The management of the company claims that nearby, on Dmytrivska Street, “current repairs of the roadway and sidewalks are planned on the section from Boulvarno-Kudryavska to Pavlivska.” It would be interesting to hear when Dmytrivska will be completely renovated along with the tram tracks?
By the way, this is the same Dmytrivska that hasn’t seen a capital repair in decades.
2 And we remember the sweet promises of the mayor. In particular, in 2015, Vitali Klitschko emphasized that the condition of modern roads is a result of corruption. (Does anyone doubt that?).
“Money for the repair of streets was simply embezzled. If our goal is to build a European capital, then without good, quality roads, it is impossible to achieve this. Kyiv residents are aware of the problems, but our task is to solve them,” the mayor stressed at that time.
Vitali Klitschko noted that in 2015, the capital budget allocated 131 million UAH for capital repairs and reconstruction of roads and 264 million for their maintenance.
“Unfortunately, we do not have enough funds to immediately carry out the reconstruction of all roads in the capital, as 90% of them need repairs. Next year, we will significantly increase funding and, accordingly, the number of roads that will be repaired in Kyiv. And motorists will feel that the situation has truly improved,” he emphasized.
Unfortunately,