They are planning to build a car tunnel under Helsinki. It is expected that this will boost the volume of cars passing the Sörnäinen district by 10%. They explain that this is not a catastrophe as most cars will be electric in the future. They explain the tunnel is needed to make the district more pleasant for habitants (as they won’t have to see or hear the cars) and they tell us that the businesses in the center will benefit from the influx.
Who are They?
They are people who own electric cars, own apartments in the district and own businesses in the center. They are planning to use our money to build a 180m€ tunnel. This is a retro-futuristic development process intended to make a city they have stagnated feel vibrant. Instead of lowering rents in the center and opening the city for grassroots initiatives, they are building monumental infrastructure for zombie lifestyles. Helsinki is becoming an appendix of Tehtaankatu.
The problem here is the top-down ethos of Helsinki planning.