Aliaksandr Lukashenka instructed officials to remove cars from the courtyards of residential buildings in Minsk so that people could “breathe clean air.” He made the statement at a meeting with Minsk City Executive Committee Chairman Uladzimir Kukharau on Sept. 3, BelTA reports.
Lukashenka admitted that cars in courtyards made a terrible impression on him.
“There is a building, and in front of it there is a park extending to the roadway — it is good, it is beautiful. But that is rare. In other cases, it is an ocean of cars. Some of them are dirty, grimy. It is not very beautiful when a building is submerged in a line of these cars.
We need to think about what we should do. There is no getting away from cars. But we need to think about what to do with these parking lots. In front of the building, near the building, people should still be able to breathe clean air — (there should be — BelTA note) trees, shrubs, flowers, flowerbeds and so on”, he said.
Lukashenka proposed moving cars to parking lots farther away, but said this should not be done through bans.
“Gradually, not tomorrow, and not through bans. Move these parking lots somewhere farther away. So that people, especially children, can go outside, and elderly people can sit on a bench. Therefore, landscaping is a very important issue for Minsk”, he said.
