In the course of the town hall meeting today, mayor of Almaty Bauyrzhan Baibek said that in the future the city will continue to develop with walkability in mind, Kazinform correspondent reports.
Akim Baibek stressed that it is important to ensure that all amenities are available to Almaty residents within a 20-minute walk.
He added that this year it is planned to revitalize 7 parks and squares in Medeu and Bostandyk districts, as well as a number of streets in the Almaty core, pointing out that a 30% increase in pedestrian traffic and 17% in retail turnover can be expected as the result of this work.
Mayor of Almaty also noted that the principle of polycentricity is applied not only in the downtown core but in all districts of Kazakhstan's largest city. For example, according to him, Nauryzbay district now has a new administrative center, 2 schools, 3 polyclinics, post and bank offices, as well as a leisure center along the Kargaly River.
Bauyrzhan Baibek stressed that the city's attractiveness is largely determined by its safety, adding that Almaty pays a lot of attention to preventing crime and in order to achieve that plans to introduce CCTV cameras on all of its streets.
He also added that realizing the fact that a well-lit city is safer, the city of Almaty plans to extend its street lighting network by 137 km in 2018.
This year, according to akim, it is also planned to begin construction of two mud-dams on the Bolshaya Almatinka, and in the basin of the Aksay River. He stressed that in 2017, in order to reduce the risk of mudflows, 9 moraine lakes in the mountainous areas were drained.
According to the mayor's data, in 2017, 70% of schools and more than 40% of kindergartens have been reinforced to withstand earthquakes, over 7,000 building were tested to be earthquake-resistant.
In 2017, in Almaty, 27 km of its drainage network were repaired and this year it is planned to repair an additional 31 km.
Baibek also addressed the Kok-Zhailau resort construction controversy.
"We've carefully analyzed the feedback on the project. The feasibility study is being reworked and will be presented in June. We will take into account all critical comments. It will be a year-round resort (...) Area of skiing runs has been decreased 3fold, number of hotels 10fold. We are considering alternative routes of the highway. There will be no private cottages in the resort. If we see cottages, the project will be canceled," said mayor Baibek, adding that French partners help develop the project.
According to Bauyrzhan Baibek, the project will meet requirements under the Aarhus Convention.
Based on a poll conducted in the city, 80% of Almaty residents support the project. If the project has more cons than pros and does harm to local environment, it will be canceled altogether, the mayor added.
Reported by Kazinform.
