This summer, the Old Town will be a quiet zone, without noise, and any violation will be strictly punished. We will prohibit the traffic of motor vehicles and motorcycles in the contact zone of the Old Town, and parking will be prohibited by the marina, by the Port Authority, as well as by the old bus station. There will be no gray economy or off-market sales along the promenades in Budva and Bečići. Communal order will be introduced and the rules that have been adopted for this year's season will have to be strictly followed.
This was stated today by the Mayor of Budva Municipality Nikola Jovanović, opening the first session of the Coordination Body for Season Preparation, which was attended by representatives of all local services, the police, the Health Center, EPCG, the hotel industry, and caterers.
Jovanović said that the problems from previous seasons will be overcome.
"The contact zone of the Old Town has had certain problems during previous seasons, such as noise and traffic. You know the position of the local government and previous decisions of the Municipal Assembly that the area of the Old Town has been declared a quiet acoustic zone, and on this occasion I can say that there will be no compromise with that. The Old Town will be a quiet zone prohibited from playing music or creating noise, so the local government, in cooperation with local services, will fully respect that decision, but will also take action on the ground against those who turn a deaf ear and create noise," stressed Jovanović.
The Old Town is declared a pedestrian zone
He announced a complete ban on the movement of motor vehicles and motorcyclists in the contact zone of the Old Town.
"No vehicles will be allowed there anymore. We will declare the Old Town zone a pedestrian zone, by removing the existing traffic ramp near the kindergarten and replacing it with 'submersible bollards', which will allow vehicles of the relevant state authorities to pass in the event of an intervention. Other vehicles, including delivery vehicles, will no longer be able to be present in the Old Town zone. These are also preparatory activities for the construction of the promenade. The public is informed that we received a conceptual design for the construction of the promenade through an international competition, that we are well into the activities for the development of the main project and we want to prepare at that location for what is inevitable in the coming years, which is the construction of the promenade from the Old Town to Zavala, or Bečići, and after that the second phase of the reconstruction of the Bečići promenade. The promenade should be open this year as well, it should be used for its intended purpose, which is to be a pedestrian zone without the presence of any cars," he said. Jovanovic.
Parking lots near the Old Town are being abolished, and an additional 300 parking spaces have been provided in the center.
Jovanović emphasized that there will no longer be parking at the Port Authority, that vehicles will no longer be able to park along the marina, nor at the old bus stop.
"Parking space for vehicles owned by the residents of Stari Grad will be provided in one of the existing parking lots. Parking will be provided completely free of charge for residents of the Old Town under certain prescribed conditions, and this is proof of ownership of the property. We believe that in this way we will increase the safety of our tourists because space in the contact zone will be freed up for walking activities, for easier maintenance of communal order. This is a significant step forward and there will be no compromise. As for the local government, we are witnessing some inadequate behavior in that some who did not need it had permits for vehicles to enter the contact zone of the Old Town. In this way, we will sanction all potential abuses that we have had," stressed Jovanović.
Jovanović announced that the local government will find additional parking spaces for that part of the city.
"We have entered into discussions with potential lessors in the inner city center, namely Budva Center, to rent certain parking spaces and thus increase capacity by an additional 200 to 300 parking spaces, which will significantly help us in the upcoming and subsequent tourist seasons, until the construction of garages in the city center begins. The city will provide a location for parking tourist buses, it will no longer be possible to keep buses in the southern boulevard zone, and we have already started these activities," said Jovanović.
They are tidying up the city, removing 4.000 square meters of illegal advertising space.
Jovanović said that the local administration has begun activities to prepare for the season, as evidenced by the public's numerous renovation activities over the past month.
"This particularly applies to the regulation of communal order. We are already intensifying our activities to regulate certain problems and impose sanctions. This applies to sanctioning the occupation of public spaces, various economic activities, illegal parking, the removal of damaged and abandoned vehicles, and also to traffic regulation. Activities are being carried out extensively to mark pedestrian crossings, install vibration strips, and install new traffic signals in the inner city core, as well as in suburban areas. Also, what we have done in the previous period is to remove illegal advertising by painting retaining walls and removing illegally placed billboards. In this way, we are fighting against the grey economy, because these activities were charged to third parties, so as a local government we have shown uncompromisingness in that area as well. So far, 4.000 square meters of illegally placed advertising surfaces have been removed, and we have to remove another 8.000 square meters in the same way. These are significant areas and we are the first municipality to tackle the suppression of illegal advertising," Jovanović pointed out.
We will set the rules of the game for this season.
The first man of Budva said that the activities they are carrying out have set "the rules of the game for the upcoming season."
"We will definitely not tolerate any illegal behavior, turn a blind eye or close our eyes to the challenges that will arise. Our competent authorities, inspections, services, local self-government as a whole will be uncompromising and always react where necessary. Not only upon reports from citizens, tourists, or state authorities, but regularly, because sufficient funds and personnel have been provided to cover the tourist season. When it comes to the pedestrian zone from the Old Town to Bečići, the Bečići promenade will also be treated specially. We will control whether economic activities are carried out under a permit or whether it is a gray economy and off-market sales that will be strictly sanctioned. No one will be allowed to work in the gray zone," concluded Jovanović.
Merlin opens the summer season in Budva
Jovanović said that everything is ready for the large international carnival, which will be organized from April 30 to May 4, but also for the large opening ceremony of the summer season, which will be organized on May 23 and 24.
"During those two days, we will have concerts that were not realized for the New Year. It is a concert by Dino Merlin on May 24th, while on May 23rd, the main performer will be Saša Kovačević, along with certain activities by the Budva City Music and other performers, because our plan is to open the tourist season earlier than other local governments and for Budva to be what it has been so far, a starting point for tourists. I think that by realizing the carnival and the season opening ceremony, we can attract guests from the region and in that way start the tourist season, which this time, unlike previous years, will be realized permanently through the activities of the Budva Tourist Organization in full coordination with the Municipality of Budva and our competent services, secretariats with their full logistics. It is important for us to have synchronized activities, to have meetings of the coordination body and to jointly consider the challenges and space for improving the tourist offer itself," emphasized Jovanović.
Director of the Tourist Organization of Budva, Ana Vujošević, said that everything is ready, despite the major financial problems she found in the Tourist Organization, to hold two significant events.
She said that the carnival, which is traditionally held in Budva in cooperation with the NGO Feštađuni, was organized with the help of the Municipality of Budva.
According to her, more than 2.500 participants, carnival groups from the country, the region and the world, are expected, which is a record number. As she pointed out, the quality of both events is at a high level, but they managed to save money by reducing costs.
According to her, it is expected that the poor pre-season, due to a lower influx of guests and lower collection of tourist taxes, will be offset by organizing these two events, which will bring a large number of tourists to Budva.
Bonus video:
