Budapest pedestrian underpasses to be closed at night

According to hvg.hu's information, the municipality of Budapest is planning to physically close all major underpasses every night after the last subway has departed from the corresponding station, as it is laid out in the proposition.

Tarlós said that the government cannot decide on the matter without consulting him first, as the proposition touches upon the life of Budapest, and as such the Budapest Council needs to make a decision.

He told us that he is still thinking when and how this case should be handled, as 

temperatures below freezing constitute a special situation.

According to hvg.hu, the relevant organisations of Budapest already have a detailed plan on how these nighttime closures of important underpasses would happen. The proposal offers a two-phase solution, as the safe pedestrian crossings on the surface are not yet available, and in some cases, there is no option to create them immediately. 

The first phase of the plan concerns nine major underpasses, where the implementation might begin before the end of 2018:

• Deák tér (Metro line 2, Metro line 3)
• Corvin negyed (Metro line 3)
• Kálvin tér (Metro line 3)
• Újbuda-központ (Metro line 4)
• Móricz Zsigmond körtér (Metro line 4)
• Ecseri út (Metro line 3)
• Váci út-Csanády u. (Metro line 3)
• Boráros tér (Tram lines 4 and 6, H7 suburban railway)
• Lehel tér (Metro line 3)

This plan fits into the scheme of the current government action criminalizing the homeless. As of 15 October 2018, anyone in Hungary who uses public spaces for habitation purposes is committing an offence prompting police action, and possibly jail time.