"I asked for the investigation of the possibility and the potential effects of closing the main Budapest pedestrian underpasses," mayor of Budapest, István Tarlós told Index when we asked him about the proposition that recently hit the news.
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:
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.