Riga, Feb 26 (LETA) - Riga Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs (Progressives) rates the winter maintenance of the capital's streets between 6 and a poor 7.

In an interview with commercial TV3 television, Kleinbergs said that the situation in the city is very different - where there is synergy between the municipality and, for example, cleaners, the situation is the best.

When calling the responsible services about the situation on the city streets, Kleinbergs instructed them to remove snow from intersections and pedestrian crossings to avoid slush. Drains are also to be cleared.

Kleinbergs is prepared for criticism in the coming days that "the snow will melt in a minute" when the snow is being cleared away, but this is necessary to improve traffic.

The mayor calls people to report on snow piles and potholes after the winter. People are actively using the opportunity to report such situations, and Kleinbergs has also instructed them to provide feedback on the work carried out.

The situation where public transport cannot get onto an overpass or bridge is unacceptable, Kleinbergs stressed, and several maintenance workers have been fined and ordered to do the work again.

The mayor agrees that the situation on the roads will become more difficult as the snow melts, so he has instructed the responsible services to continuously monitor the situation. He reminded, however, that Riga has not had a winter like this even in the last 10 years.

The municipal authorities are also monitoring the situation of icicles, and nearly 100 cases of uncleared icicles have been reported, with more than 70 owners having been informed of forced clean-up. However, this resulted in only a few cases, as the owners, cleaners and house managers resolved the situation themselves.

Kleinbergs reminded that the amount of salt used in street maintenance has been significantly reduced, but it is unlikely that the use of salt will be completely eliminated.