Old Cars Seal Off Large Chunk of Sofia
Politics | March 16, 2006, Thursday
Hundreds of cars block Sofia's traffc, waiting for the traffic police to process their documents. Photo by Nadya Kotseva (Sofia News Agency)
Monstrous lines of cars waiting to exchange their license plates block off a whole district near Sofia's downtown for a fourth day in a row to the dismay of drivers and passengers.
Spreading for kilometers in every direction, cars obstruct the traffic along the Dragan Tsankov and Kliment Ohridski boulevards, testing the nerves of everyone. The only Traffic Police Station in Sofia where old license plates can be exchanged is located right off the boulevards, and as the deadline for changing the plates draws nearer lines grow longer.
Sealing off half of the lanes due to metro digs makes the situation even worse, and many drivers choose to risk driving in the opposite lane, just to avoid waiting quarter of an hour at the latest.
Hundreds of students, who have to pass along those boulevards to and from their dorms to the universities, spend hours stuck in traffic. So do residents of the area who attempt to get to work, or anywhere else for that matter. And it all seems to be quite pointless, for it is highly unlikely that the traffic police manage to process everyone's document in the 15 days left until the deadline expires.
The government's decision to cut the deadline nine months short is opposed from all sides; even the parliament has suggested its extension by at least two months. Politicians are currently discussing the matter and drivers of both old and new cars eagerly await their decision.
In line with EU requirements, Bulgarians who have old license plates have to change them with new ones - white, with black letters and numbers, and a blue stripe on the left with the country's banner on it.
Spreading for kilometers in every direction, cars obstruct the traffic along the Dragan Tsankov and Kliment Ohridski boulevards, testing the nerves of everyone. The only Traffic Police Station in Sofia where old license plates can be exchanged is located right off the boulevards, and as the deadline for changing the plates draws nearer lines grow longer.
Sealing off half of the lanes due to metro digs makes the situation even worse, and many drivers choose to risk driving in the opposite lane, just to avoid waiting quarter of an hour at the latest.
Hundreds of students, who have to pass along those boulevards to and from their dorms to the universities, spend hours stuck in traffic. So do residents of the area who attempt to get to work, or anywhere else for that matter. And it all seems to be quite pointless, for it is highly unlikely that the traffic police manage to process everyone's document in the 15 days left until the deadline expires.
The government's decision to cut the deadline nine months short is opposed from all sides; even the parliament has suggested its extension by at least two months. Politicians are currently discussing the matter and drivers of both old and new cars eagerly await their decision.
In line with EU requirements, Bulgarians who have old license plates have to change them with new ones - white, with black letters and numbers, and a blue stripe on the left with the country's banner on it.
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