Tallinn court rejects challenge to Liivalaia Street night work permit

Tallinn Administrative Court has rejected a complaint by a local resident who sought to cancel a permit allowing roadworks on Liivalaia Street to continue at night, ERR reported.

Ilmar Kahro, who lives on Kaupmehe Street at the intersection with Liivalaia Street, filed the complaint after Tallinn decided to move the roadworks to nighttime to avoid traffic congestion. The decision means that the noisiest work will also be carried out during night-time hours.

Tallinn’s Environment and Utilities Department issued the permit on Tuesday. Kahro filed his complaint with the court on Wednesday morning, also requesting interim legal protection to cancel the permit.

“The application was essentially completed yesterday evening and during the night. I had to act quickly because the decision that the permit had been issued only came yesterday, while the first indication that such a plan was even being considered came on Saturday,” Kahro told ERR.

He said he had submitted questions, requests and appeals to the city during the three-day period, but had received no reasonable response to most of them. With no other way to influence the process, he said, he turned to the administrative court.

Deputy Mayor Kristjan Järvan of Isamaa said Tallinn was aware of the complaint but that challenges against the city’s public institutions were not unusual. He said the city would discuss the matter in court.

Järvan said Tallinn issued about 200 permits for night work on streets last year and 97 so far this year. He said the city considers all arguments before issuing such permits.

According to Järvan, Liivalaia Street is one of Tallinn’s most heavily used roads. Carrying out roadworks and imposing traffic restrictions during the day and at peak hours would negatively affect thousands of people, he said.

Järvan added that the noisiest work, including milling, progresses at about 150 metres per day. As a result, he said, noise should disturb any individual resident for no more than one evening.