Residents and guests of the capital increasingly note the unattractive view of Riga's main street — Brivibas, in the VEF area. Empty and dusty shop windows create a sense of abandonment and spoil the overall impression of the area. This time, political commentator and public relations specialist Kristians Rozenvalds shares his impressions of Riga.
“I don’t like such views on Riga’s main street — Brivibas, near VEF. Closer to the center, there are also too many empty and dusty shop windows, but at least they are not broken and not as heavily defaced...” said Kristians Rozenvalds on his Facebook account, posting a corresponding photo.
Later, Kristians Rozenvalds added that the current views on Brivibas Street have a disheartening effect on people. However, in his opinion, it would be much more dangerous to launch campaigns with thoughtless initiatives that destroy businesses, including subsidies and other populist measures. Rozenvalds emphasized that it is important to create conditions to stimulate demand, rather than focus on payments and new expenses.
Commentators note that each building has an owner, and the Riga City Council should consider holding owners accountable for vacant shop windows and the condition of facades. People believe that if fines for non-compliance were comparable to the costs of cleaning and maintaining facades, owners would quickly take action to clean up.
