The return of vehicle traffic to Vanha Lillhemtintie is progressing
Henttaa is undergoing a plan amendment that will open up vehicle traffic from Vanha Lillhemtintie to Maakirjantie in Suurpelto. Currently, the road connection is reserved for pedestrians and cyclists. The City Planning Committee will discuss the plan proposal on 17 January 2024.
The aim of the amendment is both to allow two-way traffic on Vanha Lillhemtintie and to ensure road safety in the vicinity of Opinmäen koulu school. Special attention will also be paid to road safety on Maakirjantie. Currently, Maakirjantie is a dead-end street with no through-traffic.
The City Board decided to initiate the plan amendment at its meeting on 5 December 2022. The first materials open for public review, i.e. the participation and assessment plan and the preparatory material, were available to residents for commenting from 6 March to 4 April 2024.
The amendment to open up vehicle traffic strongly divides residents’ opinions. More than 40 percent of the signatories of the opinions received during the public review in the spring were in favour of the plan amendment and more than 50 percent were against it.
The City Planning Committee will discuss the plan proposal at its meeting on 17 January 2024. If the proposal is made available for public review, residents will be able to provide feedback on it. Additional information will be updated on the plan’s website.
Vanha Lillhemtintie was the original vehicle access to the Lillhemt residential area. The change to a bicycle and pedestrian route was made when the Suurpelto area was being zoned. In practice, the through-traffic connection was only cut off in autumn 2019, when the replacing distributor road Lillhemtintie was completed. After that, Vanha Lillhemtintie has at times been closed to through-traffic and at times open to either one-way or two-way vehicle traffic. On 7 June 2023, the Supreme Administrative Court issued a decision on the use of the road, after which Vanha Lillhemtintie has remained closed to vehicles.
News article edited on 18 January 2024: The mention of the residents’ event to be held in connection with the public review has been removed. The City Planning Committee decided in its meeting on 17 January 2024 that the residents’ event will not be held. Originally, the City Planning Department stated incorrectly in this news article published on 10 January that the residents’ event would be held.