Citizens were allowed to have fences, fences and barriers

The capital's authorities yesterday approved a simplified procedure for installing barriers, fences and other barriers in the courtyards of residential buildings. Now, in order to legally close the entrance to the yard, it is enough to hold a meeting of homeowners and obtain approval of the barrier project from the council of municipal deputies. The capital's mayor's office expects that barriers in courtyards, along with paid parking on the streets, will help reduce the flow of cars in the central part of the city.

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A simplified procedure for “installing fencing in local areas” was approved yesterday at a meeting of the Moscow government. As Acting Mayor Sergei Sobyanin explained, such a “clear regulation” did not exist in Moscow until now, but “there was a need for it, residents regularly contacted us.” From now on, to install a barrier at the entrance to the yard, it is enough to hold a general meeting of homeowners, make a fencing project (it must indicate the location, type, size and appearance of the barrier) and have it approved by the council of deputies of your municipal district. It is stipulated that approval by this council should not take more than a month, but deputies may refuse to install fencing for residents. In case of a positive decision, citizens are ordered to provide “24-hour unhindered access” to the courtyard for police, firefighters, doctors, emergency situations specialists and other special services. Acting vice-mayor of the capital Natalya Sergunina clarified that if residents of, say, two neighboring houses want to block the entrance to a common courtyard, then meetings of apartment owners should be held in each building. At the same time, it is prohibited to block streets, squares, through passages, squares and boulevards with barriers and fences. Mr. Sobyanin ordered to think about whether it would be worth simplifying the procedure even further by making the fencing designs standard.

Officials do not hide the fact that with the help of barriers in the courtyards, along with paid parking, they expect to reduce the flow of cars into the central part of the city. Let us remind you that from June 1 in Moscow, paid street parking began to operate inside the Boulevard Ring (an hour of parking a car costs 50 rubles). Only veterans and disabled people can park for free in the center. Other local residents for 3 thousand rubles. per year can obtain a resident parking permit from the city hall. At the same time, you can still store a car in your yards for free, and residents have the right to close the entrance with barriers - this was repeatedly stated at the mayor’s office, where they promised to develop simplified regulations for installing barriers, which were presented yesterday. The mayor's office document also talks about dismantling the fences. Thus, barriers will be removed if they interfere with major repairs of buildings or landscaping work (at the expense of the city budget), but in this case residents are entitled to compensation for the costs of installing the fence.

The head of a group of proactive residents of the center who protested against paid parking, Leonid Antonov, complains that the courtyards of many houses are really clogged with cars of residents and visitors, which block passage for emergency vehicles. “Residents would probably be ready to put up barriers out of desperation. But their installation will cost 60–120 thousand rubles, for the passage of special services it is necessary to seat a “goalkeeper,” and that’s another 25–30 thousand a month,” argues Mr. Antonov. In his opinion, such expenses are realistic for buildings with 200–300 apartments, but not for buildings with 30 apartments, of which there are many in the center of Moscow. Mr. Antonov believes that the city budget should pay for the barriers: “Especially since the mayor’s office told us more than once that the money for paid parking will be used for landscaping.”

Alexander Voronov

A courtyard coup took place in Moscow