The Chisinau Municipal Council approved on 23 July the Street Design Guide, which provides a set of recommendations and good practices for restoring traffic arteries in the city as public spaces, friendly to pedestrians and cyclists and accessible to all persons.

This document is a result of UNDP Moldova's support for Chisinau City Hall within the "Sustainable Green Cities for Moldova" and with the financial contribution of the Czech-UNDP Partnership for the Sustainable Development Goals.

The guide identifies five key areas for analyzing the integrated approach to streets:

1. mobility and access;
2. street design;
3. green strategy;
4. programming and reflecting the specifics of the street;
5. immediate action and longer-term planning.

“Through this document, the Chisinau City Hall confirms its commitment to promote sustainable urban development, urban streets being of critical importance in this process. We continue to rely on the support of the community and specialists in improving the city's street infrastructure to develop a functional, attractive and comfortable living environment in Chisinau,” said Ion Ceban, mayor of Chisinau.

"This is the first local urban development document written for Moldova which prioritize pedestrians before cars and traffic. It emphasizes the concept of ‘equitable allocation of urban space’ and reflects contemporary street design recommendations and practices, widely applied in sustainable cities,” mentioned Inga Podoroghin, Programme Specialist at UNDP Moldova.

This guide shall be further considered when crafting projects for new infrastructure and allocation of space. A first pilot is the redesign of 31 August 1989 street, to become a green corridor that will connect Valea Trandafirilor Park with Dendrariu Park.