Every summer, when I take bus #10 (from Cavtat) towards Dubrovnik, I get off at Ilijina Glavica. If you're traveling between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM, about twenty to thirty tourists get off the bus when the driver announces "Old City." And when they get off, they start looking around and have no idea where to go. The locals who got off the bus immediately cross the road - right there at the bus stop. And the tourists follow them. Like ducklings after their mother.
Me? I go down to the tunnel and cross safely. So one day, when I got off the bus, I looked around carefully to see if there were any signs directing tourists to this safe option. There aren't any! There is one sign at the stop that says the stairs are 200 meters from the stop. It doesn't say where the stairs lead - just that they exist.
One day as I was approaching the tunnel, two older English ladies were standing 10 meters from the tunnel entrance, looking to cross the road. It's a three-way intersection! For those who remember the old game 'Froggy,' where you control a frog to avoid cars and cross the road, that's the first image that came to my mind. I approached the ladies and asked if they were going to the Old City. They said they were, so I told them to follow me to cross the road safely. Naturally, they were grateful.
I can't understand why the city can't put a sign at the bus stop for tourists to go down to the tunnel. And a sign at the tunnel entrance indicating it's the SAFEST route to the Old City. It sounds simple. If only 20 people per bus go to the city from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM daily (that's 15 buses as they run every half hour), we're talking about 300 people crossing a very busy road and putting their lives at risk. In reality, it's probably double or triple that number every day! I decided to find out why this situation exists at all. My wife has a lot of contacts in the city, so I asked her to put me in touch with someone who could help with my “smart” idea to put signs at the bus stop and the tunnel entrance. Within just a few minutes, I got a response. I had to read it twice to believe what I had read…
Part of the response (and I'm not naming anyone because these are good people just trying to do their job) was as follows: "That passage never received an occupancy permit because the former mayor had it built without a building permit. I don't know if there are any legal consequences if the city puts up a sign directing pedestrians to use an underpass that hasn't received an occupancy permit."
Further: "The problem is that the papers cannot be obtained retroactively. Everything would have to be demolished, returned to its original state, and then start obtaining the necessary permits. It's a totally crazy situation. The city tried to solve the problem, but without success. I think that's why the city hasn't put up signs because it would then take responsibility for directing pedestrians to a tunnel that doesn't have the necessary papers and thus risk lawsuits. Anyway, the situation can't stay like this, but what to do is a question for lawyers and everyone else who needs to find a way out of the situation."
So, at least it's acknowledged that it's a "crazy situation." If this isn't "Croatia" in one story, I don't know what is. OK, I understand the logic of this, but we're a global city! I'm sometimes tired of the excessive catering to tourists. But this is a city, this is the life we live. Damn it, our lives depend on tourists whether we like it or not. Just imagine this: if you're a tourist, coming from Župa, Cavtat, Konavle, and visiting the Old City, you get off the bus and have no idea which direction to go to reach the Old City. And all you see are locals playing 'Froggy,' and based on the fact that there are no signs around, it seems like that's the only option!
And for my own peace of mind, as someone who uses the tunnel, is it safe?? Will it collapse on my head one day? It's either safe or it's not. If it's safe - and I'd bet some qualified engineers could determine that over a weekend - let someone put up a sign before some tourist gets killed crossing the road. If it's not, close it. It sounds like it's more a tug-of-war between the current and former administration than using some logic. Get over it, people. We're a global city - let's act like it for once!
Edi Perović
Župa dubrovačka