The visit to Finland this Wednesday of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, will cause restrictions on land, air and sea traffic that will be felt especially in the Uusimaa region (Helsinki and surroundings), according to a statement released today by the Finnish police.
The police explained in a press release that there will be convoys and road closures in connection with Putin's visit that will affect land traffic especially in Helsinki and Vantaa on Wednesday 21 August. The most significant impacts will be on the major street Mannerheimintie, as well as in the surroundings of the presidential residence. The regular operations at the Helsinki Market Square will be closed for the whole day.
"Due to the traffic limitations, I advice against the use of private vehicles in the centre, or at least to prepare for long waiting times", says Chief Inspector Heikki Porola of the Helsinki Police Department.
Interruptions in Helsinki and Vantaa
According to the police, there will be convoys in the metropolitan area, which will cause traffic interruptions especially in the centre of Helsinki, but also on the lanes between Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and Helsinki city centre. There is no other traffic allowed on the convoy routes.
The Helsinki Market Square will be closed for all vehicles on Wednesday afternoon. The route to the South Harbour takes place via southern Helsinki on Tehtaankatu or on other routes as pointed out by the police.
Around noon, there will be following special traffic arrangements in the Helsinki city centre:
- The route from Pohjoisranta to the city centre is via Liisankatu.
- Mannerheimintie is closed some of the time, and there will be traffic interruptions at different points of Mannerheimintie.
- Pohjoisesplanadi is closed some of the time from other traffic.
These restrictions also apply to maintenance traffic.
There will be parking restrictions mainly in the Helsinki city centre. Cars parked in no-park zones will be towed away by the police. Tow-aways will be conducted as local tow-aways.
Port traffic restricted
Because of the visit, waterborne traffic will also be restricted. "There are no private boats allowed in front of the presidential residence on Wednesday", warns the police.
Special arrangements will affect traffic towards ports on Wednesday afternoon. Katajanokka can only be reached and exited through the north via Meritullintori and Kanavakatu,
and Ullanlinna, Kaivopuisto and Olympia Terminal can only be reached via the west.
"Heavy-duty traffic to the South Harbour will be quite challenging, because there are hardly any wide roads during the time of the visit. Road constructions in the area further affect this matter, for example Telakkakatu can not be used as a route. If possible, transitions should be scheduled before or after the visit", Chief Inspector Jarkko Lehtinen of the Helsinki Police Department advises.
Suomenlinna ferry and other public transport
The Helsinki Market Square operations will be closed for the whole visitation day, therefore also docks for waterbuses and cruise ships will be closed.
The Suomenlinna ferry service will be conducted from Katajanokka with the Suomenlinna maintenance ferry. Suomenlinna and Vallisaari can also be accessed by waterbus from Hakaniemi.
Alternative routes and delays are to be expected for other public transport. Disruption information will be posted on the HSL-websites as well as on the HSL-application in the beginning of next week.
Aviation
Aviation will be widely restricted in the Uusimaa region with temporary no-fly zones. The restrictions will begin Wednesday at 6 a.m. and they will end at midnight.
There are three different no-fly zones in the Uusimaa region (EFR1154 A, B and C), of which two (A and B) cover the Helsinki city centre and its southern marina area, as well as the area of Malmi airport.
The third, wider no-fly zone (C) extends to the northern side of Riihimäki in the north, to the western side of Loviisa in the east, to the western side of Lohja in the west, and many kilometres into Suomenlahti in the south. It's advisable to check the no-fly zones on a map.
All three no-fly zones start from the ground, but reach different heights in the vertical direction. The use of unmanned aircrafts and miniature aircrafts is therefore entirely prohibited during the period of validity of the no-fly zones in an exceptionally wide area.
