Mayor: Tartu Road Kose-Võõbu Section Turned Life Upside Down in Paide
Mayor: Tartu Road Kose-Võõbu Section Turned Paide's Life Upside Down
According to Paide Mayor Priit Värk, the Tartu Road section opened last summer put the city back on the map. Several major investments are coming to Paide, real estate prices are growing, and local life has become noticeably more active.
„In 2022, the four-lane road should reach Paide from Tallinn and we have been waiting for it here for decades like waiting for a white ship," said Värk with a touch of humor, and added that with the completed road section, the distance between Tallinn and Paide will be reduced by 5.3 kilometers and about ten minutes.
According to Priit Värk, the Kose-Võõbu road section completed last summer turned life in the city upside down in a good way over the course of a year, which is illustrated by several powerful investments planned for Paide that were previously kept quiet, one of the prerequisites being the completion of the four-lane road.
„E-Piim is investing approximately 100 million in building a new factory and bringing up to 150 new jobs, and Nordic Milk is also planning to build a new dairy plant, which will create up to 100 new jobs, which are the most important industrial developments for Paide in a decade," said Värk.
„In the wake of the new road section, interest from smaller manufacturing and retail companies in Paide has grown significantly. New roads bring Tallinn with its ports and airport closer – from Paide city center to Ülemiste is now only 50 minutes away. Also, the new acceleration lanes in the South Estonia direction have made logistics considerably more convenient and safer," said Paide Mayor.
„Another thing is the overall living environment. Convenient access from Tallinn brings life here and also influences people to move back. So far, the trend in both Paide and elsewhere is unfortunately that young people no longer return to the countryside after going to university in Tallinn or Tartu. But if good and fast roads are brought here, then working in a larger city and living in Paide can be combined. The growth of Paide's popularity as a place to live is also demonstrated by the rapid rise in local real estate prices in recent years," added Värk.
„Fast connections are a prerequisite for smaller places to compete with larger cities. Paide as a green, safe and attractive living environment will also not be so utopian for technology companies and international talent in the future," said Värk.
„If you look beyond Paide city to Järvamaa and other smaller settlements with scattered populations, then for rural people, the condition of roads is a primary issue – when will there be a properly surfaced road that is also properly maintained in winter. Proper local roads are a vitally important issue for all of Estonia in reducing peripheralization," said Värk, and added that in parallel, regional public transport connections should also be improved, which, for example between Paide, Tartu and Tallinn, are currently quite inconvenient.
