Frustration with construction works boils over in Helsinki’s Töölö district

Residents in Helsinki’s Töölö district faced another transport disruption on Monday when trams stopped running on Runeberginkatu, without a replacement bus immediately available.

Isabel Mäntyala, who recently moved to Helsinki to study, looked at an HSL information screen at the Runeberginkatu stop. It said that neither tram 8 nor tram 2 would serve the stop. She said the city often felt torn up by construction, making travel plans unnecessarily difficult.

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People need to be able to move around the city, and transport connections must work smoothly. That is not happening now.

The disruption forms part of wider works across Töölö. Construction sites, barriers and closed road sections are visible at many corners, with some of the largest works extending from Linnankoskikatu to Töölöntori. A new tram line is being built, and trams will not run through Töölö during the coming year.

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There is no choice but to walk towards Kallio. This really disrupts everyday life.

Mäntyala continued part of her journey by bus. Juha-Matti Kivinen, who needed to reach his workplace in Kallio, decided to walk from Töölöntori. He said the disruption interfered with everyday life, although he believed he could eventually adapt.

At Töölöntori, longtime coffee drinkers Simo Mäkelä and Jaakko Lehto said repairs and improvements were necessary, but complained about the constant exceptions and diversions. Lehto said residents on Museokatu were close to being effectively cut off. Mäkelä joked that the city might want residents to move away, while Lehto said he had no intention of leaving.

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On Museokatu, we will soon be effectively trapped.