The Union of Municipalities of Montenegro submitted to the Ministry of Transport its opinion on the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Roads, with the aim of improving the legal solutions and ensuring their clearer and more efficient application in practice at the local level.
The statement recalls that the Law on Local Self-Government prescribes the obligation to consult municipalities in the process of drafting laws that concern their status, rights, and obligations. Although this procedure was not fully carried out in this particular case, the Union of Municipalities, in the spirit of cooperation and partnership with the Ministry, conducted consultations with local self-government units and submitted consolidated proposals for supplementing the legal text.
The proposals of the Union of Municipalities are primarily aimed at defining terms and competences more precisely, in order to avoid differing interpretations of the law in practice. It was pointed out that the law should more clearly recognize the separation of motor traffic from pedestrian and bicycle traffic, bearing in mind that sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and cycling paths are integral parts of streets in populated areas and constitute elements of transport infrastructure.
Particular emphasis was placed on regulating the road body within settlements, in order to enable the full application of provisions relating to the issuance of traffic-technical conditions and approvals, as well as the collection of legally prescribed fees for the construction of infrastructure facilities. As stated, this would prevent legal uncertainty and inconsistent practice, as well as the avoidance of obligations by certain contractors working on road infrastructure.
The Union of Municipalities also proposed amendments relating to the competences of local administration authorities in the area of controlling the impact of other structures and works on road infrastructure, particularly on sections of state roads that pass through settlements, the maintenance of which largely falls on local self-governments.
One of the proposals also relates to the marking of bus stops in populated areas, with the aim of harmonizing it with the applicable technical regulations and ensuring legality in the actions of the competent authorities.
The Union of Municipalities expresses its readiness to continue actively cooperating with the Ministry of Transport in the coming period on improving the legislative framework in the field of roads, with the conviction that the submitted proposals will contribute to clearer rules, more efficient management of road infrastructure, and better application of the law in practice.
