Skopje keeps central greenery in new BRT plan
City says buses will run on both sides of the median so the central green strip can remain; infrastructure works and new buses are scheduled.
Skopje city authorities say they have found a functional redesign of the planned Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) that preserves the central green median instead of removing it. The mayor presented the new concept during a televised interview on September 19, 2026.
According to the mayor, the revised layout will run buses on the left and right sides of the road while keeping the central greenery intact and adding two additional lanes. "In the past more out of stubbornness the project was left waiting for years, the most critical point was the central greenery which in the past was to be removed, we changed the concept, because there is an alternative which can be functional, instead of removing the central greenery, buses will go from the left and from the right side, thereby keeping the central greenery and adding two more lanes," the mayor said.
Officials say the first infrastructure phase — linking Gjorche Petrov and the New Railway Station — has already been launched, and first construction works are expected in the second half of 2027. The mayor also said a tendered phase includes the connection between Gjorche Petrov and Novo Lisiche and a later procurement of roughly 40 new eco buses.
Parking pressure around the Clinical Centre will be addressed with two large modular car parks with a combined capacity of more than 520 vehicles, according to the mayor. "I want first to welcome the Government's idea for a new Clinical Centre, but until then we will solve the chaos at the Clinical Centre and a tender procedure has been announced for the construction of two large modular car parks which will meet needs of over 520 parking places; if everything goes as it should immediately after the tender we will begin construction," he said.
The city also confirmed a signed contract to start repairs on the ropeway on Middle Vodno and expects repa ir works to begin within 7–10 days from September 19, 2026 (around September 26–29, 2026). After a thorough service and receipt of official safety guarantees, the ropeway will be returned to public operation.
Work on the bridge at Jane Sandanski is nearing completion: expropriation is finished and the mayor said the bridge will be ready for use within three weeks of September 19, 2026 (by about October 10, 2026), which should help ease traffic in the area.
Photo: press material from the event
