Latvia will gradually remove all references to towns in Russia and Belarus from road signs, a measure that authorities in Riga intend to complete by September 30.
According to the Latvian publication Delfi, cited by RBC-Ukraine, the replacement of signs will be done as scheduled repair or modernization works are carried out on the road infrastructure.
The Ministry of Transport estimates that there are currently 235 signs and informative panels on national roads mentioning towns in Russia and Belarus.
Most of them are located on the main roads leading to the Vidzeme, Daugavpils, Bauska, and Jelgava regions, but such signs also exist in Riga. The Latvian capital's municipality has separately installed another 78 such signs.
The Ministry of Transport estimates that the partial modification of inscriptions and complete replacement of signs will cost approximately 120,000 euros, including VAT.
However, authorities have specified that they will not request additional funds from the state budget, with the works being financed from already available resources and carried out in stages.
Why they are not all changed immediately
The Ministry also considered covering only the names of towns on existing signs, but abandoned this solution for safety reasons.
According to authorities, partial changes could reduce the visibility of signs at night and make them harder for drivers to notice. For this reason, Latvia prefers to fully replace signs when they are renovated or reach the end of their useful life.
Latvia's relations with Russia and Belarus have deteriorated significantly following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In recent years, Riga has taken a series of measures to reduce ties with the two states, including in the field of transportation, trade, and public symbols.