The Tallinn City Government has made a hasty decision and started dismantling the former high-voltage masts located along Putukaväil. This irreversible step destroys the chance to create a truly unique, character-filled, and valuable urban space for the city.

These old masts are not just scrap metal; they are testaments to the area's industrial history and powerful vertical landmarks in an otherwise flat and horizontal landscape. By removing them, a potential world-class linear park will turn into yet another sterile, boring, and visually uninspiring paved path, of which the city already has plenty.

Although depreciation and safety are cited as excuses, previous assessments indicated that without power lines, the load on the masts is significantly reduced, and there is no imminent danger of collapse. Demolition is simply the easiest, least imaginative, and administratively most convenient path. We are dissatisfied with a situation where urban planning always prefers a "clean slate" approach instead of making an effort to preserve and creatively reuse industrial heritage.

The world's best urban renewal projects are often based on the symbiosis of old and new. For example, New York's famous High Line park or Germany's Landschaftspark Duisburg prove that the smart integration of former industrial infrastructure with nature creates a world-class environment that attracts visitors from afar. Tallinn should follow their example!

To this end, we make the following concrete proposals to the Tallinn City Government:

1. Immediate halt to demolition work: Immediately stop the demolition of the remaining high-voltage masts at Putukaväil to preserve what can still be saved of this unique spatial element.

2. Independent and solution-oriented expertise: Commission a new technical assessment aimed not at justifying demolition, but at finding solutions for safely integrating the masts (or their secure parts, such as the lower sections) into the new urban space. With modern engineering solutions, it is entirely possible to reinforce such structures and make them safe.

3. Open idea competition: Initiate an open idea competition in collaboration with the Estonian Association of Architects, landscape architects, and the local community to find a new function for the masts. They could be used, for instance, as support structures for landscaping, lighting carriers, viewing platforms, or large-scale land art objects.

4. Sustainability and circular economy: Apply the principles of the circular economy in urban planning. Demolishing an existing, large-scale structure and scrapping it wastes resources. Preservation and reimagining is a more socially responsible and environmentally friendly choice that supports the values of Tallinn as a European Green Capital.

Let's give Putukaväil the chance to become Tallinn's most distinctive green space! Let's stop the demolition and find a new life for the masts.