Endless congestion in Prague: Is the “bad” municipality really to blame for everything? The traffic expert sees several reasons
The traffic situation in the capital seems to be deteriorating day by day. Congestion is almost everywhere and drivers lose an incredible amount of time and nerves every day. Especially from the ranks of the Prague opposition, it is (logically) heard that Mayor Zdeněk Hřib and his team are to blame. Really?
“It’s a combination of several factors. We have a classic holiday situation, for example. After all, people return to the city after the holidays and set their traffic behavior again. In short, due to various changes in life, many of them are no longer suitable for the same way of commuting as the previous year. Often this reason is, for example, the transfer of children from kindergartens to schools, etc., “ considers for Čtidoma.cz Vratislav Filler.
It has been underestimated for many years
Yes, then of course there are various repairs that could not be completed over the holidays. “Of course, we have to put all the repairs into the summer months, when people are on vacation. Unfortunately, not everything can be repaired in the next two months, so the actual part of the repairs will exceed the month of September, for example. “ the head of the capital Hřib commented on the situation.
However, Filler would not blame the current mayor alone. According to him, everyone who has been involved in transport in the last fifteen years knows that road maintenance in Prague is underestimated, and therefore they are in a deplorable state.
Lockdown is also to blame
However, few people put the current situation on Prague’s roads directly connected with protective measures against covid and minus lockdowns.
“A large number of people then started driving for safety reasons. So public transportation was almost empty. As far as I know, this condition is now more or less normal, but it is still not used as it was in 2019. It is true that to determine some of the people who actually stayed in the car after the lockdown, “ Filler has an explanation.
Comfort comes first
Another reason for the problem, according to a transport specialist, is that we still have to wear drapes in public transport. And also the fact that traveling by car is simply more comfortable, and when people got used to it, they didn’t want to go back to the trams.
“There are not many people who used to use public transport but now drive a car due to pandemic measures, only about ten percent. But even this small amount can mean the difference between a free road and a traffic jam. There is limited capacity on Prague’s roads. In the metro and trams, people can get more involved and fit more, but that’s not how it works on the roads. “
More and more drivers outside Prague, how to get out of it?
In which parts of Prague more traffic from suburban, ie areas outside Prague, is increasing. She is today accounts for more than half of car traffic in the capital and this, of course, is also signed on it, especially on the outskirts of the metropolis.
The reason is crowded trains and few bus connections, which do not run as often as needed. In addition, the intervals are disproportionately long. “On the outskirts of the city and behind Prague, it is necessary to build a parking lot so that the cars that congest traffic in the capital do not reach the center at all.” said the expert.
It is also needed, according to Filler engage more wagons for trains where a short platform does not matter. “It simply came to our notice then accelerating the reconstruction of tram lines and capacity building of railway lines. Quite simply – congestion in Prague helps to solve the greater capacity and availability of public transport the most.
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