Yesterday23:47

Athens – Traffic on the streets: Experts answer why chaos prevails

Because the traffic was worse than before the pandemic. Extensive NTUA research.

In black, they presented the situation on the streets of Athens, as well as other large cities due to traffic, transport specialists and scientists who participate in the relevant research of the First Program and in the show “The GPS of the news”, in cooperation with the NTUA.

In fact, scientists sounded the alarm bell, arguing that if immediate action is not taken, the situation will become even worse that will even lead to a reduction in the value of travel.

The return to normalcy led to an increase in traffic.

According to the data presented by Panagiotis Tzouras, transport specialist and PhD candidate at NTUA, in relation to September 2020, the increase of the load in Kifissos is 10% to 15% and in Kifissias Avenue it exceeds 30%. The delays during the morning rush hours in Kifissos exceed 25 to 30 minutes and on Attiki Odos they reach 10 to 15 minutes. Delays are also recorded at the Ymittos Ring Road, with the result that the irritation and fatigue of drivers and passengers intensifies daily.

At the same time, the The big “loser” of the pandemic was public transport, as ticket validations are about 3/4 compared to 2019. That is, we have 1/4 of the daily validations, which logically has gone to the car.

“This, combined with the increase in mobility following the lifting of the restrictive measures, has created the situation we live in.” stressed Mr. Tzouras.

At the same time, the data from the Ministry of Transport show that 94% of public transport routes are less than 50% full and only 2% the fullness is over 65%. “But there is a difference during peak hours. That is, the buses are very crowded during peak hours and are almost empty the rest of the hours. Mobility has not only a spatial dimension, but also a temporal one “, he pointed out.

“The situation is hopeless. “Athens, in which one has invested by buying a house,” dies “and this house in a few years will have half the value”, pointed out Emeritus Professor of NTUA, Transport Specialist – Urban Planner, Thanos VlastosThe “What is happening today will bother us much more in the coming years. We are going to the very worst “, he described, describing various “barbarities” that we live in cities with children as the first “victims” and that they belong to the elderly.

He called for an example of what is happening in other European countries, where citizens applaud policies to curb cars and increase sidewalks and bike lanes.

We are not going to disappear cars from the city streets overnight, nor to live in “paradise” during rush hour. “There are solutions and the most important thing is to be able to turn people into urban transport, which is not possible at all.”believe on his part, o Associate Professor at NTUA, Konstantinos Kepaptsoglou.

“I think we are a little worse than 2019 at peak hours. While we had increased traffic 08.00 am- 09.00 am, now we have 09.00 am- 10.00 am and 10.00 am- 11.00 am. The river is blocked at 13.00 in the current to Piraeus “, he added.

Meanwhile, with return of the ring from October 25, there is intense concern about how traffic will be affected on regional road networks. Nevertheless, “Some form of ring is difficult to avoid. “The problem is that we are far behind, abroad the priorities have nothing to do with the environment and other constraints, while we are left in the unit-balance”, pointed out on his part o traffic engineer, Konstantinos Kouretas.

The proposal of the Greek transport specialists It has always been that access should be provided to all, said Mr. Kouretas. But this with very good alternative means. “Our big weapon is the MMM. If we do not ensure equality and human access to all, we can not talk about prohibitions. “The bans in the city centers must go hand in hand with the improvement of the alternative.”

What needs to be ensured is that we have a peripheral network as optimized as possible, which has done both with the signaling and with the monitoring of the parking, the adjustment of the supply schedule, so that the road network operates in a way of life, according to Mr. Koureta. “The aim is to reduce the need for a car so that they do not take up so much space on the roads and to give this space to pedestrians, bicycles and public transport.”

The investigation continues on Tuesday, October 12, with the participation of the secretary general. of the Ministry of Environment Th. Bakoyannis, the president of the Network for Reform in Greece and Europe Anna Diamantopoulou, the transport expert George Giannis and Fanis Papadimitriou from Attiki Odos.

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