Smaller Chinese cities driving into 'congestion era'
- Source: Xinhua
- [08:37 December 06 2010]
- Comments
URBAN PLANNERS LACKED FORESIGHT
Surging car sales and flawed mass transit systems are often blamed for China's traffic jams. For second- and third-tiered cities, they are just copying the development mode of the metropolises -- selling cars first and then building roads.
"Urban planners lacked foresight when laying out roads at the very beginning, and the previous road designs and traffic management systems lag behind the fast urban expansion and development," said Li Yixiang, a local lawmaker in Anhui.
"Mass transit systems should be improved greatly and underground space should be utilized, such as building more underground parking lots and public transport transfer stations," said Li, of the Anhui Provincial Department of Land and Resources.
To ease traffic congestion, Beijing and other cities have limited car usage, but this seems to have had little impact against a backdrop of booming car sales.
From January to October this year, China produced 14.62 million autos, up 34.49 percent year-on-year, and sold 14.68 million autos, up 34.76 percent, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Both figures have exceeded the total numbers of the whole of last year.
The association predicts auto output and sales would both surpass 17 million this year.
Since no local governments have voiced their intentions to restrict private car purchases, some experts have proposed hiking license plate fees, parking fees and fuel taxes to limit car use.
"We should charge higher parking fees in certain areas and certain hours based on the extent of congestion to prevent a number of cars from traveling in those areas at peak times," said Zheng Yefu, a sociologist of the Peking University.
Lu Huapu, of the Tsinghua University who studies transport planning, believes Beijing has actually just entered its "congestion era," and China's provincial-level capitals and a number of other major cities will enter the "congestion era" within three to five years.
He says people cannot be deprived of their right to buy cars but something needs to be done about traffic congestion to protect the interests of everyone.
He has proposed a "congestion fee" to limit the amount of drivers on the road where there are too many vehicles. He says "when there is congestion, congestion fees should be charged." He proposes that drivers should be penalized when their car speed drops below 15 km per hour for a certain duration. "Guaranteeing the normal operation of a city is critical."
