Park and riding into controversy
The City of Warsaw is ultimately planning to build several such garages all over the capital. For the time being, however, in the first stage of the investment, it concentrates on four localizations. These include a car park near the Młociny metro station, which will be realized within the station construction, followed by car parks at al. Wilanowska, ul. Połczyńska and ul. Włościańska. Tenders have already been closed for al. Wilanowska and ul. Włosciańska, of which the first will be realized by Mostostal Warszawa SA and the latter by PBK.
The concept of having a park-and-ride system in Warsaw emerged in 1999 when the City Council enacted a resolution on local planning, which included some assumptions on the system. The document forced gminas to select locations for park-and-ride facilities, and as a result 27 such places were agreed on. "We hope that the beginning of works at al. Wilanowska is feasible," said Tadeusz Chęć from the investment department of the Warsaw Transport Authority. Everything depends on when the construction permits are issued.
Park and ride is a system popular in many European cities, not necessarily the biggest ones, which tend to get gridlocked by commuters aiming at the city center. Park and ride is a way to encourage drivers coming to the city center from distant locations, especially from those with poor communication connections, to leave their vehicles in the suburbs and continue their journey by public transport.
"This system is operating in Cambridge, with more than 100,000 population, as well as in Helsinki, which has a population of more than one million," says Chęć. He also gave the example of a town in Germany, where drivers are informed the moment they drive into the city center about the situation in the local car parks and free places available. "Information is indispensable," he emphasizes. "There were attempts to launch park-and-ride systems in Poznań and Kraków. However, the system did not work due to poor information and illegible marking. Advertisements have to appear cyclically, we have to reach drivers on a constant basis. We have been informing Warsaw citizens since the beginning of May, by putting the information on our website and distributing leaflets."
Taking the traffic away from the center is one of the system's objective, the other being commuters' safety. Chęć points to a remark given at a discussion panel by a representative of the Warsaw Metropolitan Police. He highlighted the fact that the system, by taking drivers from their cars, could significantly reduce the number of casualties in car accidents. The expenditure on the casualties' treatment could instead be spent on developing the system, and one bus can replace 50 passenger cars. "Naturally, we predict increasing the number of buses and trams as the new parking system develops," he adds.
The investment, which costs zł.33 million, will be partly financed by EU structural funds. As with every big investment project, there are protests as to the project's realization. Most controversial is the car park at ul. Włościańska, just next to Hala Marymoncka, which will be built in place of the local market. At the beginning of this year Stanisław Biega from the ecological organization Zielone Mazowsze, collected 3,000 signatures for preserving the bazaar. "It is the cheapest bazaar in the area. The customers are the poor and elderly people who cannot afford shopping elsewhere," says Biega. He also says that this investment is likely to cause communication paralysis. The association has also calculated that in order to make one driver use park and ride will cost the city authorities zł.30,000.
The concept of having a park-and-ride system in Warsaw emerged in 1999 when the City Council enacted a resolution on local planning, which included some assumptions on the system. The document forced gminas to select locations for park-and-ride facilities, and as a result 27 such places were agreed on. "We hope that the beginning of works at al. Wilanowska is feasible," said Tadeusz Chęć from the investment department of the Warsaw Transport Authority. Everything depends on when the construction permits are issued.
Park and ride is a system popular in many European cities, not necessarily the biggest ones, which tend to get gridlocked by commuters aiming at the city center. Park and ride is a way to encourage drivers coming to the city center from distant locations, especially from those with poor communication connections, to leave their vehicles in the suburbs and continue their journey by public transport.
"This system is operating in Cambridge, with more than 100,000 population, as well as in Helsinki, which has a population of more than one million," says Chęć. He also gave the example of a town in Germany, where drivers are informed the moment they drive into the city center about the situation in the local car parks and free places available. "Information is indispensable," he emphasizes. "There were attempts to launch park-and-ride systems in Poznań and Kraków. However, the system did not work due to poor information and illegible marking. Advertisements have to appear cyclically, we have to reach drivers on a constant basis. We have been informing Warsaw citizens since the beginning of May, by putting the information on our website and distributing leaflets."
Taking the traffic away from the center is one of the system's objective, the other being commuters' safety. Chęć points to a remark given at a discussion panel by a representative of the Warsaw Metropolitan Police. He highlighted the fact that the system, by taking drivers from their cars, could significantly reduce the number of casualties in car accidents. The expenditure on the casualties' treatment could instead be spent on developing the system, and one bus can replace 50 passenger cars. "Naturally, we predict increasing the number of buses and trams as the new parking system develops," he adds.
The investment, which costs zł.33 million, will be partly financed by EU structural funds. As with every big investment project, there are protests as to the project's realization. Most controversial is the car park at ul. Włościańska, just next to Hala Marymoncka, which will be built in place of the local market. At the beginning of this year Stanisław Biega from the ecological organization Zielone Mazowsze, collected 3,000 signatures for preserving the bazaar. "It is the cheapest bazaar in the area. The customers are the poor and elderly people who cannot afford shopping elsewhere," says Biega. He also says that this investment is likely to cause communication paralysis. The association has also calculated that in order to make one driver use park and ride will cost the city authorities zł.30,000.
