December the 3rd, 2024 – The Zagreb traffic situation recently saw the Croatian capital placed among the top 20 worst cities for queues and jams. How can it actually be repaired?
As Index vijesti/news writes, according to recently published Global Traffic Congestion Rankings research, the Zagreb traffic situation is dire. That research uses Google maps to analyse daily data on traffic congestion in cities around the world, and it showed that in November, Zagreb was among the list of cities with the worst traffic congestion.
As far as Europe is concerned, Zagreb is the tenth city with the biggest traffic jams. The first is of course London, the second is Bucharest, the third is Paris, followed by Dublin, Budapest, Krakow, Moscow, Warsaw and Istanbul.
As far as the global order is concerned, in addition to the aforementioned European cities, Tehran, Mexico City, New York, Hyderabad, Sao Paolo, Lima, Bangkok, Riyadh, Bangalore and Mumbai have worse traffic jams than Zagreb.
what’s the plan to address the zagreb traffic situation?
The powers that be in the City of Zagreb’s administration have claimed that the huge increase of cars, of which there are more than 360,000 currently in Zagreb, is largely to blame for the congestion. As a solution, among other things, they propose investments and reconstruction of public transport and invite people to use it as much as possible. They’re also pushing hard for the use of other forms of transport, such as bikes.
The City of Zagreb also announced solutions such as the introduction of dynamic traffic control (semi-automatic traffic lights), physical barriers for yellow lanes, and the expansion of traffic light synchronisation.
There are also works being carried out along numerous roads in the city, as well as the renovation of bridges. “Everything needs to be renovated in Zagreb. There are huge traffic jams which are the result of poor planning, as well as a large increase in the number of cars,” said Mayor Tomislav Tomašević a month ago at the presentation of a plan to deal with the Zagreb traffic situation.
“There had been no investment in transport infrastructure. The city was neglected and not invested in, and that occurred in every conceivable way. One of the reasons for the congestion that is very evident is frequent construction works,” said Damir Bakić from the capital’s currently ruling Možemo!/We Can! party.
an issue of increased cars and of personal responsibility
Marko Ševrović, professor at the Zagreb Faculty of Transport Sciences, believes that the excessive number of cars is the main cause of the poor Zagreb traffic situation, but it isn’t necessarily the only one. He pointed out that with the increase in the number of cars on the city’s roads, the number of trips being made is also naturally increasing.
“Many of these activities that were once done on foot or by public transport are now done by car, which is the result of a lack of quality alternative options,” Ševrović believes.
He also stated that poor urban planning has led to the process of sub-urbanisation and poor connectivity between the suburbs and the very centre of Zagreb, which forces people to travel by car and contributes to congestion.
Ševrović then emphasised the importance of personal responsibility in solving the currently very bad Zagreb traffic situation. He believes that the capital doesn’t necessarily have too many cars, but that private cars are used too often instead of opting for alternatives. “We need better public transport that is reliable, frequent, comfortable and affordable. Zagreb should be planned out so that most activities are accessible on foot, by bike or by using public transport, thereby reducing dependence on cars,” he argues.
the zagreb traffic situation won’t alter overnight
Ševrović pointed out that no mayor, not even Tomašević, can reduce the use of cars in the city overnight. According to him, this requires radical changes in urban planning. He believes that widening the roads and building bridges won’t solve the problem by themselves either. “Simply, the pressure of cars on the city should be reduced,” he said.
Marijan Jakovljević from Zagreb’s FPZ also believes that the city needs a complete transport strategy that would focus on greater investments in public transport and railways instead of relying on temporary measures and road projects. He noted that the reduction of daily traffic congestion, which is caused by cars coming from surrounding towns, should be recognised and supported by the state.
suburban railway lines
Ševrović proposed the construction and modernisation of the suburban railway line to reduce traffic congestion in Zagreb. He believes that people coming from surrounding towns such as Velika Gorica, Zaprešić, Samobor and Dugo Selo shouldn’t be forced to come to Zagreb only by car, but should have parking terminals at suburban train stations in their own towns. “These terminals would provide easier access to rail transport, which would get them into the city quickly and efficiently. That infrastructure already exists, it just needs to be adjusted,” he said.
Regarding block parking in Zagreb, Ševrović stated that the problem is that everyone can buy a commercial ticket that is valid for all blocks, and it isn’t that expensive. He believes that a progressive tariff should have been introduced, according to which the price of parking would increase with the number of cars in the family. “For example, the price would be lower for the first car, while the price would increase for the second and third cars,” he said.
Jakovljević added that this particular measure would work to reduce congestion only in certain areas, but there is a risk that it will continue to spill over to other parts of the city.
the pros and cons of a zagreb city metro
The issue of the metro is often mentioned in discussions about the poor Zagreb traffic situation and potential options to rectify it.
Damir Pološki, a retired civil engineer, is the man who designed the Zagreb rotor, the Jankomir junction and the Istrian Y. He recently told RTL that building a metro shouldn’t be a big problem for Zagreb. He proposed the construction of a decade ago and even drew up a plan. He imagined three metro lines, the first would connect the north and south of the city, the second would do the same for the the west and east, and the third would be circular. The tunnel tubes would be dug at a depth of 30 metres each.
“The cost of a metro line per kilometre today could stand at around 40 million euros with stations. A decade ago, it was 20 million euros in Vienna. Construction may be more expensive here, but we know the reasons for that. It’s not because of the construction work, but because of the needs of other people,” claimed Pološki.
Geologist Stanislav Frančišković-Bilinski also believes that the metro could be the solution to the city’s car troubles. He said that there are no technical difficulties facing such an option, and that Zagreb’s size is not a valid reason to reject the idea, because, he says, the Italian Catania has a metro with even fewer inhabitants. “Sometimes it seems to me that such rumours are deliberately spread so that politicians in power would have an excuse not to build a metro. The average speed of the tram is 12 kilometres per hour, which is a total disaster, and the city doesn’t have enough tram capacity anyway,” he explained.
The Faculty of Transport Sciences, however, strongly disagrees with the idea. Ševrović believes that this investment is too expensive and would take a long time. He reiterated that instead, a suburban railway is a much more sensible solution. The dean of the Faculty of Transport Sciences, Marko Šoštarić, agreed with him. “Zagreb has a well-laid railway line which runs through the very centre of the city, and if it were partially optimised, it could be some kind of backbone for the Zagreb metro system, or a high-capacity railway that would be fully functional for public city transport,” he concluded.
