Policies to reduce traffic congestion in Ulaanbaatar discussed
Ahead of the Mongolian Economic Forum 2022, discussions are taking place on six main topics for the New Revival Policy being implemented by the government of Mongolia.
On March 25, a discussion on the topic “Revival of Urban and Rural Areas” was organized and the discussion touched on policies set out to reduce traffic congestion in Ulaanbaatar.
Moderated by Deputy Director of Bloomberg TV B.Batmanlai, the discussion included panelists Member of Parliament E.Bat-Amgalan, Deputy Minister of Roads and Transport Development J.Bat-Erdene, Ulaanbaatar Road and Transport Projects Manager B.Odsuren, JICA Representative Taiga Koizumi, Consultant of Shunkhlai Group B.Byambasaikhan, and architect Z.Tuya.
Member of Parliament E.Bat-Amgalan noted, “Half of Mongolia’s total population reside in Ulaanbaatar. Access to education is one of the dozens of problems caused by centralization. In Bayanzurkh District, there are only 35 public schools for about 100,000 school-age children. Apart from education and health, we have to solve problems related to production, innovation, and green space.”
LONGSTANDING ISSUE – IMPORTED VEHICLES
Deputy Minister of Roads and Transport Development J.Bat-Erdene remarked, “Traffic congestion depends on many factors. It is very important to ensure the coherence of activities, goals, and objectives related to traffic congestion. In other words, it is important to align projects and activities in the capital with government policies.”
TRAFFIC CONGESTION IS A CROSSSECTORAL ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED COMPREHENSIVELY
“Urban traffic congestion is a cross-sectoral issue of urban development, road transport, legislation, and education. Therefore, a comprehensive plan must be developed. Some 700,000 vehicles travel every day. Therefore, the first objective is to increase the public transport network. There is also a need to increase the capacity of Tuul and Selbe rivers and railways by creating tunnels and bridges with a distance of one to two kilometers in line with the standards,” stated Ulaanbaatar Road and Transport Projects Manager B.Odsuren.
“In addition, traffic congestion increases by 23 percent due to the quality and access to education. The public transport fleet has not been renovated since 2009. Therefore, we’ve introduced the Light Rail Transit (LRT) project. Also, a terminal parking with a capacity of 30,000 vehicles will be built at city entry points. Open markets and trade centers are to operate in these locations. Soft policies are also being developed for parking, traffic rules, and driving culture.”
JICA PROPOSES 5 PROJECTS
JICA Representative Taiga Koizumi stated, “Our organization has been conducting research and analysis throughout the year to reduce the centralization of Ulaanbaatar and reduce traffic congestion and is proposing five main projects. Based on the research, three long-term projects were selected. The first is to have a high-speed aerial train. The launch of this high-speed train is expected to reduce the traveling time from Yarmag to the city center by a full hour. A project to reduce congestion is to be implemented in Sapporo and Bayanburd areas.”
FUNDING OBSTRUCTED PUBLIC-PRIVATE
PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Consultant for Shunkhlai Group’s Digital City Project B.Byambasaikhan says, “An intelligent vehicle system is very important for Ulaanbaatar during the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Without a smart management system, widening the road and building a new one will not properly bring good results. Projects will be effective only through a digital transition.”
The Digital City Project aims to support making big data-driven policy decisions. For example, a smart management system should be used to decide whether it is right or wrong to raise taxes charged when people enter the city center, the consultant said.