Cars as the New Cholesterol of Buenos Aires’ Veins

The following post comes courtesy of Global Site Plans' The Grid. CNU and Global Site Plans recently teamed up to syndicate Grid content, as its contingent of writers presents a view on the opportunities and issues of urbanization all across the world. CNU will carry select posts from the Grid direct on the CNU Salons.

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 Buenos Aires has a saturated transportation system and, due to this factor, the population’s quality of life is on the decline.

The main cause of this collapsing system is the disproportionate participation of the private car. The total amount of movement in the city via private car reaches almost forty percent of total movement per day. This mode of transportation contrasts directly with the well-known and once very used urban bus, with a differential (preferred) and reduced consumption of road space in relation to the number of people actually transported.

As famous Argentine Architect Luis Grossman put it: “We are now witnessing a monstrous transformation of our city, with its circulatory system in danger, her veins blocked. Cars are the cholesterol of our city, and will end up killing it.”

It should be noted that in a congested city mobility implies high costs for each user and for society in general. Such costs are paid for by all citizens, though some may not even realize it. In the case of the private car, own costs include time lost at increasingly long traffic jams, fuel, tolls and parking.

Within social costs, add on time lost in congestion, air pollution and noise, the increased likelihood of accidents and their impact on productivity and the economy, health, quality of life and environment.

Costs, in the end, to be paid by society as a whole.

Some work has been done to increase sustainable mobility, and ten ideas have been proposed in academic circles in order to find a possible answer to the issue by correct urban planning:

1. Implement a Park & ​​Ride system, which involves parking lots at major entrances to the city, connected with public transit systems.

2. Create exclusive lanes for public transit, reversible lanes and flow direction changes for proven high-traffic areas.

3. Create a bus rapid transit system,  with special stops and pre-paid tickets.

4. Encourage non-motorized transit options, such as pedestrian and bicycle options, which are also environmentally sustainable.

5. Restrictions on parking in the central areas of the city, so as to prioritize public transportation over other modes of travel.

6. Apply differential costs of tolls on urban highways, for days, hours, type of vehicle and occupancy.

7. Implement a “smart” traffic control, allowing for quick detection of congestion and traffic flow.

8. Encourage road safety education in schools and community awareness to discourage traffic accidents.

9. Promote the maintenance and continuous improvement of road networks, which include signaling and proper delineation of roads.

10. Improve transshipment centers to enhance intermodality.

If we want to see these ideas turn into reality, it is necessary to promote cooperation within the various levels of government. National, provincial and local governments must all cooperate, and it must also be assumed that the lack of a regional transportation plan is the main obstacle to overcome in order to achieve a solution to this problem.

Are there ways to save your city’s ‘circulatory’ system? Do you think we only need the space to start discussing them?

To read the original post, written by Luis Lozano-Paredes, visit Global Site Plans.