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Uzbek
Tashkent plans to build 20 overpasses with a total cost of 107.2 billion soms. The City Council of People’s Deputies has already allocated 53.6 billion soms to start construction. However, experts and the public express serious doubts about the effectiveness of this decision. The city needs more thoughtful and rational solutions that consider the interests of all residents, not just drivers.
Financial Costs
Building overpasses requires significant financial investments. The planned cost of the project, 107.2 billion soms, raises questions about the rational use of budget funds. These funds could be directed to other, more priority and effective infrastructure projects that would bring greater benefit to the city and its residents.
Accessibility and Convenience
Overpasses are often inconvenient for most pedestrians, especially for the elderly, people with disabilities, and parents with small children or strollers. Climbing stairs or escalators requires additional physical effort, making such crossings unsuitable for many categories of citizens. Also, these structures are rarely equipped with elevators or lifts, and where they exist, the equipment often does not work.
Safety
Overpasses create an illusion of safety but may not solve traffic problems in practice. Drivers continue to develop high speeds on roads under them, increasing the risk of accidents. Moreover, pedestrians often prefer to cross the road at unauthorized places, ignoring the overpasses, which also reduces the level of safety.
Aesthetics and Urban Landscape
Massive overpass structures can negatively impact the city’s appearance. They occupy significant space and can block natural light and ventilation for the streets. Visually, they can clutter the urban landscape, worsening the overall perception of the city’s environment.
Alternative Solutions
Experts suggest considering alternative solutions, such as building underpasses or implementing traffic regulation systems that may be more effective and less costly. For example, creating ground-level regulated crossings with convenient pedestrian zones and improving road lighting can significantly increase safety and convenience for pedestrians without enormous financial expenses.
Expert Opinion
According to journalist and producer Nikita Makarenko, the proposed plans are a disaster and a crime. The republic’s leadership should intervene and stop this madness.
“The Traffic Safety Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs should issue a statement and condemn this project. The Ministry of Economy and Finance should prevent the thoughtless spending of funds, especially in a budget deficit situation. Scientific data and all international organizations have proven that overpasses make streets more dangerous. People die because of them! Overpasses are a ‘Karimov-era’ mistake. We thought we had long since gotten rid of this in New Uzbekistan,” he said.
Makarenko added that even the previous mayor of the capital, Jahongir Artikhodjaev, came to his senses in his last year and stopped building them.
“Unfortunately, the transport and infrastructure sector under Umurzakov has become even worse than under the ‘Akfa mayor.’ It seemed impossible, but it turns out it can be worse,” he concluded.
The text has been translated by AI. For more accurate information, please refer to the Russian version of the article.