Kunming proposing congestion fee, more public parking
AND while we're on the subject - taxis that reject fares or change shifts during rush hour - HUMONGOUS LUDICROUSLY LARGE BIG OL HEFTY FINES. Not to mention all the revenues they can get for their spastic driving habits.
The new municipal government has set its sights on what has become a perennial problem in Kunming: traffic. The city is proposing stricter enforcement of existing laws plus measures such as more public parking spaces and the introduction of a congestion fee, according to a Yunnan Net report.
In general, whenever the city government experiences a leadership change, major traffic infrastructure projects and other initiatives follow. In what may be a sign of a tougher attitude toward the increasing electric bike traffic, police at checkpoints throughout the city were busy today conducting random registration checks on electric bike drivers.
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Construction of 'Turtle Back' throws Kunming traffic into chaos News
A variety of measures have been taken, most of them only offering temporary relief, such as converting major traffic arteries into one-way streets, building an overpass at Xiao Ximen, adding an elevated road to the second ring road and construction of a third ring road.
Kunming adding 900 vehicles to its roads daily Features
Despite the successes and failures of previous measures adopted by the Kunming government, it is too early to judge the resoluteness of the city government under party chief Zhang, who recently replaced Qiu He (仇和) a get-things-done leader who oversaw many of the aforementioned improvements to the city's traffic infrastructure.
Previous attempts to make Kunming traffic more civilized have also been met with resistance, most notably the two recent attempts to eliminate non-emergency use of car horns downtown.
Since the city can't really raise taxes - BIG OL HEFTY FINES is a fantastic way to increase revenues to the city coffers. That's how American cities have operated for decades - police don't enforce laws and protect and serve the public - they use those guns to ensure we law abiding people don't squalk too much when they give us traffic tickets for any of a megagazillion to the infinity power things we can do wrong - including the post 9/11 "looking suspicious" law.
January 14, 2012, 8:39pmChe ching!!! Ring in those fines with the ole cash register.
Kunming to target vehicle emissions News
I also noticed that people in Hong Kong don't use their horns much, as opposed to Kunming where somebody will be honking at 5:00 a.m. when there is only one other vehicle on the road!
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The city is currently proposing charging a congestion fee for downtown drivers for the first time, as well as revisiting the idea of building parking garages, which in early 2009 seemed to be a priority but subsequently saw little follow-through. The only information made public about the proposed congestion fee and increase in public parking is that the goal of these actions will be to reduce the number of cars on the road downtown.
Related articlesKunming's Qiu He era ends News
Addressing Kunming's increasingly congested streets has been an uphill battle for the city government during the rapid growth in private car ownership over the last decade. During this time, more and more drivers are driving and parking on sidewalks, and one driver has even taken to driving on pedestrian bridges.
CommentsJanuary 11, 2012, 8:55pm