Plans to change traffic directions on major Taipei roads have been shelved, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
During a lecture at the University of Taipei, Ko said Renai (仁愛) and Xinyi (信義) roads would remain one-way until at least the end of the year.
The two major roads run parallel to each other. Traffic along most of Renai Road runs west to east, while traffic along most of Xinyi runs east to west.
Ko last week said that the city was mulling making both roads two-way their entire distance.
Huang Huang-chia (黃皇嘉), division head for planning in the Taipei Traffic Engineering Office, said the city had decided not to make the roads two-way after discovering that, contrary to expectations, the volume of traffic had increased following completion of the “red” Xinyi MRT line along the length of Xinyi Road.
Given the traffic volume, making both roads two-way could cause congestion at major intersections, with the waiting time to cross some intersections likely to triple, he said.
Managing more complicated two-way traffic would also necessitate costly and time-consuming construction as well as reconsideration of the special bus lanes on the two roads, he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Lee Hsin (李新) criticized the decision.
Making the roads two-way would be more convenient for drivers and also help businesses by making it easier for passengers to alight on either side of the road, Lee said.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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