New bus routes are planned to alleviate traffic congestion in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), the Department of Transportation said yesterday.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) instructed the department to draft new traffic management plans earlier this year to resolve congestion around Neihu Technology Park (內湖科學園區).
Comprehensive Planning Division chief Huang Hui-ju (黃惠如) said that dispersal of Neihu traffic is difficult because the district is surrounded by mountains and the Keelung River (基隆河), limiting the number of roads to other districts.
Growth of the technology park has overloaded roads in the area, Huang said, adding that, while 120,000 people work at the park, surrounding roads were planned with only 70,000 in mind.
She said congestion is worsened by the park’s entrance being located by a busy intersection for traffic flow from northern districts to downtown Taipei.
Borough wardens in the area have called for a new bridge to be constructed spanning the Keelung River directly from the park’s entrance, but the proposal was found to be infeasible because of construction height restrictions imposed by Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), she said.
The department instead plans to add new direct bus routes between the park and areas where use of the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) to commute is inconvenient, such as Sijhih (汐止), Sindian (新店), Beitou (北投) and Shilin (士林), she said. The four Taipei and New Taipei City districts account for one-quarter of the park’s traffic, according to department statistics.
Presently, there are only two direct bus routes to the park, connecting it with Yuanshan (圓山) and Taipei City Hall.
Borough Warden Chiang Shui-lung (江水龍) said additional direct bus routes would not dissuade people from driving to work, due to the wide availability of free parking at the park, adding that a moveable bridge proposed by borough wardens in the Neihu District would not be affected by airport construction height restrictions.
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