The Chinese government is urgently seeking ways to ease traffic in Beijing as cars multiply by the millions, clogged roads undermine productivity and the 2008 Olympics draw nearer, the official news agency said yesterday.
The number of cars on the Chinese capital's traffic-clogged streets has surpassed 2 million -- and is expected to grow by at least 3 million more in the next few years, the Xinhua News Agency said.
Beijing recorded a total of 16,789 traffic jams last year, Xinhua said. It didn't specify exactly what counted as a traffic jam. But, it lamented, rush hour is "actually consuming 11 hours of the day."
"Beijing residents often joke that the time they spend on the way to work often turns out to be longer than their actual working hours," Xinhua said.
Duan Liren, former deputy director of Beijing's Traffic Control Bureau, said 1 million more vehicles hit Beijing's streets in the past seven years and an additional 3 million -- minimum -- are expected in the next few years.
Beijing's roads are struggling to keep up: The city government has spent more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) annually since 2000 upgrading roads and adding more than 2,000km of roads inside the city limits.
Population growth -- an increase of 3.8 million people in the past decade -- has also pushed the number of drivers up sharply. The government also blames "Beijing's urban design layout."
"Many government offices, shopping centers and large enterprises are located in the downtown area of Beijing, while most of their employees live far away and even in the suburban areas," Xinhua said. "It has become a major burden on the local public transportation system."
Xinhua said the Beijing government is considering encouraging citizens to use public transportation and car pools more. The agency, quoting "government sources," also said Beijing plans a policy of charging different parking fees for different vehicles, with private cars being required to pay more.
And He Zuoxiu, a scholar at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, suggests public transit be expanded and "integrated" to help people move around more conveniently.
"For example, bus stations should be placed at or near subway entrances and exits to make it easier for those who need to take more than one public transportation on their outings," He was quoted as saying.
ECONOMIC WORRIES: The ruling PAP faces voters amid concerns that the city-state faces the possibility of a recession and job losses amid Washington’s tariffs Singapore yesterday finalized contestants for its general election on Saturday next week, with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) fielding 32 new candidates in the biggest refresh of the party that has ruled the city-state since independence in 1965. The move follows a pledge by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財), who took office last year and assumed the PAP leadership, to “bring in new blood, new ideas and new energy” to steer the country of 6 million people. His latest shake-up beats that of predecessors Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) and Goh Chok Tong (吳作棟), who replaced 24 and 11 politicians respectively
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
Russian hackers last year targeted a Dutch public facility in the first such an attack on the lowlands country’s infrastructure, its military intelligence services said on Monday. The Netherlands remained an “interesting target country” for Moscow due to its ongoing support for Ukraine, its Hague-based international organizations, high-tech industries and harbors such as Rotterdam, the Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) said in its yearly report. Last year, the MIVD “saw a Russian hacker group carry out a cyberattack against the digital control system of a public facility in the Netherlands,” MIVD Director Vice Admiral Peter Reesink said in the 52-page
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
RSS