Muscovites elect new Moscow metro map

In spite of that Moscow metro is one of the hugest subway systems in the world (Russian capital is at 9^th place by number of station, they are 188 ones) the Moscow metro scheme is quiet simple. It is radial with lines crossing in the centre. Compare with Tokio or Seoul subway and be horrified. 

 

For a long term there was old-time habitual scheme which was very comfortable for residents and guests of Russian capital. It had thick lines and big points of stations, there were information about railway stations and aero-expresses. But in September designers Moscow company “Autosell” created new scheme, very modern and according to European models. But this performance was found to be very failure, usual people and professional designers found a lot of bad mistakes and called new map like crude workmanship. This scheme had no connection with real location, it had not railway stations, airports and the river Moscow. But there were found such thing as irregularity of filling, unequal lines, letters, outlines, serifs, new map had not common design standards. 

 Immediately a lot of new alternative schemes appeared and the other day the Moscow transport department started a competition between three best schemes proposed by professional designers. Muscovites can elect new metro map themselves, their votes will have determined by the 1^st of February which scheme will be stuck in trains and stations. 

Now there are three applicants to be a winner: Artemy Lebedev Studio, RIA “Novosty” design agency and designer from Chelyabinsk Ilya Birman. All these schemes take into account the mistakes of the former one, combine traditional line forms and European freedom, lightness and contrast. 

ALS created new information level on the scheme, they added suburban trains and connected them with metro and such way displayed comfort and simplicity to go by suburban trains. Designers also offered to create two separated versions, Russian and English, because two languages overburden the scheme. By the way all schemes have Roman alphabet like secondary because it’s difficult to call Moscow a world tourist mecca now. 

 

RIA “Novosti” decided some actual problems of the former map. At the first the coordinate scale for stations prompt search appeared and at the second the transfer system was improved. Here designers repudiate traditional circle, ring, and introduced new figure to the centre – octagon. 

Ilya Birman tried to make his composition very simple and legible, he untangles all these junctions. But the best innovation is to implant into alphabet index a system of compass researching of stations. 



There is also one interesting edition which doesn’t take part in official competition. It’s a map created by Moscow alternative group “Partizaning”. Guys took away all building stations and connected all objects with real geographical locations to show real distances between stations. Also they offer to unite suburb and subway systems, it’ll be considerably profitable. They distrust ideas of Moscow authorities to build one more metro circle because small railway ring already exists and only one necessary thing is to connect it with metro proper. Besides “Partizaning” recommend people to cycle or to go on foot more and not to buy cars. They have already placed illegal alternative schemes in metro coaches. 

Ironically “Autosell” has already got money for their unsuccessful project, therefore the competition became free and only one bonus for future winner of competition is his logo on the scheme.

 

by Valentin Ivanov

 

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How to transform crowd into society and slums into libraries

8 million people live in the Third World city where criminality, unsanitary and corruption reign. How many years it is necessary to change situation and make people living better?

Enrique Penalosa became the Bogotá mayor in 1998 and he had only three years to resolve urgent city problems. According to Columbian laws he had only one possibility to be elected. For those three years he turned Bogotá from degradation to development. His methods were too strict that he very nearly lost his post.

 

The main Penalosa’s idea was to create the city respecting human dignity. He thought equality and happiness are associated and the main obstacle to happiness is humiliation and infringement of people rights. Because of that public places development became the most important Penalosa’s interest. Parks, libraries, shops, roads, pavements are the place where people are equal.

Firstly Penalosa took down slums at the centre of Colombian capital. The Cartucho (2,000 people) was a district controlled by drug mafia. It was such border between rich North and poor South. Even policemen were afraid to go here not saying about usual citizens. The beautiful Saint Victorian Square appeared here in a year.

 

The pavements in Bogotá were practically absent or cars stayed there. New pavements appeared even in such poor districts where usual roads did not have hard surface. The bollards were set to put in order parking. Political opponents joined dissatisfied shop owners and demand to discharge Enrique Penalosa. It is interesting that some months later dealers and businessmen approve his work: the city became more comfortable for pedestrians and it favored to increase people influx to the shopping centers.

Penalosa lay out parks and avenues. It was too hard to fight with the local elite, they didn’t want to give their lands for parks and public places.

Besides it was important to resolve transport problem in Bogotá. There was no centralized direction of bus routes and a lot of transport needs were not taken in account. In spite of people had few cars there were long traffic jams along the main streets. One Japanese company offered to build some highways but the Bogotá’s mayor reject their idea: it was immorally and inefficient to build the roads for reach men when many poor people don’t have plumbing and electricity in their houses and children can’t go to the schools. Subways was also bad idea: money was enough only for one metro line which couldn’t solve city problems.

 

Everybody may use public conveyances independently of their incomes. By that time Brazilian Curitiba has been using a system of bus rapid transit and Bogotá adopted this practice. For example, buses became first-priority on traffic lights. The buses’ floor and the platforms’ floor became at one level which quickened boarding and deboarding of passengers. Two-section cars accommodate 270 people and they go very frequently. It is possible to compare passenger traffic here with metropolitan one. Building and launching of such system cost $5.9 million for 1 km. And 1 kilometer of subway costs about $1.8 billion. Feel the difference!

In 1997 practically nobody bicycled. And Bogotá administration invested $100 million to build a dense cycle network length of 300 kilometers. “The cycle track is a strong symbol of equality. A man with $30 bicycle is such important as a man with $30,000 car”, Penalosa declared. He prohibited to drive cars at rush hours and closed central streets for them on Sundays.

 

In the city periphery people can go to bus station on the bicycle, leave it on the protected free parking and continue their way by the bus. Today 5% of all journeys in Colombian capital is bicycle ones. In other words there are 300–400 thousands bicycles in Bogotá. Cars traffic decrease 22%.

It is necessary to say some words about Penalosa’s predecessor – Antanas Mocus. He became a mayor in 1995 and he was independent of various political forces. His reforms radically transformed society. Here are some extraordinary ideas. Everybody had a “citizens’ card”. If somebody breaks the rules of the road people show the red cards, or if driver is polite he gets the white one.

Twenty mime actors showed people how to live and behave rightly in the city. This idea was too successful that the mayor discharged 3,200 policemen and retrain 400 of them to be the meme.

 

Mocus persuaded 65 thousand of the richest Bogotá’s citizens to give to the city budget 10% of their incomes more. That got confidence to foreign investors and they became to invest money to Bogotá development.

To free city from violence Mocus forbad late night establishments to work after 1:00 a.m. “The Women Night” appeared when men couldn’t go out home. Mocus transformed aggressive crowd to society.

So, results of Mocus–Penasola joint efforts are next. 1,100 new parks appeared, 15 libraries opened and 400,000 people visit them every day. 98,5% of children go to schools. Every house has plumbing, electricity and sewage. Criminality, road traffic accidents and corruption fall in some times. Yearly income is $6,000 per man, population increased in a third and employment – in two times. Now Bogotá is one of the fastest developing cities in South America.

by Valentin Ivanov

 

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Five ways to make drivers to get on a bus

Traffic jams is headache for every city. As for Moscow, it is the most important question to decide. Traffic lanes for public conveyance appear, the subway lines lengthen and fines for illegal parking are growing. Let’s look into non-trivial experience of five cities all over the world where city powers try to make drivers to get on the public conveyances. 

Zurich: to make drivers’ life very difficult 

Zurich city powers decided to go to direct conflict with drivers. Their initiatives intend to do the driving in the city centre unpleasant as much as possible: local drivers always undergo psychological attacks. 

So, it is forbidden to drive in many blocks around the Lovenplatz, one of the most crowded squares of Zurich. On the streets where it’s allowed to go by car there are serious speed limits: people can cross the road in any place the want and at any time. Moreover a lot of underground passages are closed down and drivers now are forces to come to a halt more frequently. . Andy Fellman, the manager of the public conveyances department of Zurich says: “Car traffic now is very difficult, drivers make a lot of stopping, and it’s our aim. We intend to give public space to pedestrians and not to simplify the drivers’ life”.

This tough policy became very efficient and provoked tides of discontent. During last five years the number of public conveyances passengers increased in 22%. There are special traffic lanes for buses to avoid traffic jams. Besides that the idea of bicycles is propagandized actively: there are a lot of bicycle paths and free cycle parkings in Zurich.

Not long ago in Zurich the Sihlcity Mall was opened, it is bigger than the New-York Atlantic Mall in three times but has parking places less. Therefore 70% customers go here by bus.

Leipzig: free tickets’ trial version

In East German Leipzig the city powers approach the question from psychological viewpoint. They started the project “Driving licence is your bus ticket”. The aim is to show the public conveyances advantages to the drivers. In April the driving licence conferred a right on free pass by buses, tramways and suburban trains. In addition not only the car owner but the whole his family could use this right. Monthly ticket in Leipzig costs 46.92 euros.

This method is like trial version of some computer program. You get accustomed it and already buy the overall cost. Interest is true: practical Germans very like the idea of familiarization free pass. Besides Leipzig is small town and a lot of citizens went for a work through some blocks without think about public conveyance using. The community appreciated at its true value. Ulf Middelberg, the manager of the public conveyance department of Leipzig says: “Thanks to this action we want to break habits. It is a small step towards to weekly, monthly or yearly ticket. It is the best possibility to economize money”. But probably such system isn’t acceptable with big cities where distances are too big.

Tokyo: technological decisions

In the Japanese capital getting to public conveyances is a job of various institutions. The displays with public conveyances popularization are installed all over the city. Policemen and private companies (since the 90s) can fine for the illegal parking right on the spot. The result showed shortly: 80% illegally parked cars disappeared from the main streets and the traffic jams shortened in 40%.

The public conveyances became very comfortable: for example, traffic lights are always green for buses. All buses have GPRS and traffic controllers can check their movements according to timetable. Although the Tokyo metro is the most intricate system in the world it is like clock-work. Waiting time is about two minutes. To increase capaciousness there are two-storeyed trains.

And even people prefer the cars to the buses their movement is organized very technologically. VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) is installed in all standard equipment cars and gives drivers information about traffic jams, time of movement, parking places and roads repairs.

Belfast: without car from little up

Now Belfast is in the top-10 of the most transport filled European cities. The dense traffic in Northern Ireland is a critical problem and so it the special program “TravelWise Northern Ireland” was created. Its main idea is instill drivers and all region inhabitants.

The government cooperates with companies in trainings conducting to make employees to bring each other to a work, or to go by bicycle and public conveyances. For these aims the web-site Nidirect.gov.uk started. Moreover this site has big sections about public conveyances advantages, about fine bicycle routs, about carsharing benefits. Also there are detailed timetables of trains and buses, the schemes of their moving and the cycle routs map. The special section for children tells them why it is good to go on foot, why to use a helmet when you’re on the bicycle or how it’s right to cross the road.

Walkit.com helps people to calculate a pedestrian rout in every big Irish city and in contrast to Google it gives you the shortest and picturesque rout.

It all together helps people give up their cars and cultivate right habits to the young generation.

Tallinn: to make the public conveyances free

In spite of wasted in traffic jams time and expensive petrol the car is comfortable and takes your personal space. And all these advantages could be prevailed only by too weighty argument. So Tallinn’s administration decided this problem by very drastic remedy: all the public conveyances will become free starting from 2013. This idea was seconded by more than 75% of the citizens. 100 thousand people use public conveyance in Tallinn every day and the EU subsidies will indemnify for shortage.

According to statistics bus tickets abolition makes it possible to economize every month more than 600 euro for one average family consisting of 3 members.

At the same time the city intends to merger two establishments: bus and tram organizations. It’ll make the transport management more efficient and less money-losing.

Also the traffic lights system will upgrade to give buses and trams the priority rights on the streets. Even the traffic jam’s problem won’t be decided these generous decisions will show an excellent social effect. Travels without fare will be most welcome for low-incomes groups, students, pensioners and, certainly, for tourists.

 

by Valentin Ivanov

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