Traffic jam in Tallinn

In Estonia, more than half of the employed people use a car to go work. In Estonia, the share of public transport, cyclists and pedestrians has decreased considerably in ten years. The choice of transportation depends to a large extent on the distance from the workplace: the longer the distance, the more it is used to go through the motor vehicle.

From year to year, the average distance between work and residence has increased. More and more of the world's big cities are wondering how to reduce the number of cars and thus make the urban environment and atmosphere cleaner. The traffic flow in Tallinn's air pollution is over 90%. It is not yet clear how much of the state's money goes through the indirect costs of transport, in terms of environmental and health damage, traffic accidents, congestion and the loss of habitats for both natural and human habitats. But it is clear that this is destructing our valuable environment.

One of the more expensive parking fees in Europe and free public transport - these are the measures that have prompted Tallinn to race for war to keep cars away from the city center. The latest survey commissioned by the city government on "Respondents' satisfaction with the Tallinn city public services 2015" reveals that since the beginning of 2013, when the free public transport was introduced in the capital, the number of people using public transport as their main transportation, fell by as much as 13%. When in 2013, public transport used its main 61% of frontier workers, 2015, only 49%. At the same time, the number of car users has increased by 5%, reaching 34% according to the survey.

The solution seems to be logical: new and wider roads and traffic junctions must be built. This has been done in Ülemiste - but have the congestion disappeared? Prof. Antov predicts no. Yes, Haabersti's new intersection will improve car permeability from Tabasalu, Keila and Õismäe, but it does not make any traffic to the city center in any way. "Maybe it's more distant to put water on top, but the tube is still narrow at the top," he states. Look at the traffic of any metropolitan area: no matter how wide your roads and multi-story intersections are built, they are mostly about thick cars. "If we give cars space, it will only increase the use of cars," says Jüssi, an expert on urban mobility, who basically uses bikes to move to Tallinn.

Briefly: if you want to avoid congestion in the city, learn to better share and plan time.

Sources: http://pluss.postimees.ee/4247351/ummik-on-ainult-emotsionaalne-probleem;
http://epl.delfi.ee/news/arvamus/autostumisele-soja-kuulutanud-tallinn-upub-autodesse?id=75512361;
 https://blog.stat.ee/tag/autostumine/