Why Are Busy Streets Closed to Vehicle Traffic?

Of course, it is quite difficult to close some streets, which are overflowing with cars, public transportation vehicles and pedestrians struggling to take up space, to vehicle traffic and allow only pedestrians to use them. logical reasons there is.

After seeing the reason and examples “The men knew something.” you will say.

There are many streets in the world where this practice is carried out.

Market Street in San Francisco is one example. A busy street for a century Market Street, In 2009, it became a street where different applications were tried to improve traffic. Some restrictions were first introduced to calm traffic. Market Street in 2020 private vehicles are prohibited It became a place.

After this application, it was seen that the public transportation routes on Market Street were between 6 and 12 percent. travel time savings provided.

Amsterdam is also a place where we can see streets closed to vehicle traffic. Weesperstraat Although there was a lot of reaction to the practice, which started with road narrowing works in the region since the 1970s, the idea of ​​​​closing traffic was not given up and in 2022, the four-lane road was partially reduced to a two-lane road. If in 2023 other than public transport and emergency vehicles The passage of vehicles was prohibited.

There are many streets closed to vehicle traffic in Turkey.

Istiklal Street is one of the most well-known examples of this. Turkey’s most popular street, It was closed to vehicle traffic in 1990. It was a completely pedestrian path. Then the tram line came and the street was renewed, from its stones to its buildings.

Same situation Bursa Cumhuriyet Street It also happened for . Cumhuriyet Street, one of the busiest streets in Bursa for vehicle traffic, was closed to vehicles in 2004 and was left for the use of pedestrians only. Like Istiklal Street, tram was the only means of transportation here.

These are of course just two examples. It is possible to see the same practice in many different cities of Turkey.

That’s all well and good, but what is the purpose of closing the busiest streets to vehicle traffic?

Adding lanes to a highway encourages more people to drive there, while reducing vehicle lanes in a city center encourages more people to drive there. It discourages driving. This situation even has a name.

Proposed by German Mathematician Dietrich Braess in 1968 “Braess’ paradox”. The paradox is used to explain examples of improved traffic flow when existing major roads are closed.

Among the reasons why it was closed to vehicle traffic: air and noise pollution There is also prevention. It doesn’t make sense when you consider that these busy streets are in the heart of the city.

They suddenly become streets with changing faces.

The reasons are not limited to this. When you picture the streets closed to traffic, they all have a turned into a shopping street you will also see. This actually shows that retail sales on the streets can survive without vehicles.

In the past, everyone would go to that street by car, but now we see that whether the weather is hot or cold, we are all on the same street. for coffee or walking We even throw ourselves into those streets.

Car-free streets have another effect, but we think this is not the case for us yet. In foreign examples, streets closed to traffic Bicycle use also increased is seen. This reduces vehicle usage and brings many benefits.

We welcome your comments about the streets closed to traffic in your cities and their effects on your city.

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