Residents of Almaty are actively proposing ways to combat constant traffic jams, and one idea is using reversible lanes during peak hours. The website infohub.kz investigated whether such a measure would be effective in the city.
Reversible lanes operate by allocating some lanes in one direction in the morning and the opposite direction in the evening. Opinions among Almaty residents are divided: some believe the innovation won't help, while others support the idea.
"It would definitely help, because in the morning there are jams in one direction, and in the evening in the other,"
"It would help temporarily, then jams would be everywhere. Only restricting private cars and developing public transport will solve the traffic problem."
Urbanist and former head of the passenger transport department, Dauren Alimbekov, shared his perspective. He believes that reversible lanes are ineffective within the city. "Inside the city, reversible lanes won't work effectively. Bus lanes would be many times more effective. On the city outskirts, reversible lanes can be implemented because there is a clear directional flow in the morning and evening," the expert noted.
According to him, in urban conditions it is difficult to allocate more than one additional lane for reversible traffic. If that same lane were given to buses, its capacity would be much higher, since buses carry far more passengers than private cars. Earlier, other methods to combat traffic jams in Almaty were reported that do not involve reducing the number of cars.