The IPN news agency identified some issues that affect the Chișinău municipality and asked the candidates who run for mayor of the capital to present solutions.
Teodor Cârnaț, Political Party Voința Poporului candidate, said that he is riding his bicycle to work for more than 5 years. Beside traffic jams, his transportation choice is motivated by environmental concerns and a healthy lifestyle. The candidate hopes that he will lead by example and more people will switch to bycicles.
The mayoral hopeful claimed that he intends, within four years, to reconstruct all roads in the municipality. In order to solve the issue of traffic jams, Teodor Cârnaț intends to complete the ring road for city transit and to construct pedestrian bridges in intense traffic points. Another solution, in his opinion, is the construction of parking lots at the entrances to the capital for private transport units.
As for the irregular parking, Teodor Cârnaț considers that every violation must be documented and fined. However, in his opinion, until multi-storey car parks are built, on-street car parks should be organized in all Chișinău municipality districts. "There should be two categories of parking: paid and free. There should be free parking locations at the entrance points to Chișinău, which should be equipped with ecological transport for rent. Paid parking will be established in the most congested places of Chișinău districts, especially in the historical center of the municipality. These parking locations should be managed by the city. Therefore, a municipal enterprise should be set up for this purpose”, said the Voința Poporului Party candidate.
Andrei Donică, the "Speranța - Надежда" Professional Movement candidate, pointed out that the issue of traffic jams, illegal parking and the lack of parking in Chișinău municipality is addressed in all local election campaigns. However, after the elections, electoral promises are forgotten.
"They have promised and will promise to build multi-storey car parks, the disappearance of traffic jams and the arrangement of several free parking spaces for Chișinău residents. But what did we really get? We got schemes that alienate public lands from the city, under the pretext of allocating land for multi-storey car parks. One such example of a scheme in action was the illegal leasing, without public auction, of a land of over 1.3 ha in the Center district, on 21/A Arborilor street, for a supposed multi-storey garage near MallDova. Instead of a car park, a hotel and a real estate complex for offices was built on that land”, said Andrei Donică.
In his opinion, traffic jams can be avoided only by applying fines and by evacuating all cars parked on the road. "The road is meant for driving, not for parking. In some cases, due to parking, only one lane remains drivable out of three lanes. For example, on Alexandru cel Bun street, cars are parked on both sides of the road. Unfortunately, only the towing of cars to auto pound locations will discipline the drivers”, said Andrei Donică.
Ion Ceban, the Socialist Party candidate, claimed that his daily itinerary through the city is similar to that of many Chișinău residents. "Yes, I get stuck in traffic jams, I use the same streets, I avoid the same pot holes and I keep away from broken sidewalks. Traffic jams are a nightmare for everyone, myself included. I know that solutions for the congestion in Chișinău exist. This does not mean that traffic jams will permanently disappear overnight. However, along with my team, I will do everything possible in order to reduce the waiting time in order to increase comfort of the citizens”, said the mayoral hopeful.
In his opinion, the city congestion can be solved by implementing a comprehensive package of measures. These measures include the installation of traffic monitoring technology in Chișinău, such as smart traffic lights. Another temporary solution would be to change lane vectors depending on the traffic load. The candidate stressed that the building of a ring road is very important for solving this issue. Additionally, Ion Ceban said that improving public transport services and creating comfortable parking spaces will better traffic flow.
Asked about irregular parking, Ion Ceban said that "we cannot blame drivers who are looking for a parking spot, however, parking violations that obstruct road traffic should not be tolerated". "In this regard, we have planned the construction of multi-storey car parks in each Chișinău district, however we do not exclude organizing on-street parking where possible",said the PSRM candidate. In his opinion, there should be both paid and free parking. "The exact location of parking spaces will be established while the general urban plan is elaborated with the help of specialists", said Ion Ceban.
