Nightmare! Evening Traffic Jams in Samara Reach 8 Points
On Wednesday evening, January 21, Yandex Maps reported 8-point traffic jams in Samara. According to the service, Lesnaya Street is heavily congested, as are parts of Volzhsky Prospekt, Novo-Sadovaya Street, Lenina Prospekt, Osipenko Street, Revolyutsionnaya Street, part of Kommunisticheskaya Street, and many, many others.
Traffic is also quite heavy on Kirova Prospekt. It is better to avoid Pobedy Street, Novo-Vokzalnaya Street, and Sovetskoy Armii Street. Vladimirskaya Street, Polevaya Street, part of Karla Marksa Street, and part of Moskovskoye Highway are also highlighted in red on the map.
Traffic jams in cities arise from a combination of several factors that reinforce each other. Most often, the issue is that the number of cars is growing faster than the street and road network: streets and interchanges are simply not designed for such a flow. The situation is exacerbated by «pendulum» migration, when thousands of people commute along the same routes to work and back home simultaneously in the morning and evening.
Traffic organization also plays a role. Inefficient traffic light timing, bottlenecks at intersections, and a lack of dedicated lanes for public transport slow down traffic flow and cause gridlock. Traffic jams are often provoked by accidents, road works, and chaotic parking when cars occupy the roadway.
A separate factor is the low appeal of public transport. If it is inconvenient or irregular, residents switch to personal cars, which further overloads the roads. As a result, even a small disruption in the system leads to a chain reaction and the formation of traffic jams.
