Tbilisi faces traffic jam problems

Cental streets of Georgia’s capital Tbilisi are facing hour-long traffic jams since a new school year started on September 14.

It should be mentioned that even without the new school year traffic, movement has not been regulated in Tbilisi, where more than 1 million people live.

The Non-Government Organisation NGO) Public Initiative states that they had drafted a plan on how to ease a traffic movement in main routes. However, according to them the Tbilisi Mayor’s Office has not responded to their attempt.

The organization states that since 2012, no genuine traffic regulation activities have been conducted in Tbilisi that caused serious problems for drivers.

“The number of cars has increased and there were no responding actions from the Tbilisi Government to adjust local infrastructure to the trend,” the organization says.

In response, the Tbilisi Mayor’s Office has stated that infrastructural-rehabilitation works are ongoing on the roads and only after the problem is settled the Mayor’s Office would care about the traffic problems.

The opposition United National Movement (UNM) claims that the traffic problems in the city was the current Government’s fault that refused to continue building of by-pass railway and new routes on Tbilisi suburbs.

“The initiative would have eased movement in central streets,” the UNM says.

It is the fact that from year to year traffic movement worsens in the capital city and the issue requires urgent regulation.

Heavy traffic does not only touch nerves, it also increases a possibility of accidents.

The Government should also take steps to decrease number of cars in the streets as apart from the jams, thousands of cars, many of which are too old, cause a serious threat for environment.

There is one more big problem which creates additional threat to the drivers and pedestrians as well.

This is increasing number of right side steering wheel cars which are imported mainly from Japan and sold here in Georgia very cheap. It looks like some powerful representatives of car importer business lobby influences the appropriate bodies not to ban import of such cars.