OMM Redaksiyası
Serious disruptions to traffic have emerged in Baku in recent days. Long queues have been observed on several major streets and avenues in the capital, with drivers and passengers losing hours on the road. The situation has once again highlighted tasks that have been on the agenda for years to address Baku’s transport problems.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly addressed transport and congestion problems in Baku. The head of state said that several major projects had previously been implemented to ease traffic and reduce congestion in the capital. However, he noted that Baku had once again begun to suffocate under traffic as the number of vehicles increased and economic activity expanded.
The president said relevant institutions had been given instructions, a master plan for Baku had been prepared and the transport system was expected to undergo comprehensive development. According to the head of state, plans include coordinating bus and metro services, building new metro stations and implementing new road infrastructure projects. At the same time, the president stressed that new roads can sometimes increase rather than reduce congestion, underlining the importance of taking international experience into account.
The current situation faced by residents of the capital, however, is different. Restrictions on the operation of the 28 May metro station, increased travel to schools and universities following the start of the new academic year, and the failure to properly distribute traffic flows have further increased the burden on the city’s main roads.
This raises a key question: why are the tasks set at presidential level not being sufficiently felt in the city’s daily transport system?
Transport expert Aslan Asadov said it would be inappropriate to link the issue to the work of a single institution.
In a statement to "Operative Information Center-OMM", the expert said relevant institutions must act in an organized and coordinated manner to eliminate congestion.
In his view, the problem requires comprehensive measures designed for the transport system as a whole.
Asadov said road construction, the level of car ownership, traffic-flow management and coordination among institutions must be considered as interconnected factors.
The expert stressed the importance of establishing overall coordination in managing traffic flows. He said the work carried out by different institutions should not be viewed separately, but as components of a unified transport system.
This is precisely where the issue becomes urgent. On the one hand, long-term projects and concrete plans are announced to resolve the capital’s transport problems; on the other, city residents face the most severe consequence of that problem every day — traffic jams lasting for hours.
Especially during periods when schools and universities reopen, metro infrastructure faces restrictions and vehicle flows increase, it is crucial to organize traffic in advance and coordinate alternative routes.
In other words, the issue is not limited to building a new road or metro station. How existing infrastructure is managed, how different modes of transport are integrated and how joint action by institutions is organized also directly affects the outcome.
As President Ilham Aliyev has noted, the main goal of new road projects in Baku should be to organize traffic flows properly and reduce congestion. According to the head of state, international experience should be used and the impact of road projects on the city’s overall transport system should be assessed in advance.
The main challenge now is to turn these assigned tasks into tangible results on the city’s streets. For Baku residents, the outcome of transport policy is measured less by announcements of new projects than by how many minutes or hours they spend on the road after leaving home in the morning.
