More recently, the Kyiv City State Administration announced that it will not build new parking lots and will increase tariffs for existing ones by five times. The news is very unexpected, but quite logical. And I really want this time for the KSCA to succeed, because all their attempts to create a network of intercepting parking lots ended in nothing: 6 intercepting parking lots for 649 places – this is not a network. For example, only in the shopping center Lavina Mall, which is located near one of the intercepting parking lots of 1308 places.
According to PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA, the capitalization level of the capital is 360 cars per 1000 inhabitants, but already by 2025, Hmarochos writes, it can reach 450 cars. Last week, the results of the estimation of the population of Ukraine were announced, according to which 3.7 million people live in Kyiv. After simple mathematical calculations, we get 1.33 million cars! And after five years, this figure will increase to 1.7 million cars. And this is provided that the population of Kyiv will not grow, which, with strong centripetal trends, is highly doubtful.
How can we not become hostages of growing motorization? In fact, everything has already been invented before us: the life of a motorist should be uncomfortable and expensive. No, this is not a joke. But there are several conditions, only under which you can follow this path: create a human-centered city and develop public transport.
In Kyiv, more than a million cars. Why? Firstly, the underdevelopment of public transport prompts Kyivans to switch to their own, and secondly, cars are becoming more accessible every year – both new and, unfortunately, “buckets on wheels,” which in fact are the majority of cars in Euro-numbers. But the question is: does growing motorization make our movement around the city more comfortable? Judging by the constant traffic jams, more likely no than yes.
The car should serve those who really need it. Why do many family people like cars? Because with a child in our public transport oh how uncomfortable. Therefore, even representatives of the new generation, which seems to be not a supporter of such purchases as a car or real estate, as soon as they have a baby, immediately want a car. But when we have normal public transport, they will easily transfer to it. After all, they ride with the children on the subway and trams in Vienna and Madrid. In the meantime, such accessibility of cars leads to the fact that some even go to the bakery by car.
Recently, John Gnarr, the famous Icelandic comedian and ex-merchant Reykjavik, came to Kyiv. Do you know what he said? What an excess of cars in Kyiv! He compares us in this regard with the Americans, says that walking around the city is not very comfortable, and predicts a collapse. Well, if one of the most successful mayors tells us this, then maybe it’s time to listen?
But of course, it is possible to complicate the lives of motorists only at the moment when there is an alternative: public transport, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. But at our place, as always, everything depends on money for updating the transport infrastructure and people’s unwillingness to leave the comfort zone, although there is still a question: is this zone comfortable?
If the city is powerless, business can solve the problem. One gets the impression that we have DBN for everything except multifunctional complexes. Ukrainian officials simply do not understand what it is. But IFC is salvation. The thesis “live where you work – work where you live” should become a reality in Kyiv. The current mayor of Paris in his new election program promises to turn the capital of France into a “city of fifteen minutes.” As they like to write in advertising leaflets of Kyiv new buildings, everything that is needed for a full life will be located within 15 minutes of walking or cycling accessibility.
Why are we worse than Paris? We also need to create small centers in which we can live and work. But instead, new bridges are laid in the updated draft master plan, which will again stimulate people to travel from the left bank to the right. What for? You need to stop building sleeping bags and start creating full-fledged places for life, not existence or spending the night. In the meantime, the existing concept of “separate sleeping bags, separate places of employment, separate entertainment” is tearing the city apart and making it extremely uncomfortable.
In this regard, high-rise construction should also help us. According to new standards, 150 m can now be trodden without additional permissions, and although by world standards this is not high enough, it is still better than before. Vertical cities can condense a large number of people, but at the same time increase the comfort of their lives – there will be the same squares and parks, public spaces and pedestrian infrastructure, but the main thing: you do not need to go anywhere every day.
Already now we have allowed built-in kindergartens and social infrastructure in the houses – this is the only right way, because as soon as you start to spread the population and infrastructure with a thin layer, you immediately have to move from one interesting place to another – it’s three kilometers or half an hour to go. Who wants to? And when all the infrastructure is in one place, this allows to improve the transport infrastructure of the city as well.
Returning to the parking lots. Furniture giant IKEA, which is just associated with shopping centers with huge parking lots, plans to open a new shopping center in Vienna, where there will be no parking. Absolutely. IKEA is transforming: I came, I chose, you were consulted, they showed you a sofa, you took the small things with you – everything else will be delivered home. That is, IKEA already understands that the city is becoming a pedestrian, and begins to develop projects for pedestrians. I propose a slogan for the election campaign of the future mayor of the capital: “I will return Kyiv to pedestrians!”.
Andriy Ryzhykov, CEO and managing partner of DC Evolution