Upgrades planned to ease traffic jams

Sanlihe No 2 South Alley in Beijing's Xicheng district is set to be broadened into an 18-meter-wide road under new proposals that have been released to public consultation until April 9. [Photo by Wang Xiaoxi/China Daily]

Work is under way to increase road density in Beijing as the government tries to ease the city's traffic congestion.

Delays are on the rise in the capital, with the average motorist stuck in traffic for three hours per weekday last year, up one hour from 2013.

The growing number of cars on the road is partly to blame for the congestion, but experts also point to low road density - the ratio of the length of a road network to the area it occupies.

In Beijing, this ratio is 6.3 km per square km compared with 13.1 km per sq km in New York, according to the China Sustainable Transportation Center.

However, that is set to change thanks to a new guideline on city planning issued last month by the State Council, China's Cabinet.

Two weeks after the document was released, Sanlihe No 2 South Alley in Beijing's Xicheng district was identified as one of the first areas to benefit from this change.

Located 500 meters from Chang'an Avenue, the 5-meter-wide alley is currently a one-way-street with cars permanently parked along it.

Drivers are apt to avoid the route, while pedestrians are forced to squeeze against a wall whenever a car passes, according to a sanitary worker who was standing outside the public toilet at the southern end of the alley.

Sanlihe No 2 South Alley is just one of six parallel passageways in the area between Sanlihe East Street and Sanlihe West Street, which sit on either side.

It is set to be broadened into an 18-meter-wide road under new proposals that have been released to public consultation until April 9.

The commercial buildings on its eastern flank will be torn down to make room for the expansion, according to the plans.

According to a study by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning in 2012, the ratio of largest roads or expressways to smallest roads in Beijing is 1:2, while it is about 1:8 in developed countries.

The city planning guideline has set the goal of increasing the national average urban road density to 8 km per sq km by 2020.

One suggestion for achieving this has been to tear down the walls of existing large residential compounds and government-owned or State-owned enterprises' enclosed spaces.

Beijing faces extra challenges when it comes to city planning and its road network because central government ministries, various national-level organizations and residential compounds for their staff and families are in the capital - many along Chang'an Avenue.

It is crucial to make sure these are included in the reform to achieve the guideline's goal, said Li Shixiang, the vice-mayor of Beijing.

"It is the boldest move so far," Li said.

"A lot of national-level governmental bodies and organizations have shown great support. "

Meanwhile, 22 streets with dead ends in Dongcheng district and 28 in Xicheng district will be opened up and connected to other streets, Li said.

However, what concerns the public most is whether the walls of their own residential compounds will be taken away.

"We are not irrational. If the road inside the compound is truly conducive to the road network once the walls are torn down, I think we can discuss that. But if it is not really helpful, then I don't see the point of making the compound open," said Wang Jiancheng, a retired engineer living in the Sanlihe area.

Shi Nan, the general secretary of the City Planning Society of China, said tearing down walls requires the upgrade of property management, security improvements, and above all, the corresponding laws to be passed.

Huang Yan, the head of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning, said that since the issue is related to public interest, public opinion will be fully solicited and considered before any decision is made.