The Tashkent City Road Traffic Management Center (YHTEM) has initiated a pilot project to integrate private parking lots near commercial and service facilities into a unified city management system. According to the press service of the capital's administration, the initiative is aimed at "improving convenience for pedestrians and prioritizing areas free from motor transport," as well as "forming a stable and predictable urban order."
The project is based on prioritizing a safe and comfortable urban environment for pedestrians and systematically regulating parking space. The YHTEM report notes that disorganized parking near crowded facilities remains a major issue: cars are parked on pedestrian walkways, along driveways, and near building entrances, leading to narrowed passages, limited visibility, and reduced safety levels.
Connecting all parking lots to a unified system is expected to enable "transparent accounting of parking spaces, control over their occupancy, and the formation of a clear usage system." Additional funds generated from full accounting are planned to be directed toward developing road infrastructure in districts where parking lots are located. After evaluating the project's effectiveness and public discussion, its scale is intended to be expanded.
According to analyses by YHTEM specialists, in areas with high urban activity, 20–30% of vehicles park in violation of rules. In such cases, pedestrian walkways are partially occupied by vehicles and other obstacles, which can reduce their throughput capacity by 40–60%. In congested areas, up to 30% of traffic flow, and in some places up to 40%, arises from searching for parking spaces.
The YHTEM report references global experience confirming the effectiveness of digital and centralized parking management. Independent calculations indicate that unified digital systems can reduce parking search time by 43% and distance traveled by 30%. This is corroborated, for instance, by the SFpark program in San Francisco. In Moscow, a similar approach reportedly reduced parking violations by 64% and increased average traffic speed in paid parking zones to 56 km/h. Funds from the system are directed toward improving courtyards and streets in relevant districts.
It is recalled that Gazeta previously published an interview with Deputy Mayor of the capital Abdurakhman Bakhtiyev about YHTEM's activities and the challenges it faces.
Source: www.gazeta.uz