On October 25, 2016, the "Vision Zero" team, represented by Viktor Zagreba and Andriy Koman, made a one-day study visit to Uzhhorod. A rich and pleasant visit! We presented ourselves to the city council, looked at the city and its people, shared knowledge about scientific approaches and infrastructure solutions, and received a portion of positivity. Travel notes - below.
In the photo: Viktor Zagreba, Marianna Sobran, Andriy Koman, and Uzhhorod Mayor Bohdan Andriyiv.
About the city: - Uzhhorod is a compact European city. In terms of traffic safety, it has natural advantages over other cities in western Ukraine (not to mention eastern Ukraine) - narrow streets, cobblestones, low speed, many cyclists - The number of deaths per year is around 5. The distance to zero is very small. With such a baseline, Uzhhorod may well become the first regional center to reach zero mortality! Let's say, by 2020. Which is what we call for! - We did not see a single underpass or two-level interchange, and this is good for people! (although, perhaps, they exist somewhere?) - The city has many roundabouts, so much so that it "cuts the eye" - this is also good! Roundabouts are a proven and highly effective solution in terms of safety, since they: (a) reduce traffic speed (b) reduce the risks of the most traumatic collision scenarios to zero - side and frontal. We are fans of rings! - Despite the short duration of our visit, we managed to conduct (with the support of local activists -- thanks!) a study of the level of seat belt use. It turned out to be even lower here than in Frankivsk, and there it is at the level of 15%. We will publish the exact result separately. The sample consisted of over 1,300 drivers at 4 observation points. - A few more minuses: at many unregulated crossings there are rather strange large-sized "Pedestrian" signs, which we have not seen in any other city. They should attract attention, but at the same time they hide an entire pedestrian from the driver's view, and the pedestrian obscures the view of the car. A dubious practice, to be honest. It is quite possible that the harm from them in urban conditions is more than the benefit, but it needs to be investigated even more thoroughly.
About people: - The Uzhhorod municipality takes the problem of traffic safety seriously, at the highest level! Our presentation took place in the main hall of the city council, and all city leaders took part in the event, led by the mayor Bohdan Andriyiv, his first deputy, the chief architect, and heads of specialized departments. Thank you for this, Mr. Mayor and gentlemen leaders! - The patrol police of Uzhhorod and Mukachevo, as in almost all cities, are very active and open to cooperation and training - thanks for this too, especially to the head Yuriy Martsenyshyn! - Many activists and journalists came to the meeting, with whom we had an interesting discussion, from whom we asked apt and thoughtful questions. Thank you for this! - The initiator of the visit was Marianna Sobran - a public activist and recently a councilor to the mayor. She found us on Facebook, invited us and organized everything. It is very gratifying that the mayor of Uzhhorod, like the mayors of some other cities, sees value in such "agents of change" and listens to them. This is a good practice, started at one time by Andriy Sadovyi (who at one time invited Oleg Shmid to work), Volodymyr Groysman as mayor of Vinnytsia, and Vitaliy Klitschko in Kyiv (councillor Ksenia Semenova). Finally, this practice has reached other cities!
And now something not about Uzhhorod at all: - The M-06 "Kyiv-Chop" highway, which we drove twice on the section from Stryi, is a spectacle. On the Transcarpathian side, the pavement is already crumbling, pothole repairs will keep it in a tolerable condition for a couple more years, and then it will need to be average. There are significant shortcomings in the organization of traffic, although not systemic. In general, there is just a lack of systematicity -- completely identical sections are implemented differently: sometimes well, sometimes with errors that negatively affect safety. - Let us remind you, "Kyiv-Chop" is the most dangerous long highway in Ukraine, on average it has one corpse per 4 kilometers per year. - On the Carpathian section of the road there is a huge variety of types and forms of road signs in the spirit of "Caution! Dangerous section!". We took about 20 photos, even if you make an exhibition. When there are dozens of signs, sometimes 1-2 per kilometer, they simply lose their meaning and do not work at all - the driver's brain stops noticing them. Someday we will study this in more detail and prepare a separate presentation. This signophilia and amateurism of local "figures" must end. - We stopped only at OKKO on the way and everything was always great. Both the food, and the coffee, and the service. Where does this irrational loyalty to the brand come from? :) - "Hotel Uzhgorod" will easily outshine any hotel with the same name as the city in any city in the center of Ukraine. This is our hypothesis, can anyone confirm or refute it? See you, Uzhgorod!