New era for vehicle entry! IMM to implement Historical Peninsula plan

The "Istanbul Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan" (SUMP), which aims to reduce traffic congestion in Istanbul, has been introduced.

With the implementation of the plan, it is projected that traffic congestion during "peak hours" in the city will be reduced by 10.1 percent by 2030.

Furthermore, through "congestion pricing" to be implemented to prevent traffic jams, private car users will pay a fee in exchange for entering a certain zone. The pilot application of the system will be launched in the Historical Peninsula (Eminönü).

According to the report by Gülden Çoktan from Milliyet, the SUMP introductory meeting was attended by European Union Ambassador to Turkey Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure's General Director of EU and Foreign Relations Burak Aykan. İmamoğlu stated that the prepared plan is Turkey's first sustainable urban mobility plan.

TARGET TO REDUCE NUMBER OF CARS DURING PEAK HOURS

İmamoğlu noted that the plan includes regulations to reduce car usage in the central regions of the city, low-emission zones to reduce air pollution, improvements to the maritime transport network, and bus-priority lane applications. With the realization of the projects within the scope of the Mobility Plan, it is estimated that the total number of cars during "peak hours" per kilometer will decrease by 10.1 percent in 2030 and by 12.8 percent in 2040.

One of the projects proposed to make the city's transport system environmentally friendly under the theme of transition to low carbon and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by transport is the Low Emission Zones (LEZ) application. In this application, vehicles that do not meet the standards will either be unable to use the area at all or will be able to use it for a certain price based on the "polluter pays" principle. The first LEZ pilot project is planned to be carried out in the Historical Peninsula (Eminönü) and subsequently implemented in Kadıköy (Moda).

Another application to be implemented to prevent traffic congestion is "congestion pricing." With this application, private car users will pay a fee in exchange for entering a certain zone.

The pilot application of the system will be carried out in an area of approximately 6 square kilometers in the Historical Peninsula (Eminönü). Istanbul residents who use paid parking lots in neighborhoods within the scope of SUMP will pay lower fees when they park in their own neighborhoods.