Public transport at heart of city plan for Yangon, says JICA

Public transport at heart of city plan for Yangon, says JICA

By Aye Nyein Win and Thiha Toe   |   Monday, 10 June 2013

Improving public transport is the foundation of Japan International Cooperation Agency's aims for its comprehensive medium- and long-term development vision for greater Yangon by 2040, it was announced last week.

JICA is cooperating with the Yangon Region government and Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) to develop the plans. JICA held a seminar on the strategic urban development plan of greater Yangon at Chatrium Hotel on June 5.

The seminar, which consisted of two sessions, featured presentations from Myanmar and Japanese experts and was opened by U Myint Swe, chief minister of Yangon Region and mayor of the city.

"Our Yangon Region government is continuously implementing our best efforts to shape the city to be a green and golden city through sustainable development plans," he said. "We intend to supply the city with a better urban environment enriched with healthy air and greenery, and for it to be an environmentally friendly urbanised city," he said.

U Myint Swe said YCDC is upgrading the city's infrastructure and public utilities for all residents.

JICA is cooperating with YCDC and the regional government to formulate an urban development master plan for Yangon, but Mr Takashi Shoyama, team leader of the Comprehensive Urban Transport Plan of Greater Yangon, said the city's public transport faces a number of problems.

"My opinion on the bus transport network in Yangon [is that] there are not enough buses and there's a need for greater safety for commuters," he said. "Commuters are complaining daily of the long waits and crowded buses. There are also not enough traffic lights at junctions."

He said rapid increases in the number of vehicles on the road – as well as infrastructure projects to widen roads, build flyovers and reconfigure intersections – have combined to create huge traffic jams.

JICA data presented during the seminars showed public transportation in Yangon is used by 90 percent of the city's occupants, but only 3pc of people use the circular railway. The railway has eight lines – three main lines and five branches – that travel about 148 kilometres and include 80 stations.

JICA estimates that by 2040 about 30pc of public transport will be on the circular railway, which will be lengthened to 350km and will have at least eight main lines.

"Yangon's circular railway has a low market share and few terminals," he said. "There is also little maintenance on the trains or lines, which needs to be improved. And more lines must be added, as well as urban mass rapid transit networks and feeder transport such as monorails and light railway transit," he added.

"Railway transportation is critical to urban transport. The circular railway in Yangon was the first in Southeast Asia but the improvement of it has been very slow compared with other countries."

U Kyaw Latt, an advisor to YCDC, said 66pc of commuters go to workplaces downtown, adding that a second central business district (CBD) needed to be established.

"It's a fact that a lot of the traffic congestion is due to cars parked on the roads," Mr Shoyama said. "We can see a lot of the cars parked in lanes and streets and causing jams, but there are no good rules to solve this issue".

"We need laws to solve this problem. For example, for new building within the CBD, parking should be strongly considered. And parking on main roads within the CBD should be limited, while more pavement should be built."

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/07/05/public-transport-at-heart-of-city-plan-for-yangon-says-jica/