ELAZIG GUNISIGI NEWSPAPER – October 2011
CITY TRANSPORTATION IN ELAZIĞ
Experiences from large cities show that city centers do not change. Just as İstiklal Street in Istanbul and Kızılay in Ankara are central landmarks, Gazi Street serves the same role in Elazığ. Regardless of how much the city expands, it grows around the center. For Elazığ, one might ask, "Fifty years ago, the commercial center was around Saray Mosque, and now it is around Gazi Street—doesn't this mean the center has shifted?" If we accept this as a change, then the center has only shifted by 200 meters!
The central areas of trade and social life can easily be defined as the areas around Öğretmenevi, Gazi Street, Vali Fahri Bey Street, Hürriyet Street, İzzet Paşa, and Saray Mosque. This can be observed from the traffic in the city center at any given time of the day, especially during rush hours. Sometimes, when this problem is discussed, someone inevitably mentions the classic phrase: "In Istanbul, people have to spend 3-4 hours in traffic every day." However, Elazığ is not Istanbul, and nearly a quarter of Turkey's population does not live here. If conditions allow, what’s the point of enduring such a hassle?
It's essential to properly name this trouble. Traffic is not just an issue for drivers behind the wheel; pedestrians also share in this suffering. From Öğretmenevi to almost the military house, it is not possible to walk along the sidewalk in a straight line. In fact, if you have an urgent task, you might have to walk on the vehicle lane. We are faced with the reality that we have a traffic problem that requires a solution before it becomes a full-blown crisis.
The construction of the Kekliktepe and Çayda Çıra junctions will certainly make life difficult for traffic. Especially the Çayda Çıra junction, being in the city center, is likely to cause even more congestion in this area. Construction projects, from planning to final production, are always stressful, difficult, and intense. I wish all institutions and organizations involved in these junction works the best of luck. However, I must emphasize that completing these road projects as soon as possible will open up the way for citizens' peace of mind, traffic safety, and many essential services.
In fact, these junction construction projects provide an important reason and starting point for us to critically evaluate the state of traffic in Elazığ. There are crucial steps to be taken. You must prepare the infrastructure for the services you intend to offer in the future today. To illustrate what I mean, I want to give an example from the Ankara Metro. Today, the metro line significantly alleviates traffic in Ankara. Public transportation is a dream for all cities, but it is inevitable for cities like Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. Some of Ankara’s metro lines are not progressing as expected due to long delays in planning and issues in land expropriation and the buildings constructed on those lands.
In Elazığ, a light rail system extending from Doğukent to Hilalkent and the Police School is, of course, a dream for every Elazığ resident. Such an expensive investment can only be realized when financial resources are available. Instead of waiting passively by saying "there is no money," wouldn’t it be better to prepare a project for the light rail system, remove the obstacles in its path, and get everything ready as if we were about to start tomorrow? What do we lose by doing that?
Gazi Street is one-way, and we use Vali Fahri Bey Street as an alternative direction. The end of our alternative street is the PTT Building, which is an uncontrolled junction. This is a major black spot in the city's transportation. You don’t even need to think about demolishing the historical PTT building to solve the problem. The solutions are far more abundant than people think, as long as we know how to gather around the same table.
In many cities, important centers like Gazi Street are closed to traffic. This issue is frequently brought up in Elazığ as well. When this street is closed, traffic will not become alternative-free. There are many different transportation plans available for the city center of Elazığ. However, early steps must be taken for this to be effective. One of the first steps is creating parking lots.
The city's vehicle load will not be alleviated unless parking lots are built in the city center. The idea of easing or eliminating the growing traffic burden without proper parking facilities is unthinkable. A couple of vacant buildings or a few schoolyards will not solve the parking problem.
The construction of parking lots will not financially burden the relevant institutions. The Build-Operate-Transfer model in the parking sector is an attractive commercial move. However, the location and capacity of the parking lots must be determined through collaboration with expert institutions. Wrong decisions in this area could lead to significant problems.
Why are parking lots so crucial? As you know, Gazi Street has three lanes, but traffic moves in just one lane, and when you arrive in the city center on the weekend, you may find yourself unable to find an empty parking space. Only then will you fully appreciate the need for parking lots.
Elazığ does not have an unsolvable traffic problem. However, it does have a traffic problem whose solution costs increase with every passing day. Let's take steps to solve these problems because studies, projects, and legal processes take considerable time.