If you think China's traffic jams are already terrible enough, think again. Experts say the traffic being experienced in the metropolis now is nothing compared to the monster traffic jam that will be experienced in10 years.
Gong Huiming, a transportation program official under the Energy Foundation in Beijing, thinks more than 600 second- and third-tier cities in the country will face terrible traffic jams in 2023.
Gong said the monster traffic jam prediction is based on expectations that every person will possess a car in ten years' time. The terrible traffic jams will not only be experienced in first-tier cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing but also in second- and third-tier cities. "These cities may not be prepared enough to address the terrible traffic jams in 10 years," said Gong.
To address the foreseen terrible traffic jams, Gong suggested against building roads but developing public transportation. He said building new roads will not address the expected problem. He also urged local government planners to prepare their cities by optimizing city layout in order to cut down on travel demands of their residents.
Meanwhile, a recent survey showed that majority of people living in various cities across China complained that their lives have been affected by heavy traffic. The survey, conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said 84 percent of respondents admitted experiencing traffic-related problems on an everyday basis.
The survey involved 20,000 residents in 40 major cities in the mainland. The respondents were asked about how heavy traffic affected their daily lives, including medical treatment, housing, education, and transport.