Transport as an environmental threat factor in the Tri-City – part 1
Due to spatial constraints, road traffic in the Tri-City is concentrated along the axis of Grunwaldzka and Niepodległości streets, and in the current situation, there is no possibility of creating an alternative connection in the center to reduce traffic intensity on these streets. The rapid development of individual motorization has revealed the inadequacy of the existing road network to the constantly increasing number of cars.
As a result, during peak hours on the main roads of the Tri-City, the average car speed is in some places only a dozen or so kilometers per hour, and traffic flow is negligible. Cars moving at low speeds, constant stopping and starting cause – through inefficient engine operation – significant fuel consumption, air pollution with exhaust gases, dust, and traffic noise. The intensity of these phenomena is greatest during sunny, windless, and dry periods, especially in areas with dense development. The most dangerous substances produced by cars include: lead, carbon dioxide, dioxins, and nitrogen compounds. Also, through the abrasion of tires against the road surface, fine particles are lifted into the air during ongoing car traffic. It should be added that the combustion process in an engine requires large amounts of oxygen. A medium-sized car consumes as much oxygen in city traffic in one hour as 800 people need to breathe in the same time. In Gdańsk, exceedances of the permissible concentration of nitrogen dioxide occur primarily in the districts of: Śródmieście – 1.1 times and Wrzeszcz – 1.25 times.
Great attention is also paid to air pollution in Sopot, which is a health resort. In order to reduce traffic pollution, it would be necessary to increase the flow of vehicles through the city, strengthen the inspection of the technical condition of vehicles, and limit the passage of heavy road transport through the city. Given that the sequence of Sopot’s three main streets falls within the health resort protection zone, changes in traffic organization aimed at limiting it are necessary.
The movement of heavy goods transport along the main communication axis of the agglomeration causes additional noise emissions, pollution, and faster deterioration of street surfaces and viaduct structures. These arguments support moving transit transport outside the concentrated urban development – while providing parking lots intended for heavy goods vehicles during hours when traffic bans are in effect. In addition to congestion and air pollution, motorization in cities contributes decisively to the creation of excessive levels of noise and vibration.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2002/6.