city of st. petersburg 2025 main report - world bank · 2016-07-14 · city transport strategy for...
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Advisory Services for the development of the City Transport Strategy for St Petersburg
City of St. Petersburg Transport Strategy for 2011 – 2025
– Main Report –
March 6, 2011
Sustainable Development
The World Bank
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This document has been prepared by a World Bank team under a reimbursable Technical Assistance
(TA). The strategy document was prepared over a period of about 6 months and it considered a draft
document. Some chapters have relied heavily on direct input from several committees and additional
analysis and input may be needed to complete the City urban transport strategy.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................. iii
PART ONE – THE ORIGIN AND STRUCTURE OF THE STRATEGY ...................................................... 1
The Historical Background ....................................................................................................................... 1
The City Vision .......................................................................................................................................... 1
Transport in the Context of the City Vision ............................................................................................. 2
The Transport Vision ................................................................................................................................ 3
Objectives to Strategy – the Fundamental Challenge ............................................................................. 3
Diagnostics – Benchmarks and Targets ................................................................................................... 6
PART TWO – THE CONTENT OF THE STRATEGY ................................................................................. 9
The Basis – Coherent Land Use and Transport Policies .......................................................................... 9
A. Efficient Use of Infrastructure – Reducing Congestion ................................................................. 13
A1. Strategic Road Investment ...................................................................................................... 13
A2. Improving the Physical Condition of Roads ............................................................................ 18
A3. Using Road Space Better – Strengthening Traffic Management ............................................ 22
A4. Managing Private Car Demand – Traffic Restraint .................................................................. 29
A5. Improving the External Transport Links .................................................................................. 36
B. Social Equity – Accessibility for All ................................................................................................ 40
B1. Improving Operational Efficiency of Public Transport ............................................................ 40
B2. Giving Priority to Public Transport – System Development .................................................... 48
B3. Providing for Pedestrians and Cyclists .................................................................................... 55
C. Quality of Life – Safe and Healthy Movement .............................................................................. 58
C1. Reducing Air and Noise Pollution ............................................................................................ 58
C2. Making the Roads Safer .......................................................................................................... 62
C3. Protecting the Environment from Freight Traffic ................................................................... 67
C4. Protecting Cultural Heritage – a Policy for the Historic Center .............................................. 70
PART THREE – IMPLEMENTING THE STRATEGY .............................................................................. 75
Financing the Implementation of the Transport Strategy .................................................................... 75
The City Budget – Overview and Outlook ........................................................................................... 75
Non-Budgetary Financing.................................................................................................................... 77
Strategizing City’s Transport Spending ............................................................................................... 77
Improving Market Efficiency and Financial Sustainability .................................................................. 79
Private Sector Participation and Public-Private Partnership .............................................................. 81
Institutional Arrangements .................................................................................................................... 81
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Preparation – The Program of Studies .................................................................................................. 83
Prioritizing Investments ......................................................................................................................... 83
Sequencing – A Consolidated Action Timetable ................................................................................... 85
Appendix – Membership of the Working Group ............................................................................... 95
Annexes: (Volume 2)
1. Benchmarks and Targets
2. Experience with Congestion Charging in Four Cities
3. Parking Policies in Europe
4. Traffic Management Organization in New York, London, Paris, and Helsinki (as of 2005)
5. Reversing the Trend – Travel in London 2000-2007
6. Performance-Based Contracting for Management and Maintenance of Urban Road Networks
7. Gross Cost Contract Franchises in London
8. International Experience of Management of Transport in Metropolitan Areas
9. International Trends in Land Use Planning
10. International experience with urban transport integration
11. International experience with urban transport safety policy
12. International experience with environmental impacts of urban freight movement
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In July 2007 the city government adopted a general strategy for the “Social and Economic
Development of St Petersburg until the year 2025” 1, while a Master Plan of St Petersburg 2005-2025
elaborated on the physical planning implications of the emerging city strategy. These documents
envisioned the city simultaneously as a political and cultural center, as the most important trade and
transport hub in the Russian Federation, and as a center of high quality, high technology industry.
Together these three activities were to bring income, living standards and the quality of life up to
western European standards.
The great cities of Europe – London, Paris, Madrid – have transport systems which assure efficient
movement for business, affordable accessibility for all citizens through dense public transport
systems, and support a high quality of life in which personal safety, a healthy environment and a
vibrant cultural heritage are protected. The current state of the transport system of St Petersburg falls
short of this. Roads are congested, often clogged with parked vehicles, the public transport system is
inadequate in both quantity and quality, and environmental and safety impacts are unacceptable. The
aim of this transport strategy is to overcome these deficiencies, producing a transport system worthy
of a great European city.
St Petersburg is in some respects very distinctive. By Western European standards it is very heavily
populated. But it is very extensive, covering an area only 10% less than Greater London. This gives it
an average population density of 3238 persons per km2 – very similar to that of Warsaw and
Budapest. But unlike those cities, which are totally built up area, it has a city proper of only 606 km2
which contains 90% of its population. So the density of the city proper is twice that of the city region
and is denser than Athens or Madrid. And some of the residential areas, particularly in the north of
the city, are even denser than that. Although the city is still relatively poor, with an annual GDP per
capita less than that of Warsaw, Budapest or Prague, its economic development over the last decade
has resulted in a rapid growth of car ownership, already reaching 300 per thousand compared with
London’s 350.
At the heart of the transport problems of the city is that, despite the high population density of the
built up city it has a very low overall road network of 2.15 km per km2. Even if only the city proper is
considered the density is still less than 5 km per km2 which is less than any of the European capital
cities except Sofia. The harsh climate damages the roads and contributes to making the roads
congested and dangerous, with a death rate per head of population exceeding that of any of the other
comparator cities. The relatively low income of the city also has the consequence that its public
transport, though not expensive in absolute terms, appears among the most expensive in Europe in
relation to GDP. As a consequence, its public transport network density per km2 and coverage per
head of population is only moderate and the network of metro and suburban railways is well below
the norm for a city of its size.
The crux of the problem is thus that the very high rate of growth of car ownership, and the high
dependence on road transport of both transit and terminal freight movements, have put heavy pressure
on a road infrastructure which has some significant defects both in structure and management, while
public transport, caught in the resulting congestion, offers an insufficiently attractive alternative to the
use of the private car, even at the most congested times and places.
1 Government decree 884, 20.07.2007.
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Objectives Indicators Comparison with European Benchmarks
St. Petersburg London Madrid Paris
Efficiency System
inputs
Price of on-street
parking in city
center
0 £4.0 – 4.4
per hr
€ 1.08 – 2.42
per hour
(Barcelona)
€ 1 – 3 per hr
Outcome Peak hour road
speed
Not reported 24 km/hr 23 km/hr 33 km/hr
Accessibility System
inputs
High-speed
segregated public
transport Network
density
0.08 km/km2
2.47 km per
100,000
residents
0.44 km/km2
9.44 km per
100,000
residents
0.56 km/km2
10.93 km per
100,000
residents
0.25 km/km2
6.10 km per
100,000
residents
Outcome Surface public
transport peak hour
speed
Not reported 31 km/hr 20 km/hr 17 km/hr (Ile
de France)
Quality of
Life
Outcome Annual road
accident fatalities
per 100,000
residents
6.45 2.95 2.71 1.7
Further growth in car ownership, associated with increasing incomes threatens to make the situation
even worse. However, the city government recognizes the attraction of car ownership to its citizens
so, instead of concentrating on trying to resist the expansion of car ownership, it intends to follow a
strategy of improving the efficiency of infrastructure provision and use by a combination of
instruments. Land development control will be used to limit the total amount of transport necessary
and encourage the use of public transport. The efficiency of the road system will be improved by
better structure, maintenance and management. Road traffic will be better managed and where
necessary restrained and public transport will be made a more attractive alternative to the private car
where road congestion is most damaging.
Performance of the system will be continuously compared with that of other great cities, and targets
set on the basis of best international practice. All of this will be carried out within a revised
institutional framework, distinguishing between strategic direction, tactical management, and
operational decentralization. The general strategy, set out below, will act as a guide for all policy and
budget decisions, applied by a dedicated, special purpose unit within the city government structure.
Policy for each of the major functions – roads, traffic management and public transport – will be
subject to management by functionally specific units with the city government organization.
Operations – on the ground implementation of the policies – will be undertaken by separate agencies
working as contractors at arm’s length from the managing agency. These may be private or publicly
owned, but will all be operating as business units on business principles.
The context for the strategy will be the adoption of coherent land use planning and transport policies,
recognizing their close interdependence. Within this context St Petersburg will aim to achieve three
parallel and mutually reinforcing objectives. First, it aims to make efficient use of its road
infrastructure by reducing road congestion: this will enhance its economic competitiveness. Second, it
aims to provide affordable accessibility for all citizens through its public transport system: this will
protect poorer citizens. And third, it will protect against adverse safety and environmental impacts of
transport as well as the damage that transport can inflict on its cultural heritage: this will enhance the
quality of life. The targets set for these objectives are as follows.
In pursuit of these objectives the city government has identified the main policy instruments shown
diagrammatically below. For most of the elements, successful implementation requires an optimal
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mix of various instruments including administrative changes, investments, and technical
improvements. For each element the main issues of concern are identified, best international practices
are considered, and a strategy program of action is constructed, including any necessary institutional
or policy reforms as well as the necessary investments or budget appropriations.
Objective
Instrument
A: Transport Efficiency – Fight Congestion
B: Equity – Transport for All
C: Quality of Life
Planning and Administrative
Measures
Infrastructure Development
Improvement of
Management and Operation
G. The physical planning context – coherent land use and transport policies
The city government of St Petersburg will ensure that its pattern of economic development contributes
to the achievement of all three of its transport objectives. The demand for transport is derived from
the patterns of economic and social interaction within the city. Insofar as the levels and locations of
the main social and economic activities (employment, education, residence, health, etc.) can be
managed, the nature of the transport demands can be molded into preferred patterns, to contain the
total amount of travel and to influence the choice of mode of travel. For example, planning controls
may be used to influence the location of new developments, the provision of residential parking, and
park and ride facilities for public transport. Though such controls may bring about change only
slowly, especially where city population is static, they are potentially powerful influences. The 5 year
program of action for this element is as follows:
C3: Protect Environ-
ment from
Freight Traffic
A4: Manage Private
Car Demand
A2: Improve Physical Conditi-
on of Toads
A1: Strategic
Road Invest-ment C4:
Protect Cultural Heritage
A3: Better Use of Road
Space – Traffic
Manag-ement
B1: Improve
Operating Efficiency of Public
Transport
B2: Give Priority to
Public Transport
B3: Provide
for Pedestri-ans and Cyclists
G: Coherent land-use planning
C2: Make Roads Safer
C1: Reduce
Air & Noise
Pollution
A5: Improve External Trans-port Links
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Intervention Ref.
#
Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Administrative/
Legal
G.1 Institute traffic impact
assessment for all major
re/developments
Architecture
Comm., Traffic
Management
Authority
City
leadership
and staff
Immediately
Institutional/
Organizational
G.2 Strengthen and streamline
collaboration between the
Architecture and Planning
Committee and a Strategic
Transport Unit (STU) created
within the Transit Committee
through a small inter-committee
working group
Transit Policy
Comm.,
Architecture and
Planning Comm.
City
leadership
and staff
Immediately
Studies/
Technical
G.3 Study the potential for
encouraging mixed-land use
patterns through planning and
development controls
STU, A&P
Comm
Staff Early 2012
G.4 Explore possibility for targeting
densification of residential
development around public
transport stations
A&P Comm,
Transport Comm.
Staff Early 2012
G.5 Pilot telecommuting and
staggering of work hours in the
municipal government
Various
committees of the
City Government
City
leadership
and staff
Immediately
G.6 Assess alternative locations for
the new Gasprom development
A&P Comm.,
City architect
Staff,
consultant
In 2011
A. The efficiency objective – reducing congestion
The proper functioning of the city requires efficient use of its infrastructure for movements within the
city and for contacts with the rest of the world. As the bulk of trips are dependent on the road
infrastructure the reduction of road congestion is central to this objective. Five main instruments are
concerned.
A1. Strategic Road Investment
The city government will continue to improve its road facilities where this is consistent with the
general strategy. There are some possibilities for increasing available road space which can be
exploited in St Petersburg. However, unless carefully designed and associated with purposeful traffic
management, increasing the capacity of the inner radial routes in St Petersburg may simply accentuate
the congestion problem in the city center. In already densely developed areas building more roads can
only be obtained by demolishing buildings or infringing upon them in ways which damages their
value. Particularly where the cultural heritage is at stake this is unacceptable. It is also extremely
costly unless a relatively unimpeded route already exists and the city does not believe that it can build
its way out of congestion. The principal objective of this strategy element is therefore to facilitate
cross town and orbital traffic movements with particular emphasis on minimizing traffic through the
congested city center. This will include the following;
Completion of the KAD (ring road around the city) and the Western High Speed Diameter
(WHSD) as important elements in creating high speed and high capacity routes to reduce cross
city travel times, and to divert traffic, including port traffic, from the city center.
vii | P a g e
Completion of orbital roads and bridges relieving pressure on the historical central area
including the Obvotny Canal loop, the Vassilievsky island bridge and other bridge repairs.
Completion of several radial roads outside the KAD to improve connections to the outer city
and suburbs and improve external connectivity without generating significant extra inner city
traffic.
Establishing a functional road classification system and corresponding design guidelines to
assist serve as a foundation for decisions on road investment priorities and on road design
standards.
Developing a mechanism for determining investment priorities, and a rolling 5 year road
investment program to be assessed against other elements of the overall transport strategy.
Mobilizing off-budget finance. The city will work to secure additional funding from sources
including Federal Government contributions, road tolls and private sector investments, and
prudent city borrowing either in the form of bonds or bank loans.
The 5 year program of action is as follows:
Intervention Ref. # Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Administrative/
Legal
A1.1. Reform the municipal
legislation requiring
function-based road network
classification
Transit Policy
Committee
(Strategic
Planning Unit)
City leadership
and SPU staff
Immediately End of
2011
Studies/
Technical
A1.2. Prepare a prioritized road
investment program based
on an agreed process and
quantifiable economic and
technical criteria.
Transit Policy
Committee
(Strategic
Planning Unit)
SPU staff,
external
consultant
Mid 2011 Mid 2012;
annually
update
prioritized
program
A1.3 Road classification and
design guidelines study
Infrastructure
Committee
SPU staff,
external
consultant
Mid 2011 2012
A1.4 Complete design of the loop
road encircling the city
center and connect-ing with
WHSD both north and south
of city center
Infrastructure
Committee
External
consultant
ongoing 2012
A1.5 Complete design of new
bridge over the Neva from
the city center to Vasilevsky
Island and rehabilitation of
other bridges along with
public transport (PT)
priority measures
Infrastructure
Committee; Traf-
fic Management
Authority (TMA)
under the Transit
Policy Committee
for PT priority
measures
External
consultant
2011 2012
A1.6 Complete design of the
Orlovsky tunnel including
public transport priority
measures
Infrastructure
Committee; TMA
for public
transport priority
measures
Concessionaire,
and/or
External
consultant
2011 2012
Investments A1.7 Complete Western High
Speed Diameter
Infrastructure
Committee
Concessionaire Prep
(financing)
immediately
2015
A1.8 Complete the loop road
encircling the city center
and connecting with WHSD
both north and south of city
Infrastructure
Committee
Contractor Ongoing 2014
viii | P a g e
center
A1.9 Complete the Orlovsky
tunnel including public
transport priority measures
Infrastructure
Committee
Concessionaire End 2011 2015
A1.10. Construct bridge over the
Neva River from the city
center to Vasilevsky Island
and rehabilitate other
bridges along with public
transport priority measures
Infrastructure
Committee; TMA
for public
transport priority
measures
Contractor During 2011 2015
A1.11 Selected other proposed
high priority investments as
recommended under action
A1.2 within the available
city budget
Infrastructure
Committee
Contractor Ongoing 2015
A2. Improving the physical condition of roads
The city government will introduce a modern road maintenance management system. The
performance of the existing road network depends critically on its condition. At present it is estimated
that over 40% of the total network is at present in need of some kind of maintenance and repair.
International experience shows clearly that the extra costs to road users resulting from inadequate
current and periodic maintenance of roads greatly exceed any savings to the road agency. Proper
maintenance is thus good economics. Better data and analysis is needed to identify optimum
maintenance needs and to ensure that available maintenance funding is used to the greatest effect.
The program of action is as follows:
Intervention Ref.
#
Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Administrative/
Legal
A2.1 Pursue federal level legislative
changes in order to implement
performance-based contracts for
road maintenance and
rehabilitation
Transit Policy
Committee
(Strategic
Planning Unit)
Collaboration
with Federal
gov.
Immediately End of
2011
Institutional/
Organizational
A2.2 Create and build capacity for a
road asset management
assessment unit under the
Infrastructure Committee that is
supported by adequate
technology, equipment, staffing
and management capacity
Infrastructure
Committee
City
leadership
and staff,
supported by
external
consultant
Immediately Early
2012
A2.3 Institute a budgetary process that
allocates resources on the basis
of investment priorities
developed by a computerized
road asset management system
City
Government,
with Strategic
Planning Unit
City
leadership
and staff
After A2.5 Early
2012
Investments A2.4 Create a comprehensive
computerized road network
database; Recommend and
calibrate a road asset
management program for the
purpose of assessing and
recommending road
maintenance and rehabilitation
priorities
Infrastructure
Committee
External
consultant
Immediately
or Mid 2011
Mid
2012
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A2.5 Purchase and install a
computerized road network
assessment tools, selecting from
commercial off-the-shelf
(COTS) software
Infrastructure
Committee
Provider,
external
consultant
In 2011
A2.6 Institute and start
implementation of performance-
based contract
Infrastructure
Committee
City
leadership
and staff
After A2.1
A3. Using road space better – strengthening traffic management
The city government will develop a program of improved traffic management. Even where the total
amount of road space cannot be increased it is possible to manage the use of that road space to make it
safer and quicker, using modern information technologies as well as long established traffic
engineering techniques. Traffic management can also support the strategy by giving effective priority
to public transport, focusing on minimizing total travel times rather than simply on increasing the
speed of movement of cars. In comparison with other European cities St Petersburg has placed much
less emphasis on traffic management measures, which have been found to yield very high rates of
return, both economically and socially. This deficiency will be addressed in the coming 5 year action
program. The 5 year program of action for this element is as follows:
Intervention Ref. # Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
A3.1 Broaden and strengthen
the responsibility of the
Traffic Management
Authority (TMA) to
become responsible for
comprehensively
addressing all measures
that affect traffic
operations and safety on
the existing street
network.
Transit Policy
Committee
(Strategic
Planning Unit)
assigns new
responsibilities
to TMA
City
leadership
and staff
Immediate 2012
A3.2 Establish a high level
Road Safety Working
Party (see C2.1)
SPU SPU, TMA
and Police
Mid 2011
Studies/
Technical
A3.3 Undertake extensive and
ongoing traffic surveys to
update knowledge of
existing traffic conditions
and problems
TMA Staff Mid 2011 Continual
A3.4 Develop a strategic
Intelligent Transportation
System (ITS) Plan
including improvement
and expansion of the
traffic signal system
Strategic
Planning Unit,
TMA
Staff and
consultants
Mid 2011 Mid 2012
A3.5 Develop a public transport
priority plan and design
key segregated corridors
(see B1.6 and B2.2)
SPU to
designate
corridors, TMA
to design
Staff and
external
consultant
Mid 2011 End 2012
A3.6 Prepare prioritized
program for addressing
traffic bottlenecks
including development of
Strategic
Planning Unit,
TMA
Staff,
external
consultant
Mid 2011 Mid 2012;
annual
update of
prioritized
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geometric designs for
improvement of road
segments, intersections
and interchanges (see
A5.4)
program
Investments A3.7 Complete full
coordination of traffic
signal system at 250
intersections
TMA Staff,
contractor
Ongoing End of
2011
A3.8 Implementation of the first
phase of proposed ITS
measures
TMA Staff,
contractor
After A3.4 End of
2015
A3.9 Implement geometric road
improvement program to
improve traffic operations
(as proposed in A3.6)
Infrastructure
Committee
Staff,
contractor
2012 2015
A4. Managing private car demand – traffic restraint
The city government will implement a program of strategic traffic restraint. The balance between the
supply of road space and the demand for it, which is what determines the level of congestion, can be
altered by measures to restrain demand at times and in locations where congestion is worst. This can
be done through physical controls – on access or parking – or through pricing measures – charging for
parking and for access to the most vulnerable areas of the city. Both can be effective – as evidence of
recent improvements in traffic conditions in London have shown – and have the added advantage that
they yield revenues to the city which can be used to improve public transport provisions. Traffic
restraint implies either that trips are suppressed – which may be possible for some less essential
activities – or that provision must be made for them to be accommodated in some other acceptable
way. The city government will therefore introduce restraints on private car traffic should only be
introduced when they are accompanied by the provision of adequate alternatives. This means
improving public transport very substantially. Off-street parking in residential areas needs to be
increased both to increase the road space available for movement and to improve the environment.
The 5 year program of action for this element is as follows:
Intervention Ref. # Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
A4.1 In line with A3.1, strengthen
skills and analytical capabilities
of the TMA for parking policy
setting and parking system
design
Strategic
Planning
Unit, TMA
City
leadership and
staff
Immediately Complete
within
2011
A4.2 Strengthen implementation and
enforcement function of the
Garages and Parking Lots
Authority (GPLA)
Strategic
Planning
Unit, GPLA
City
leadership and
staff
Immediately Complete
within
2012
Administrative
/ Legal
A4.3 Secure Federal legislation to
permit introduction of paid on-
street parking and congestion
pricing
Strategic
Planning
Unit
Collaboration
with Federal
government.
Earliest
possible
End of
2011
Studies/
Technical
A4.4 Update and extend the existing
central area parking study
Strategic
Planning
Unit, TMA
External
consultant
Immediately End of
2011
A4.5 Extend and complete the GPLA
study on residential parking
conditions and demand
Strategic
Planning
Unit, GPLA
External
consultant
Immediately End of
2011
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A4.6 Extend and complete the draft
Park&Ride Program
GPLA External
consultant
Immediately End of
2011
* A4.4 – A4.6 can be done under one single study.
A4.7 Study alternative congestion
pricing possibilities and
recommend a solution for
implementation.
Strategic
Planning
Unit
External
consultant
Mid 2011 End of
2012
Investments A4.8 On-street parking charging and
enforcement equipment
TMA Contractor or
concessionaire
After A4.3 Early
2012
A4.9 Implement city-wide parking
program including construction
of new parking facilities in the
city center, residential areas,
and Park&Ride
GPLA Contractor or
concessionaire
After A4.4 -
A4.6
By 2015
A4.10 Implement congestion pricing
in the historic city center
including installation of
congestion charging technology
TMA Contractor or
concessionaire
After A4.7, if
recommended
to adopt conge-
stion charging
End 2015
A5. Improving the external links
The city government aims to enhance its national and international passenger transport connections.
It will continue its policy of improving the sea and air ports, largely through the adoption of PPP
schemes such as that for the reconstruction of Pulkovo airport. It will also collaborate with the
national rail company in improving the inter-city rail facilities within the city, including the
development of a combined long distance bus and rail terminal. Road access will be improved by
improvements to the radial road system outside the KAD as well as by initiating construction of the
St. Petersburg segment of the Moscow-St. Petersburg toll road. The program of action is as follows:
Intervention Ref.
#
Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Studies/
Technical
A5.1 Examine possibilities to improve
and expand commuter rail
services (see also B2.2)
Strategic
Planning Unit,
Transport Comm.
Staff, external
consultant
Early
2012
End of
2012
A5.2 Identify locations and designs of
intermodal stations
Transit Policy
Committee
Staff, external
consultant
Early
2012
End of
2012
Investments A5.3 Continue the ongoing Pulkovo
Airport and Vassilievsky
Passenger Terminal projects
Ongoing
A5.4 Remove at-grade crossings at
intersections with heavily used
rail lines, including the high-
speed link to Finland (see A3.6)
Infrastructure
Committee
Contractor Early
2013
A5.5 Construct intermodal stations that
combine long-distance bus and
rail terminals
Infrastructure
Committee, City
Architect
Contractor After
A5.2
A5.6 Complete the St Petersburg-
Moscow Toll Road and other
outer area radials
Infrastructure
Committee
Federal
funding
Ongoing
B Social Equity – Affordable accessibility for all social groups
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There is no large city in the world that can fulfill its residents’ needs for mobility and accessibility
without support of well-developed public transport system. With income growth and subsequent car
ownership growth, an increasing number of citizens of St. Petersburg use cars, partly because of the
unattractiveness of the public transport alternative. In this circumstance, providing high-quality public
transport is not an option but a mandate for sustainable development. For those without cars, the
deficiencies of public transport are inescapable; hence, it is also a social equity issues – opportunity
and accessibility to all citizens. Improving the quality of the non-car alternatives is thus essential not
only to lure people away from their cars to increase the efficiency of the use of infrastructure but also
to improve the quality and reduce the cost of services available to those less wealthy citizens without
cars. Three instruments are to be used to achieve this.
B1. Improving Operational Efficiency of Public Transport
The city government will take measures to improve the efficiency of public transport provision, and to
ensure that it provides adequately for all types of people and all forms of demand (referred to as
“inclusiveness”). This involves looking closely at the way in which transport services are currently
procured, provided and charged for, as well as at ways in which the potential of private sector
involvement in supply can be better mobilized than under present arrangements. The program of
action is as follows:
Intervention Ref. # Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
B1.1 Corporatize the publicly owned bus
and electric transport operating
companies
Transport
Committee
City
leadership
and staff
After
completion
of task B1.6
End of
2012
B1.2 Strengthen the capacity of Public
Transport Organizer, to promote its
status to Public Transport
Executive
Transport
Committee, in
collaboration
with Strategic
Planning Unit
City
leadership
2012 2013
Administrative/
Legal
B1.3 Remove the "two-tier" distinction
between social and commercial
services, and integrate all services
in a single system
Strategic
Planning Unit,
Transport
Committee
City
leadership
and staff
Gradually as
financial
situation
permits
Aiming to
complete
by 2014
B1.4 Convert all contracts except those
with the Metro company to
competitive tender that is gross-cost
based
Transport
Committee
City
leadership
and staff
After B1.6
and B1.8
In 2012
B1.5 Commercialize the existing
publicly owned transport
companies
Transport
Committee
City
leadership
and staff
Early 2012
Studies/
Technical
B1.6 Long-term structure study: design
of comprehensive routes, high-
speed segregated track services,
and roles of trams and trolley buses
(see B2.2)
Strategic
Planning Unit,
Transport
Committee
External
consultant
Immediately Mid 2012
B1.7 Short-term supply efficiency study:
design of competitive tender
services, preparation of gross-cost
contract tenders, restructure of
operating companies, cost analysis
for the new tender system
Transport
Committee
External
consultant
Immediately End of
2011
xiii | P a g e
B1.8 Study possibility of automatic
controlling system to reduce
headways on the Metro Blue Line
Metro
Authority
Metro
staff,
contractor
Early 2012
Investments B1.9 Secure fare collection equipment
and GPS equipment for
performance monitoring
Public
Transport
Authority
Operators,
Contractor
Mid 2012 End of
2012
B2. Giving Priority to Public Transport – System Development
The city government is committed to develop an extensive program of public transport segregation. If
public transport is to be attractive as an alternative to use of the private car it will have to match the
private car on a balance of cost, comfort, speed and access to location considerations. Cities in which
public transport carries very large shares of journeys, particularly journeys to work, are mostly very
large, and have good urban and suburban rail systems. In St Petersburg the metro can match or
improve on the travel time of the private car for journey to work from many locations. But the
existing metro services are nearing full capacity utilization, while further expansions of the system are
extremely expensive. A suburban rail system exists but has not yet been well developed as part of an
urban transport system. The road based surface public transport modes are caught up in the same
congestion as the car, while having the extra disadvantage of being less comfortable and less flexible
in their ability to provide door to door service. Furthermore, public transport often carries the stigma
of being inferior in quality. Only by extensively segregating surface public transport from the general
traffic stream can public transport achieve a travel time advantage over the private car. New higher
speed public transport routes will be developed and their attractiveness enhanced by the provision of
better station comfort and improved park and ride provision at the outer stations. Premium (express)
services will also be provided on new LRT lines. The program of action is as follows:
Intervention Ref.
#
Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
B2.1 Strengthening strategic
planning function for
comprehensive route
planning, intermodal
connection, service quality
control
Transit Policy
Committee
(Strategic
Planning Unit)
City
leadership
and staff
Immediately
Studies/
Technical
B2.2 Study to identify and design
the high priority segregated
public transport corridor
demonstration projects (bus,
light rail transit, and suburb-
an rail) (see A3.5, B1.6)
Transport
Committee
City
leadership
and staff
Mid 2011 End of 2011
B2.3 Study of institutional
alternatives for development
of integrated high speed
trunk network.
Strategic
Planning Unit
Staff Mid 2011 Mid 2012
Investments B2.4 Complete the Metro Purple
line
Metro
Authority
Contractor In 2013 End of 2015
B2.5 Light Rail Transit (LRT) and
possible BRT and suburban
rail demonstration projects
Metro
Authority
Staff,
operators
Immediately
after B2.2
Aiming to start
implementation
in 2014
B2.6 Expand bus lane system
serving the central area
including Nevsky Prospect
Extension
TMA, Public
Transport
Authority
Staff,
operators
Immediately
after B2.2
Aiming to start
implementation
in 2014
xiv | P a g e
B2.7 Public transport priority
measures at bottleneck points
especially the Orlovsky
tunnel and bridges
TMA,
Infrastructure
Committee
Staff After A1.9 End 2015
B2.8 Extension of demonstration
projects toward integrated
segregated surface public
transport network
Metro
Authority,
Public
Transport
Authority
Contractor
or
concessio-
naire
After 2.5,
2.6
B3. Providing for Pedestrians and Cyclists
The city government will improve facilities for safe movement by pedestrians and cyclists. It is
generally recognized that non-motorized transport – including walking – is least damaging
environmentally. Though cycling is limited in St Petersburg by the harsh winter weather and by
safety concerns, most people have to walk to complete their trips at all times of the year. In many
parts of the city it is unpleasant, as parked cars clutter the sidewalks. It is also dangerous; partly due to
lack of adequate crossing facilities pedestrians account for a majority of traffic accident fatalities in
the city. Improving pedestrian facilities is not just a matter of reducing accidents, however, as a good
pedestrian environment is good for business, as Nevsky Prospect shows. The city government has
already approved a plan for the development of pedestrian facilities in the inner city but recognizes
the need for this to be extended in a more general emphasis on pedestrian and cyclist safety and
convenience. The program of action is as follows:
Intervention Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Studies/
Technical
B3.1 Explicitly require
investigation of pedestrian and
cyclist interests in the design
of new roads or the upgrading
of existing streets
TMA Staff Immediately Continuous
B3.2 Develop prioritized pedestrian
safety program and improve-
ment designs and measures
TMA Staff,
external
consultant
Mid 2011 Mid 2012;
annual update
of program
B3.3 Undertake commuter bicycle
route study
TMA Staff,
external
consultant
Mid 2012 Mid 2013
Investments (C2.5) Implement pedestrian road
safety improvement program
Infrastructure
Committee
Contractor 2012 2015
B3.4 Improve pedestrian crossings
and walking environment
Infrastructure
Committee,
City
Architect
Staff,
contractor
After B3.2
C The Quality of Life
The quality of life of citizens is adversely affected by urban transport through air and noise pollution
and traffic safety hazards. The city government will act to minimize these effects both by direct
actions in the fields of environmental pollution and road safety and by controls of the impacts of the
most damaging categories of traffic (heavy freight) and in the most sensitive areas (the historic
cultural center of the city.
C1. Reducing Air and Noise Pollution
xv | P a g e
The city government will further refine its policies on transport and the environment. Transport is
associated with a range of adverse effects on the living environment – air pollution, noise, visual
intrusion, ecological damage and so on. In 2008, a review of Russian cities placed St Petersburg as
85t out of 89 cities on account of its high level of air pollution and poor ability to maintain fragile
ecosystems. In the same year the City Committee on Environmental Management and Environmental
Safety in its environmental strategy for the city estimated that 80% of air pollution in the city was
generated by its transport activity. While it concluded that the transport strategies of the city were
correct and appropriate to address the problem it is clear that much more needs to be done. The city
therefore intends to set up a special team within the Strategic Planning Unit to co-ordinate actions to
reduce air pollution from transport, including tightening vehicle emission standards to western
European standards, strengthening inspection procedures, and considering measures to bring sulfur
content in diesel used in the city down at least to Western European standards of 50 parts per million.
The program of action for this element is as follows:
Intervention Ref.
#
Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
C1.1 Creation of special team to
co-ordinate environmental
action in the Transport
Strategy
Strategic Planning
Unit
Staff Mid 2011
C1.2 Tighten vehicle emission
standards to Western
European standards
Strategic Planning
Unit, Environmental
Committee
City
leadership
and staff
Immediately
C1.3. Implement freight vehicle
routing control in the city
center
Transit Policy
Committee, Traffic
Management Auth.
City
leadership
and staff
Early 2012,
following
C1.5
C1.4 Introduce environmental
issues in bus franchising
process
Public Transport
Authority, Transport
Committee
Staff From 2012
Studies/
Technical
C1.5. Improve data collection and
analysis for traffic emission
and noise
Strategic Planning
Unit, Environmental
Committee
Staff,
external
consultant
Mid 2011 Data
collection
continually
C1.6 Examine possibilities of
reducing sulfur content of
fuel to 50 ppm or less
Environment
Committee
Staff Mid 2011
C2. Making the Roads Safer
The government is committed to securing further reductions in road accident rates, and particularly
road fatalities within the city Although accident rates have been falling as a result of previous
campaigns undertaken by the city, there is still scope to reduce accidents by 50% to reach best
European city standards. Of particular concern is the high level of pedestrian fatalities. The role and
procedures of the police in traffic law enforcement will be strengthened. The Traffic Management
Authority capacity to undertake accident analysis will be strengthened, as will its commitment to
address safety issues in traffic engineering schemes. A program of segregated pedestrian crossings of
the major arterial roads within the city will be developed as a high priority. And the design of new
road facilities, under the auspices of the Infrastructure Committee, and traffic management schemes,
under the auspices of the Traffic management Authority in the Transit Committee, will be subject to
systematic safety audit by an independent engineer.
xvi | P a g e
Intervention Ref. # Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
C2.1 Establish a strategic Road
Safety Working Party in the
Strategic Policy Unit (see
A3.2)
SPU SPU, TMA
and Police
Mid 2011
C2.2 Develop accident analysis
capability within the TMA
TMA TMA 2011
C2.3 Raise threshold for police
involvement in accident
investigation
2012
Studies/
Technical
(B3.2) Develop prioritized pedestrian
safety program and
improvement designs and
measures
TMA Staff,
external
consultant
Mid 2011 Mid 2012; annual
update of priori-
tized program
(B3.3) Undertake commuter bicycle
route study (see also Element
B3)
TMA Staff,
external
consultant
2013 2013
C2.4 Review organization of on-
street traffic accident recording
and clear-up procedures
Police Police 2012 2012
Investments C2.5 Implement pedestrian road
safety improvement program
Infrastructure
Committee
Contractor 2012 2015
C2.6 Procurement of accident
investigation equipment and
red light and speed cameras
Police, TMA 2012
C3. Protecting the Environment from Freight Traffic
The government is committed to measures to reconcile the efficiency needs of freight traffic with the
environmental and passenger transport needs of the city. Freight transport is very important to the
city, which is Russia’s largest port and second largest manufacturing center. It is important that the
freight traffic which it generates is efficiently provided for while minimizing its adverse effect on the
local environment. Port traffic has already been handled with considerable success by the policies on
arterial road construction and port facility location, as well as restrictions on freight traffic routing.
The Western High Speed Diameter route will further insulate the city against adverse effects of port
traffic. The carriage of traffic serving industrial and commercial activities cannot be suppressed
without damage to the economy, but it can be managed by a purposive approach to freight transport
logistics. Selection of locations for freight transport intensive activities, and identifying acceptable
routes of access to those facilities is thus part of the city transport strategy. The program of action for
this element is as follows:
Intervention Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
C3.1 Create an Urban Freight
transport unit
SPU, Transit
Committee
Staff 2012
C3.2 Continuation of existing
arrangement under Transit
Policy Committee that addresses
intercity transport needs both for
freight and passenger
Transit
Committee
Staff Immediate
Studies/
Technical
C3.3 Designation of truck routes TMA Staff Ongoing Refinements
as needed
xvii | P a g e
Investments Investment programs A1.4,
A1.5, A1.6, A4.9, A4.10 help
toward this strategy element
C3.4 Development of Pulkovo freight
terminal
Private sector
(PPP)
2013
C4. Protecting Cultural Heritage – a Policy for the Historic Center
The city government will elaborate and implement a comprehensive strategy for transport to and
within the city center. Not all parts of the city have the same problems, and it is intended to
differentiate the treatment of transport issues by area. This is already done through land use controls,
as considered strategically by the approved city development plan. However, because of its sensitivity
as the site much of the cultural heritage of the city, the city center area calls for special treatment
involving many of the elements already discussed. It is here that access needs to be best, where
parking is at its most intrusive, and walking is particularly prevalent, that a well balanced package of
measures of public transport provision, private transport restraint and environmental management, is
most critical. The program of action for this element is as follows:
Intervention Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
C4.1 Develop central area plan and
coordinate its implementation
Strategic
Planning Unit
Staff,
consultant
Immediately End
2015
Administrative/
Legal
C4.2 Issue land planning regulations to
limit private provision of parking
spaces in city center (align with A4.3)
City Architect City
leadership
and staff
Immediately
Studies/
Technical
Studies A3.6, A4.4, A4.5, A4.7, B1.6
(on demand management and public
transport efficiency) help toward this
strategy element
Investments C4.3 Construction of new Metro station
entrances in City center
Metro
Authority
Contractor Early 2012 End of
2015
Road Investment programs A1.7,
A1.8 are crucial to toward
implementing this strategy element
Infrastructure
Committee
(A4.10) Investment A4.10 helps toward this
strategy – Implement congetion
pricing in the city center
TMA Contractor or
concession-
aire
After A4.7 End
2015
(B2.7) Investment B2.7 helps toward this
strategy – Implement public transport
priority measures
TMA,
Infrastructure
Committee
Staff After A1.9 End
2015
(B3.4) Investment B3.4 helps toward this
strategy – Improving pedestrian
crossings and walking environment
Infrastructure
Committee,
City Architect
Staff,
contractor
After B3.2
Financing the Strategy
Implementation of the Transport Strategy will require a great deal of public resources—the city
budget—particularly given the need for capital investments for infrastructure network extension.
Having been allocating about 15 percent of its budget for transport sector in the last few years, the
City is looking to increase transport sector budget in support of successful implementation of the
Strategy. Increased budgetary allocation will be used not only for capital investments for
xviii | P a g e
infrastructure development, but also for initial investments in key strategic areas, which will lead to
long-term efficiency gains and improve financial sustainability of the transport sector, as follows:
- Investment in advanced technical tools to aid strategic investment and expenditure decisions, to
monitor investment impacts, and to maintain and manage existing infrastructure more efficiently.
- Investment in innovative technologies to help mitigate traffic congestion and improve quality of
public transport services.
- Improved institutional efficiency through strategic planning and coordination among the City’s
organizations.
- Introducing a streamlined mechanism for project evaluation and prioritization.
In addition to the expansion of budgetary arrangements, the City will continue seeking and securing
non-budgetary financing sources where possible and necessary. The City will continue to collaborate
with the Federal Government to ensure due support for major motorways which serve passenger and
freight transport of great national and international importance. Private sector participation will be
encouraged where it can develop transport infrastructure and provide transport services more
efficiently than the public sector. To this end, the City will introduce necessary legal and regulatory
changes that will allow balanced risk-sharing between the public and private sector and facilitate
competition and efficiency. Projects will be selected on the basis of their financial viability and
economic benefits, ensuring that private sector participation will bring in greater value for money than
the public sector’s provision.
The Strategy will reform the way that transport infrastructure and services are financed and introduce
policy measures that improve efficiency of the transport service market. With the reform, it is
expected that benefits and costs of transport system are shared among citizens in a fairer way, and
financial sustainability of the transport systems improved. Specific changes that will be fostered by
the Strategy include the following:
- Providing more options and some premium public transport services that meet varying needs of
the citizens, at prices that reflect demand and service quality while retaining basic services at
affordable prices. Differentiated pricing that aligns with quality differentials are expected to better
serve different needs of citizens while bringing more revenues to the city.
- Introducing user charges for on-street parking and road use in the busy city center during peak
hours will help mitigating congestion and generate a stable revenue stream. User charging
systems would require some initial capital investments for infrastructure and equipment, which
will quickly be recouped by revenues.
- Additional revenues from user charges will be used for improvement of transport infrastructure
and services, particularly public transport, which together with infrastructure development will
further help mitigating congestion.
A sequenced program
The strategy includes a number of radical reforms to the organization for transport in the city, the
preparation of which can be commenced immediately. 2011 and 2012 are therefore heavily weighted
with study and institutional development commitments. The physical investments associated with the
early stages of these developments are not great. But the proposed major road projects (WHSD and
loop road) as well as other proposed road improvements would consume a considerable amount of the
xix | P a g e
city budget unless federal and private sector funding were secured. If external funding is not secured,
other proposed priority investments articulated in the strategy could be adversely affected or some of
the proposed road projects might have to be deferred. It is therefore critical to the strategy that the
larger physical investments be funded largely from external sources (Pulkovo, Western High Speed
Diameter and Orlovsky tunnel), with only the investments in the metro and some other spot road
improvements on budget. There will, however, be investment costs associated with the high speed
public transport demonstration projects, and an increase in the need for current funding as the “two-
tier” public transport fares system is phased out by incorporation of more services in the social
network. Nevertheless, the budget for 2011 and 2012 will need to be more than usually software
oriented. Thereafter, in 2013 and after investments in equipment for the reforms, including parking
equipment for the on-street parking development and ticketing equipment for the public transport
reforms will increase.
Particularly important to timely implementation of the strategy will be early progress on some of the
proposed administrative reforms and studies. Among those initiatives which are particularly
important are the following:
Reform municipal legislation requiring function-based road network classification (task A1.1)
Obtaining federal approval to proceed with on-street paid parking (task A4.3)
Road maintenance inventory and investment prioritization study (task A2.5)
ITS study (task A3.4)
A study of parking (tasks A4.4, A4.5, and A4.6)
Strategic structure study of the public transport network (task B1.6)
Short-term public transport efficiency study (task B1.7)
Public transport demonstration projects study (task B2.3)
Congestion pricing study (task A4.7)
1 | P a g e
PART ONE – THE ORIGIN AND STRUCTURE OF THE STRATEGY
The Historical Background
Development planning strategies are not new to St Petersburg. A comprehensive territorial
development plan for the St Petersburg metropolitan area was adopted in 1987, based on Soviet socio-
economic assumptions and institutions, and covering the whole Leningrad oblast. This was essentially
a physical plan, with great technical specification but relatively little consideration of economic and
social issues.
Since the early nineties the scope and style of planning has changed. In 1993 St Petersburg
municipality became a subject of the Federation, separate from the rest of the former Leningrad
oblast. After some years of turbulence at the end of the last century the socio-economic situation has
stabilized with improved urban planning legislation and growing GDP. In 1997 the city adopted a
strategic plan concentrating on city competitiveness and socio-economic and environmental
development rather than simple physical planning. In 2005 a further planning and development
strategy was published, reflecting the new economic and political realities – the elaboration of a city
vision.
The City Vision
That new outlook was set out in two major documents. In July 2007
the city government adopted a general strategy for the “Social and
Economic Development of St Petersburg until the year 2025”. 2 In
parallel with this, adopted and published in 2008, a Master Plan of St
Petersburg 2005-2025 elaborated on the physical planning
implications of the emerging city strategy.
The fundamental objective of the Social and Economic Development
Strategy is to increase the living standards of the citizens of St
Petersburg so that they correspond with European levels. Those living
standards are defined to include not only the money income of citizens
but also the quality of the natural and built environment within which
our citizens live and the quality and variety of social, educational and health services available.
The economic basis for achieving that aspiration is a city with a threefold role.
As a “political and cultural center, open to the world and integrated into the world economy”.
As a trading and transport center of international significance, aiming to handle 50% of
Russian exports and over 50% of its imports from the European community.
As a center of commercial and industrial innovation, concentrating on products of high
quality and high value added, including banking and financial services.
2 Government decree 884, 20.07.2007.
2 | P a g e
The objective of the Master Plan is to establish a reliable urban
physical development structure to achieve the social and
economic objectives. The characteristics of the city have
undergone a number of critical changes since Soviet times.
First, population has declined – from 5.2 million in 1990 to
4.62 million in 2004 – and is expected to remain stable for the
next decade and only to increase modestly to 4.7 million by
2025. A decline in total employment is also anticipated.
Second, a shift in occupational patterns is likely from the
manufacturing and agrarian sectors towards trade, services,
education and financial sectors. Third, there is an incipient trend to suburbanization, with the
combination of city apartments and rural dacha being progressively replaced by independent
permanent housing in suburban and rural neighborhoods. Fourth, transport aspirations are shifting
rapidly, with car ownership having risen from 55 per thousand inhabitants in 1985 to around 300 per
thousand in 2010. All of these trends have significant implications for the nature of transport demands
in the longer term.
Other recent strategy papers are relevant to transport. An environmental policy for the city,
published in 2007, contains discussion and recommendations on environmental impacts of transport
policy. In 2009 strategy on the development of the “Transport and Logistic Center,” TLC, contains
the basis for the content of the transport strategy on freight transport.
Transport in the Context of the City Vision
Some of the elements of the general strategy – such as the development of the trade and transport
functions of the city – are directly transport related, requiring improvements to port and airport
facilities, as well as to national and international rail links. Even for those elements not expressed in
transport terms – such as the protection and development of the historic city as an international tourist
and cultural center, or the development of the high value added industrial, commercial and financial
services of the city – transport performs a critical enabling function.
It is thus entirely appropriate that the strategic development and physical planning documents should
contain observations on transport strategy. But it is inevitable that the level of detail in articulating
transport strategies is limited in these high level and broad ranging strategy documents. Moreover,
these strategic planning documents were not able – or intended – to ensure either the internal
consistency of the transport proposals or their consistency with resource availability. Hence there
remain some apparent inconsistencies in the transport elements of the social and economic
development strategy which need to be reconciled and clarified in the transport strategy. For example,
the aspiration to double car ownership rates from those of 2000 would appear inconsistent with the
desire to reduce congestion. This means that strategies will be necessary to control the location and
timing of use of the increased car stock to prevent increased congestion. This transport strategy
document amplifies and clarifies the transport requirements of the wider objectives of the Social and
Economic Development Strategy and the City Master Plan. Coherence between the physical and
economic plans of the city and the transport plans is an over-arching requirement for the achievement
of all the economic, social and environmental objectives of the city.
3 | P a g e
The Transport Vision
The aim of the transport strategy is thus to set out how the city government will manage and develop
the transport sector to best achieve its overall economic, social and environmental objectives. It
therefore starts from a “vision” of the transport system that the city needs, expressed as follows:
“St Petersburg must have a transport system which ensures:
Economic efficiency – including the reduction of road congestion and good access for
passengers and freight both internally and with the external economy
Social equity – allowing all citizens whatever their income, personal characteristics or car
ownership status to have access to their main necessities of life – jobs, education,
shopping, health and other social facilities
Quality of life – protecting the cultural heritage of the city and ensuring a safe and healthy
environment for all citizens”
Objectives to Strategy – the Fundamental Challenge
The context of the transport strategy will be a more coherent and purposeful use of the general
physical planning functions of the city. This will include the use of land use controls and other
administrative powers of the municipality both to limit the amount of motorized travel that is
necessary to satisfy the main requirements of urban inhabitants and to increase the probability that the
trips made will be undertaken by public transport. This is particularly important in respect of new
developments and in the context of a trend to suburbanization, which is like to accelerate in the future.
Within that context measures will be taken in the transport sector to increase efficiency of movement,
extend accessibility, and improve the quality of life for all citizens.
Efficiency of movement of transport is primarily impeded by congestion on the road system which
carries, and will in future continue to carry the bulk of both freight and passenger traffic both within
the city and in its links with the rest of the country. At the heart of the problem is a rapid growth of
car ownership, already in 2010 at 310 per thousand population, and forecast to rise to about 400 per
thousand by 2020. The city development plan recognizes car ownership at western European levels as
a legitimate aspiration and views increasing car ownership as a reasonable target and indicator of
development. It is unlikely that this growth can be reversed so a range of measures will be needed to
reduce congestion and improve road performance in the presence of a growing private car fleet.
It is not possible to increase the total size of the road infrastructure in line with the growth of car
ownership, as attempting to increase road capacity significantly in the inner city of St Petersburg
would damage the architectural and cultural heritage it is the objective to protect. However, it is
possible to make some carefully selected strategic additions and to focus on those road investments
which contribute most to the reduction of congestion. The first element of the efficiency strategy is
therefore the planning and implementation of some critical new items of road infrastructure,
particularly those which divert traffic away from the central area of the city (Strategy Element A1). In
addition, emphasis will be put on making more efficient use of existing road space by better
maintenance of roads (Strategy Element A2) and better management of traffic on the roads (Strategy
Element A3). Even that will not be enough. The city will also need to act, as all other large European
4 | P a g e
cities have done, to influence the choice of mode of transport by restraining the growth of private car
traffic (Strategy Element A4).
In respect of the external transport connections much is already in place. The port facilities for the
Baltic Sea ferry connections have been improved. New road facilities serving the freight traffic of the
ports are under construction or in preparation. High speed rail passenger links already exist on the
two main axes with Moscow and Helsinki. A concession for the redevelopment of Pulkovo Airport
has already been let, and the city government is planning a fast public transport link with the central
city. And the construction of a fast road to Moscow is nearing completion. But there are some
remaining problems. Some of the outer radial routes within the city need improvement and there is a
need for better connections between the modes. Dealing with these deficiencies will be the second
instrument of policy to improve the efficiency of road transport movement (instrument A5). Much of
the legal and financial responsibility for this rests with the Federal Government, but the city
government is continually pressing for, and collaborating with the national authorities, to improve its
external links.
The social equity objective has two sources. First, it derives from the need to provide for those who
do not have access to cars and therefore do not benefit directly from reduced road congestion. But,
second, it also derives from the need to provide an attractive alternative to car use for those who are
prevented from using their cars at some times or in some areas by the efficiency oriented measures of
restraint of car use. At the moment, however, public transport is often crowded and inadequate, while
parked cars infringe on sidewalks and cause inconvenience and danger to pedestrians both in the city
center and in many residential areas. The objective will therefore be achieved through three main
instruments: increases in the efficiency of operations of the public transport system (instrument B1)
through provision of new high quality high speed public transport services (instrument B2); and
through substantial improvement in provisions for pedestrians and cyclists (instrument B3). In this
way the efficiency and social equity objectives can be seen as complementary.
Improving quality of life has a number of dimensions. In St Petersburg increased car use in the
congested city center is associated with environmental impacts which reduce the quality of life, and
damage both access to and enjoyment of the cultural heritage. At the same time heavy traffic volumes
moving at speed on some radial and orbital roads are associated with high pedestrian accident and
fatality rates. The strategy for improving the quality of life has four main instruments.
First, increased attention will be given to the impacts of transport on the human environment, with
particular emphasis on air pollution (instrument C1). Second, a parallel focus will be placed on road
safety (instrument C2). Third, particular attention will be directed to protecting against the adverse
impacts of heavy freight movement within the city (instrument C3) Industrial and commercial
activities damaging to the local environment are gradually being moved to more appropriate locations
(particularly in outer areas close to the KAD), and the movement of heavy vehicles are being reduced
and controlled. But further investment is still required in some parts of the primary road network, and
the planning for freight vehicle movement control within the city has still not been fully implemented.
Finally, special attention will be given to the historic center of the city, partly because it is the focus of
the highest demand and partly because it is the most sensitive location culturally and historically.
The roadmap below shows the relationships between the various strategic objectives and their
elements. For most elements, successful implementation requires an optimal mix of various
instruments including administrative changes, investments, and technical improvements.
5 | P a g e
Objective
Instrument
A: Transport Efficiency – Fight Congestion
B: Equity – Transport for All
C: Quality of Life
Planning and Administrative
Measures
Infrastructure Development
Improvement of
Management and Operation
While the instruments to be adopted have been introduced in relation to one or other particular
objective, in practice many of them serve more than one. For example, public transport system
development contributes to social equity but is also an important complement to private car restraint
in securing reduction in traffic congestion through shifts in the split of traffic between public and
private transport modes. Similarly strategic road infrastructure investment strategy apart from being
an important contributor to reducing congestion within the city is also critical for the environmental
objective of protecting local living environments from air and noise pollutions from heavy goods
vehicles.
One of the most important aspects of the relationship between the instruments, and between individual
policies, is their sequencing in time. For example, restraint on access to the center for car commuting
traffic would cause considerable hardship, and almost certainly generate public resistance, if there
were no acceptable public transport alternative available. Similarly, the introduction of road pricing to
discourage through traffic from using routes through the city center might have very damaging effects
in the “border” areas of the charging zone if no high speed alternative route was available outside the
charging zone. The strategy therefore emphasizes not only correct sequencing but also the early
completion of demonstration projects to show what benefits might be achieved through wider
application.
C3: Protect Environ-
ment from
Freight Traffic
A4: Manage Private
Car Demand
A2: Improve Physical Conditi-
on of Toads
A1: Strategic
Road Invest-ment C4:
Protect Cultural Heritage
A3: Better Use of Road
Space – Traffic
Manag-ement
B1: Improve
Operating Efficiency of Public
Transport
B2: Give Priority to
Public Transport
B3: Provide
for Pedestri-ans and Cyclists
G: Coherent land-use planning
C2: Make Roads Safer
C1: Reduce
Air & Noise
Pollution
A5: Improve External Trans-port Links
6 | P a g e
The links between the strategic objectives of the city and the instruments of transport strategy have
been explained in general terms above. But to be more operational it is necessary to spell out each of
these strategic elements in more detail and to indicate what actions and resources are necessary to
implement them. For each of the elements, Part 2 of this report will thus spell out in more detail what
is the current situation and the problem issues which a strategic instrument is designed to address, and
how it will be implemented. Each section also includes an examination of the relevant international
experience and good practice and a tabulated action program for the first five years.
Diagnostics – Benchmarks and Targets
Converting those broadly stated objectives into realistic targets against which the progress of the
strategy can subsequently be judged is an art rather than a science. The approach adopted is to
compare the characteristics of St Petersburg and the performance of its transport system with those of
a group of 15 large European cities. These comparisons give some indication of what can be achieved
in favorable circumstances, as well as indicating some of the underlying economic and physical
factors which determine that performance.
Figure 1-1: Population, area size, and population density of European cities (pop > 1mln)
The international comparisons show the issues in St Petersburg to be very distinctive. By European
standards it is a very heavily populated city, ranking third after Moscow and Greater London. It is also
very extensive, covering an area 28% greater than Moscow and only 10% less than Greater London.
This gives it an average population density of 3238 persons per km2 – very similar to that of Warsaw
and Budapest. But unlike those cities, which are totally built up within their administrative
boundaries, the developed area of St. Petersburg covers only 606 km2
which contains 90% of its
population. So the density of the city proper is twice that of the city region and is denser than Athens
or Madrid. And some of the residential areas, particularly in the north of the city, are even denser
than that.
Although the city is still relatively poor, with an annual GDP per capita less than that of Warsaw,
Budapest or Prague, its economic development over the last decade has resulted in a rapid growth of
car ownership, growing currently on trajectory 1 in figure 1.2. Even if that growth were to follow the
Ile de France (Greater Paris)
Greater London
Rome St P'burg
Athens
Madrid
Lisbon
Paris - Ville
Bucharest
Warsaw Vienna
Barcelona
Prague Cologne
Brussels
1 million 3 million
5 million
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Po
pu
lati
on
De
nsi
ty (
pe
rso
ns/
km2
)
City Area (km2)
* Bubble sizes represent population
7 | P a g e
pattern of the large north western European cities (trajectory 2 in figure 1.2) the pressure on road
space is still likely to increase appreciably.
Figure 1-2: Correlation between income and car ownership of European cities (pop > 1mln)
At the heart of the transport problems of the city is that, despite its high population density it has a
very low overall road network of 2.15 km per km2. Even if only the built up city is considered the
density is still less than 5 km per km2 which is less than any of the European capital cities except
Sofia (which has the same characteristic of not being restricted to a totally built up area). Road traffic
is therefore already congested and also very dangerous, with a death rate per head of population
exceeding that of any of the other comparator cities.
The relatively low income of the city also has the consequence that its public transport, though not
expensive in absolute terms, appears among the most expensive in Europe in relation to GDP. Even
though St Petersburg has the density of travel demand which supports rail mass transit systems in the
other large cities, its public transport network density per km2 and coverage per head of population is
only moderate and the network of metro or high speed rail is below the norm for a city of its size.
The distinctive strategic quandary for St Petersburg is thus to find a way for a relatively low income
city with high residential density and relatively low density of both road and public transport networks
to handle the increased motorization which might be expected to come with economic growth.
While there is some scope for increasing the road network size through investment and its effective
capacity through better traffic management, the nature of the existing city infrastructure, with large
block sizes and a large proportion of historic buildings, limits the amount of extra road capacity which
can be provided. It is therefore essential that, whatever happens to car ownership, a way must be
found to halt the modal shift from public transport to car, particularly for trips to the central city. That
shift has, of course, been associated with the increase in car ownership permitted by increasing
income. But it has been fuelled by the fact that the use of the car for trips to the central city is
extremely cheap by international standards as the consequence of free on-street parking, and by the
fact that the relative performance of public transport in carrying people to the central city is also poor
by international standards, particularly from locations not well served by the metro.
Athens
Barcelona
Brussels
Bucharest
Budapest
Cologne
Ile de France
London
Madrid
Naples Prague
Rome
Sofia
St P'burg
Vienna
Warsaw
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000
Car
Ow
ne
rsh
ip (
pe
r 1
00
0 p
op
ula
tio
n)
GDP per capita (euro)
1
2
8 | P a g e
So the central strategy of the city will be to control growth of car traffic where and when there is
severe congestion, particularly in commuting traffic to the city center, while improving connectivity
between city districts and facilitating traffic by-passing the center. This will be done by a combination
of pricing and non-pricing restraints on car use with dramatic improvement of the performance of
public transport. For a relatively poor city, which cannot in the short term afford a very large
underground metro investment, this means giving really effective priority to public transport, as
achieved in London (see Annex 6). The targets for the strategy, relating to the efficiency, accessibility
and quality objectives, and the key performance indicators with which to assess its effectiveness
follow from that analysis.
Objectives Indicators Comparison with European Benchmarks
St. Petersburg London Madrid Paris
Efficiency System
inputs
Price of on-street
parking in city
center
0 £4.0 – 4.4
per hr
€ 1.08 – 2.42
per hour
(Barcelona)
€ 1 – 3 per hr
Outcome Peak hour road
speed
Not reported 24 km/hr 23 km/hr 33 km/hr
Accessibility System
inputs
High-speed
segregated public
transport Network
density
0.08 km/km2
2.47 km per
100,000
residents
0.44 km/km2
9.44 km per
100,000
residents
0.56 km/km2
10.93 km per
100,000
residents
0.25 km/km2
6.10 km per
100,000
residents
Outcome Surface public
transport peak hour
speed
Not reported 31 km/hr 20 km/hr 17 km/hr (Ile
de France)
Quality of
Life
Outcome Annual road
accident fatalities
per 100,000
residents
6.45 2.95 2.71 1.7
9 | P a g e
PART TWO – THE CONTENT OF THE STRATEGY
The Basis – Coherent Land Use and Transport Policies
Transport demands are derived from the level and location of economic and social activity patterns.
Influencing those activity patterns and levels has long been recognized as a potent means of
influencing the transport conditions of the city. Strong, directive, physical planning exercised by the
City Department of Architecture and Planning was one of the salient characteristics of the socialist
planned economy, used to plan the supply of transport facilities to meet the demands created by its
residential and industrial development policies. While extended reliance on a market economy has
increased the flexibility of that control, the basic apparatus for land use control remains in place. What
the city government now intends is to use that influence in a rather different way, to generate transport
demands that are economically and environmentally sustainable.
The current arrangements
A number of the land use planning strategies adopted in the 2005 Master Plan are critical for transport
policy. These include:
Development of an urban framework with a hierarchy of central places of different order
Enlargement of the city central area at the expense of the areas under industrial use
Shift towards a development density profile reflecting that of the market economies (with
density declining progressively from the city center)
Priority to public rail transport development
Associated with these planning strategies are some important assumptions about the allocation of
space for transport and the capacity of transport infrastructure, including:
Relocation of most freight transit lines from dense city areas
Reservation of space for development of the metro and high speed tram lines
Development of some major road facilities (the western north-south expressway, new bridges
and a major tunnel and major bridge improvements).
The Issues
Some of the traditional precepts of land use planning remain intact. It is still not a good idea to mix
heavy industry with residential and service activity. But in other respects the issues confronting land
use planning have changed significantly.
First, the growth of car ownership has reduced the advantage of planning for high local densities in
both residential and economic activity locations, as such policies create unsustainably large private
car flows in specific corridors. As a consequence, transport becomes part of the environmental
problem rather than merely the benign servant of an environmentally dictated separation of residence
and workplace. At the same time, however, motorization permits increased concentration and
locational decentralization in the retail sector where car use eases the burden of transporting
purchases.
10 | P a g e
Second, changes in economic structure from traditional heavy industry to light industry and service
sectors reduce the environmental need to separate activity types so rigorously. Mixing light industry
and service activities with residential locations, makes access to employment easier as well as
reducing total transport demand. Environmentally the problem shifts from being one of air pollution
from the industrial source to that of air and noise pollution from transport sources. For this reason
warehousing and major retailing concentrations are increasingly located peripherally and close to
major arterial roads. Warehousing needs to be decentralized and freight movements within the inner
city area carefully managed. Where concentrated flows continue – as is inevitable given the slow pace
of change of land use with a static population – they need to be managed to reduce their impact,
primarily through increased reliance on public transport
Third, developments in information technology reduces the need for “functional clustering” of
economic activity, making it more locationally footloose both at the firm and the individual level.
Working from home, or “telecommuting” is an increasingly viable option. Even the retail sector is
increasingly based on purchases from the home computer in some countries.
Relevant international experience
A primary concern of both socialist and western land use planners in the 20th century was the
separation of residences and heavy industry. Socialist planners forced industry inwards in the city and
residence outward, while western planners tended to do the opposite. Both generated long journeys to
work and heavy demands on the urban transport system.
Changes in industrial technology in recent years have reduced the need for such separation. This has
shifted the emphasis in land use planning towards “smart growth” - higher-density settlement with an
emphasis on providing a balanced mix of housing, jobs, and shopping opportunities within a
community. As the problems of motorization have become more apparent, many cities in the world
have begun to think further in terms of “transit oriented development” - congregation of housing, jobs,
shops, and other activities around mass transit stations. Associated with improved access to these
varied land uses, the physical environment is often enhanced with wide sidewalks, an absence of
surface parking lots and large building setbacks. Many aspects of these policies are now being widely
adopted in the U.S and in Europe with an emphasis on densification central to maintain the
attractiveness and viability of the transit mode.
While international experience cannot be applied directly to St Petersburg, there are some important
lessons to be learned. First, much closer co-ordination is required between land use and transport
planning, rather than simply requiring the transport system to respond to independently determined
land use structures. Second, development control instruments need to be used very pro-actively to
achieve the preferred structural outcome– for example large developments such as the proposed
Gasprom tower should be located in conformity with the strategy. Third, greater attention needs to be
paid to the land use needs of transport, including provision for park and ride facilities and transport
depots.
The strategy
The city government has already implemented many of the new planning philosophies. It has planned
its road networks to relieve the city of the bulk of the freight traffic generated by its ports. It is shifting
warehousing to more suitable locations, but is more flexible in respect of the location of new light
industrial establishments. It is shifting away from the traditional socialist peripheral housing
11 | P a g e
concentrations, though the size of the existing housing stock and the stable population limits the pace
of this change and much remains to be done. Four main initiatives are to be pursued.
First, the city government will aim for a more mixed land use pattern, increasing residential densities
in the intermediate areas between the old housing estates and the city center while at the same time
adopting a more flexible approach to the location of environmentally acceptable light industrial and
service sector developments.
Second, the city will encourage the development of its information technology facilities to encourage
telecommuting and working from home as well as to decentralize part of its service sector.
Third, more attention will be given to matching transport and land use developments. Metro stations
developments will be accompanied by high density residential development, and in the case of outer
areas, by provision of adequate park and ride facilities. Similarly, the process of suburbanization will
be planned through emphasis on development around selected suburban rail stations.
Fourth, the city government will supplement the traditional development control instruments by using
its administrative powers over public sector activities to encourage the staggering of hours of work to
reduce the peaking of transport demands.
The Five-Year Action Program
This strategy element is largely concerned with making decisions about how the structure of the city
will develop, rather than in the investments which will ultimately embody the restructuring. For that
reason most of the actions need to be commenced immediately, with the appropriate procedures in
place and operating well before the completion of the first five year period. The program of main
actions is as follows.
12 | P a g e
Intervention Ref.
#
Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Administrative/
Legal
G.1 Institute traffic impact
assessment for all major
re/developments
Architecture Comm.,
Traffic Management
Authority
City
leadership
and staff
Immediately
Institutional/
Organizational
G.2 Strengthen and streamline
collaboration between the
Architecture and Planning
Committee and a Strategic
Transport Unit (STU) created
within the Transit Committee
through a small inter-
committee working group
Transit Policy
Comm., Architecture
and Planning Comm.
City
leadership
and staff
Immediately
Studies/
Technical
G.3 Study the potential for
encouraging mixed-land use
patterns through planning and
development controls
STU, A&P Comm Staff Early 2012
G.4 Explore possibility for
targeting densification of
residential development
around public transport
stations
A&P Comm,
Transport Comm.
Staff Early 2012
G.5 Pilot telecommuting and
staggering of work hours in
the municipal government
Various committees
of the City
Government
City
leadership
and staff
Immediately
G.6 Assess alternative locations
for the new Gasprom
development
A&P Comm., City
architect
Staff,
consultant
In 2011
13 | P a g e
A. Efficient Use of Infrastructure – Reducing Congestion
St. Petersburg has been experiencing unprecedented growth in motor vehicle ownership and use over
the past two decades. This trend is expected to continue, albeit at a somewhat reduced growth rate.
Traffic conditions, already considered unacceptable, are likely to deteriorate further unless remedial
action is taken urgently. Four complementary elements are involved directly is the strategy for
reduced congestion and efficiently will also be improved through measures to improve the external
links of the city’
A1. Strategic Road Investment
While the city government does not believe that it is possible to provide enough road capacity to
accommodate unrestrained motorization, substantial investment to expand and improve the road
network is still essential to support the other strategy elements. The challenge is to devise a selective
road improvement program in appropriate balance and coordination with other measures to reduce
congestion.
The current arrangements
The Ring Road (KAD) around St. Petersburg is nearing completion. This strategic facility has already
had a major positive impact on travel around the more densely populated northern, eastern, and
southern portions of the city. The completion of the southern and northern legs of the KAD extending
west along the Gulf of Finland as well as the crossing of the Gulf are expected to have a similarly
positive effect on longer distance in-city travel as well as travel to outlying areas. Similarly,
construction underway on the northern and southern legs of the Western High Speed Diameter
(WHSD) when joined by the proposed center section will have a significant positive effect in reducing
travel through the congested city core as well as permitting high speed north-south travel within the
city. The partially completed southern section of the WHSD has already had a positive impact on port
oriented truck traffic.
The Issues
Selective improvement of the road network is an essential element of the transport strategy, not as an
attempt to provide for unrestricted motorization, but as a means of channeling traffic efficiently away
from the historic city center and to improve connectivity between city districts. There are three major
issues to be confronted.
Lack of good orbital roads around the historic city center. While there is a very good ring road
(KAD) at the periphery of the city, provision for orbital travel movements is less well catered for
inside the developed area of the city resulting in severe traffic congestion in the city center and on
radial roads approaching the center. Moreover bridges across the Neva River are fewer and further
between than in many riverside cities further restricting travel between city districts.
Lack of clearly established methodology and process for determining road investment priorities.
While the city does make road investment decisions, these have not been entirely made within a
strategic road development framework or on the basis of a clearly acceptable methodology based on
quantifiable economic and technical criteria.
14 | P a g e
Lack of an adequate functional road classification system. Contributing to the lack of clear
investment priorities is a lack of a clear delineation of the existing and intended functions of the
various road segments of the city road system. An agreed functional road classification system is
needed along with appropriate road design guidelines for each road classification category.
High percentage of total transport investment in roads. The cost of expanding and improving the
proposed strategic road network threatens to consume a disproportionate amount of available city
resources and could undermine the funding other very deserving elements of the proposed transport
strategy. For this reason it will be important to take into account the above three issues in making
road investment decisions.
Relevant International Experience
With the advent of rapid motorization most cities in the United States and European countries
embarked on ambitious urban road construction campaigns during the 1960s though 1980’s to
accommodate the private motorist. These campaigns focused largely on creating limited access
expressways or motorways featuring higher speeds and accommodating large volumes of traffic.
Some cities also made considerable investments in widening arterial roads and other measures to
substantially increase the capacity of the existing road network. At various points in the development
of these road networks the general public and transport professionals reached a decision that
substantial additional investments to increase the capacity of the road network was either not cost
effective in addressing traffic congestion and/or was counterproductive in terms of adverse impacts on
the environment and adjacent land developments.
Most cities in both the United States and Europe at this juncture are not investing significant sums in
expanding or increasing the capacity of their road networks (with the exception of rapidly growing
suburban areas) in favor of placing greater emphasis on public transport, lower cost traffic
management measures, and demand management measures including paid parking and in some cases
congestion pricing to dampen travel demand. London, Rome, and Stockholm have implemented
congestion pricing. Several other cities including Budapest, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Paris, and Zurich
have established caps or have even reduced available parking spaces in the city center as a means to
reduce motor vehicle travel into these congested areas.
With the impending completion of the KAD and the programmed completion of the WHSD, other
orbital roads around the city center, and radial roads serving the city outside the KAD, St. Petersburg
appears to be approaching a similar inflection point where a shift in transport investment priorities
within the 15 year horizon of this strategy will need to be made in favor of public transport
investments, travel demand restraints, and traffic management measures. Taking international
experience into account, it therefore will be important to carefully select additional investments in the
city’s road network in relation to and in balance with other important competing transport
investments.
The strategy
The principal objective of this strategy element is to facilitate cross town and orbital traffic
movements with particular emphasis on minimizing traffic through the congested city center. Beyond
this objective the road investment strategy has the following specific objectives:
15 | P a g e
The completion of the KAD (ring road around
the city) and the Western High Speed Diameter
(WHSD) as important elements in creating high
speed and high volume capacity arteries to
reduce travel time between city districts. The
WHSD will also serve as an important route for
port traffic and for diverting traffic from the
city center. It is estimated, for example, that the
WHSD will reduce travel across in Neva River
bridges in the city center by 20%.
Improvements in travel time and speed upon
completion of road investments will be
measured and documented.
Completion of orbital roads relieving pressure
on the historical central area. The specific
investments proposed are set out under the 5
year action program described below.
Bridge and tunnel connections across the Neva
associated with public transport priority
features.
Completion of radial roads outside the KAD.
Several radial routes serving outlying districts of the city are already committed. These have
the function of improving the connections to outer areas of the city and surrounding suburban
areas, as well as improving connectivity with the rest of the country, without generating
significant extra traffic in the congested portions of the inner city.
Establishing a functional road classification system and corresponding design guidelines.
This classification system will assist in clearly articulating the function of the various city
road segments as well as serving as a good foundation for making important decisions on road
investment priorities and on design standards for these roads.
Establishing and utilizing a mechanism for establishing investment priorities. Beyond the
above articulated road investment priorities, there are a large number of proposed road
investments which will be subjected to careful assessment based on a clearly established
methodology and process for determining investment priorities. The candidate road
investment program will be be updated annually as part of a rolling 5 year road investment
program and further assessed against other elements of the overall transport strategy.
Mobilizing off-budget finance. The cost of expanding and improving the proposed strategic
road network threatens to consume a disproportionate amount of available city resources and
could undermine the funding other very deserving elements of the proposed transport
strategy. Along with careful appraisal and prudent phasing of the strategic road investments,
the city will work to secure additional funding from an array of sources including Federal
Government contributions, road tolls and private sector investments, and prudent city
borrowing either in the form of bonds or bank loans.. This will be particularly important on
the costly WHSD and the Orlovsky tunnel where tolls, private sector investments, and Federal
government funding are all possible.
The Five-Year Action Program
16 | P a g e
The following are the principal actions will be undertaken during the five year 2011-2015 period to
implement the selective road network strategy.
Studies. The following studies will be undertaken:
(a) Preparation of a prioritized road investment program. This investment program will be
based on an agreed process and quantifiable economic and technical criteria.
(b) Functional road classification and design guidelines study. This study will recommend
specific functional road classifications as well as design guidelines for each functional
classification of roads. Based on this system the entire road system of the city will be mapped
displaying these road classifications.
(c) Design of the high priority loop road around the city center. Design of parts of this road
system is already completed. This study will complete the design process including
connections to the WHSD.
(d) Design of bridge connections to the city center. This activity will include design of a new
bridge connecting Vasilevsky Island with the city center as well as designs for rebilitation of
other bridges connecting with the city center. The design also will include provisions for
surface public transport priority across these bridges into the city center.
(e) Complete design of the Orlovsky tunnel and approach roads. This activity will include
finalization of the Orlovsky tunnel and approach road designs as well as provisions for
surface public transport priority for crossing the tunnel into the city center.
Administrative Reforms. Based on the “Functional road classification and design guidelines study”
the city will enact municipal legislation requiring the implementation of a function-based road
network classification system. The functional classification of all road segments will be officially
mapped, design guidelines will be adopted, and the classification system will be used as partial basis
for making road investment and maintenance/rehabilitation decisions.
Investments. The principal objective of this strategy element – to facilitate cross town and orbital
traffic movements with particular emphasis on minimizing traffic through the congested city center -
will be addressed during the coming five year period through the following high priority investments:
(a) Completion of the KAD to provide an effective city bypass. The Ring Road (KAD) around St.
Petersburg will be completed in 2011. Portions of this strategic facility have already had a
major positive impact on travel around the more densely populated northern, eastern, and
southern portions of the city. The completion of the southern and northern legs of the KAD
extending west along the Gulf of Finland as well as the crossing of the Gulf are expected to
have a similarly positive effect on longer distance in-city travel as well as facilitating traffic to
and from the Kronstadt, Lomonosov, Branko, and historic port areas.
(b) Completion of the entire Western High Speed Diameter (WHSD). The entire WHSD will be
completed including the expensive center section over the city waterfront. This toll road
facility will offer a rapid bypass of the city center and enable traffic from the main port to be
distributed north and south without using congested city roads. This investment will include
completing negotiations with the private sector investor under a PPP arrangement and
securing additional Federal Government finance in support of this project.
(c) Completion of the upgrading of the existing loop road system around the historic city center.
This roadway system along the Obvodnogo Canal and the east and north banks of the Neva
River will be upgraded to high grade arterial or expressway standards and will connect with
17 | P a g e
the north and south legs of the WHSD. This facility should improve circulation around the
center as well as serving to improve access to and egress from the center.
(d) Completion of the Orlovsky Tunnel to permit improved 24 hour access to and egress from the
city center. The design of the tunnel approaches will be modified to provide public transport
priority in crossing the tunnel. An investor for this project has been selected under a PPP
arrangement.
(e) Construction of a new bridge connecting Vasilevsky Island with the city center and
rehabilitating other bridges connecting to the city center. These bridges will permit easier
entry and exit from the city center area and will reduce the extent of “excess” travel on the
roads either side of the Neva. Provisions of public transport priority will be made at the
approaches to the bridges.
(f) Other high priority investments. Other proposed high priority investments as recommended
under the study for preparing a prioritized road investment program will be selected for
implementation during the 2011-2015 period.
Intervention Ref. # Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Administrative/
Legal
A1.1. Reform the municipal
legislation requiring
function-based road network
classification
Transit Policy
Committee
(Strategic
Planning Unit)
City leadership
and SPU staff
Immediately End of
2011
Studies/
Technical
A1.2. Prepare a prioritized road
investment program based
on an agreed process and
quantifiable economic and
technical criteria.
Transit Policy
Committee
(Strategic
Planning Unit)
SPU staff,
external
consultant
Mid 2011 Mid 2012;
annually
update
prioritized
program
A1.3 Road classification and
design guidelines study
Infrastructure
Committee
SPU staff,
external
consultant
Mid 2011 2012
A1.4 Complete design of the loop
road encircling the city
center and connecting with
WHSD both north and south
of city center
Infrastructure
Committee
External
consultant
ongoing 2012
A1.5 Complete design of new
bridge over the Neva from
the city center to Vasilevsky
Island and rehabilitation of
other bridges along with
public transport (PT)
priority measures
Infrastructure
Committee; Traf-
fic Management
Authority (TMA)
under the Transit
Policy Committee
for PT priority
measures
External
consultant
2011 2012
A1.6 Complete design of the
Orlovsky tunnel including
public transport priority
measures
Infrastructure
Committee; TMA
for public
transport priority
measures
Concessionaire,
and/or
External
consultant
2011 2012
Investments A1.7 Complete Western High
Speed Diameter
Infrastructure
Committee
Concessionaire Prep
(financing)
immediately
2015
A1.8 Complete the loop road
encircling the city center
and connecting with WHSD
both north and south of city
Infrastructure
Committee
Contractor Ongoing 2014
18 | P a g e
center
A1.9 Complete the Orlovsky
tunnel including public
transport priority measures
Infrastructure
Committee
Concessionaire End 2011 2015
A1.10. Construct bridge over the
Neva River from the city
center to Vasilevsky Island
and rehabilitate other
bridges along with public
transport priority measures
Infrastructure
Committee; TMA
for public
transport priority
measures
Contractor During 2011 2015
A1.11 Selected other proposed
high priority investments as
recommended under action
A1.2 within the available
city budget
Infrastructure
Committee
Contractor Ongoing 2015
A2. Improving the Physical Condition of Roads
The St. Petersburg road network is over 3,000 km in length and the largest physical asset owned by
the city government. The maintenance and rehabilitation of this existing network (without new road
construction) consumes nearly a quarter of current city transport expenditures. Consequently, it will
be important to maintain and rehabilitate this asset in the most cost efficient means possible.
The current arrangements
The entire city road network, with the main
exception of the city ring road (KAD) which is
maintained by the Federal Government, is
maintained under the authority of the Transport
Infrastructure Committee. The Infrastructure
committee contracts out all road rehabilitation and
maintenance under competitive bidding practices.
Routine road cleaning, snow removal, and minor
“pot hole” repair is now handled by a separate
Committee on City Improvement using in-house
staff.
The Issues
Road Condition. Approximately 44% percent of the total city road network is not in an acceptable
condition according to the Infrastructure Committee. While the primary arterial network, consisting
of approximately ___% of the total network length and carrying most of the city traffic is in somewhat
better condition, the secondary and local road networks are in particularly poor condition apparently
due to a lack of adequate funding.
Road Condition Surveys. To maximize the efficiency of expenditure on road maintenance and
rehabilitation, it is important to have current information on road conditions and on traffic volumes
and composition. This data base at present is not adequately up to date and is not compiled in a
19 | P a g e
computerized database that lends itself to ready analytical form for the purpose of setting expenditure
priorities.
Road Network Evaluation Tools. Beyond the need for up to date data on road conditions and traffic,
there is no computerized analysis of available data on which to directly take into account vehicle
operating costs, unit cost of road works, and pavement strength and condition over the entire road
network. Consequently, the current manual assessment methods are not able to provide the city with
the optimum road network maintenance strategy, i.e., the set of interventions (and related budget) that
would minimize the total road maintenance / rehabilitation expenditures in the city.
Road Classification. The road classification system recently proposed by the Federation Ministry of
Transport is based on the number of existing traffic lanes and current traffic volumes.3 Given the
emphasis of the transport strategy on improving surface public transport, it may be appropriate for the
city to use a more functional classification – including the presence of various surface public transport
routes – in making decisions on road maintenance and rehabilitation.
Contracting Procedures. Maintenance costs of roads in St Petersburg are high, relying on
conventional maintenance contracting procedures, with no use of “performance-based contracting
(PBC)”4.
Relevant international experience
Efficient management of road network and informed decision on road maintenance. Use of
computerized road asset management tools is widespread in a number of road agencies in the world.
Their experience shows that the success of road management relies on three fundamental components:
processes, people and technology, and sufficient funding that supports all three5 (World Bank, 2005).
Some well-functioning and effective road management systems, including those in New Zealand and
the US state of Vermont, share the following common features.
Road management system is formally adopted as a business plan of the road sector and
regular reporting system is established.
Sufficient and stable funding is allocated for system operation, update of the software and
hardware, and data collection.
A separate unit is dedicated for operation of road management system, appropriately staffed
with clear job descriptions and reporting responsibilities.
3 A more common road classification for urban areas is based on the intended function of the roadway within the city
– typically distinguishing between principal arterial (typically for high volume, high speed and longer distance travel
within urban areas with no land access function), secondary arterials (also serving to accommodate high volume in-
city traffic), collector streets (serving to collect traffic from local roads within city districts and to deliver it to arterial
roads) , and local roads (lower speed and lower volume roads serving principally to provide access to abutting land
uses). 4 A performance-based contract (PBC) differs significantly from a method-based contract that has been traditionally
used to maintain roads. In traditional method-based (unit rate) contracts, the road agency as a client normally specifies
techniques, technologies, materials and quantities of materials to be used, together with the time period during which
the maintenance works should be executed. The payment to the contractor is based on the amount of inputs (e.g.,
cubic meters of asphalt concrete, number of working hours). In PBC the client does not specify any method or
material requirements (provided the city’s standards are met). Instead he specifies performance indicators that the
contractor is required to meet when delivering maintenance services. For example, the contractor is not paid for the
number of potholes he has patched, but for the output of his work: no pothole remaining open (or 100% patched).
Failure to comply with the performance indicators or to promptly rectify revealed deficiencies adversely affects the
contractor's payment through a series of clearly defined penalties. 5 The World Bank (2005), Success Factors for Road Management Systems
20 | P a g e
A strong Information Technology (IT) function is established.
Performance-based contracting. PBC method is widely used in the UK, France, Australia, New
Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and several states in the US and Canada. Most
countries that are practicing PBC have achieved substantial reduction of maintenance cost by at the
minimum 10 percent up to 40 percent (see Table 2-1). In addition to reduction of road maintenance
cost, there are several well-known advantages of PBC over traditional input-based contracting. First,
PBC enables better control of results of works, as payment to the contractor is explicitly tied to the
road condition. Second, by using PBC the public sector can reduce fixed cost as they don’t need to
keep the in-house staff doing the maintenance work. Third, predictability of payment improves
because the contract does not deal with inputs hence there is practically no risk of variation orders.
Finally, the PBC method aligns well with the road management system that will be introduced:
management of performance-base contracts requires same set of skills in the road sector staff, i.e.,
condition monitoring; and it supports investment decision-making that is based on scientific
measurement of road conditions.
International experience has also revealed that effective use of PBC depends on an appropriate
legislative framework, suitable institutional arrangement and skills in the public sector, and industry’s
capacity and experience (see Annex 6).
Table 2-1: Cost savings of PBC relative to conventional contracts in selected countries
Country Cost savings Country Cost savings
Norway About 20-40% Australia 10-40%
Sweden About 30% New Zealand About 20-30%
Finland About 30-35% United States 10-15%
The Netherlands About 30-40% Ontario, Canada About 10%
Estonia 20-40% Alberta, Canada About 20%
United Kingdom Minimum 10%
Source: World Bank Transport Note No. TN-27, September 2005
The strategy
To address the above issues the following reforms will be undertaken to achieve greater efficiencies in
managing the maintenance and rehabilitation of the existing road network:
Collecting up-to-date Road Condition and Traffic Information for Storage in a Suitable Database.
Additional staff efforts and financial resources will be deployed to update and maintain adequate road
condition and traffic information for the purpose of making informed decisions on road maintenance
and rehabilitation. This information will be stored is a suitable computerized database that can be
shared among city committees as this information will be useful for traffic management and public
transport purposes as well. Beyond storage of road condition and traffic information, this database
may be expanded to include other road asset information within street rights of way such as the utility
mapping and condition of utilities etc. The database will be continually updated and enhanced to
ensure that it serves policy and decision-making purpose.
Utilizing a Road Network Assessment Tool. Beyond collecting up to date road condition and traffic
information, more sophisticated road and bridge asset management computerized tools such as HDM-
21 | P a g e
4 or RONET6 will be utilized for the purposes of (i) optimizing the road network maintenance
strategy and the related budget; (ii) assessing the impact of different funding levels on the future
quality of the city’s road network; (iii) determining economic consequences of budget constraints for
society as a whole; and (iv) preparing a five-year work program for the most likely budget
scenario(s).
Introducing Performance-Based Contracting. This form of contracting will first be tested on a pilot
basis and, conditional on a positive outcome, the city will utilize PBC over a wider portion of the road
network. By introducing PBC, under which the contractor is paid on the basis of the result of the work
(e.g., road condition) instead of the inputs (e.g., materials and labor used), the city will be able to save
road maintenance cost while transferring risks to private contractors. For this to happen, the City
government will pursue a change in the Federal law on public procurement, which currently does not
allow application of the PBC method.
The five year action program
Institutions and procedures. The prerequisite for implementation of this strategy is a philosophical
change that embraces road asset management system (RMS) as an integral input to transport policy,
planning and budgeting. This RMS aims to manage the City’s road network through strategic
prioritization that is based on sound technical grounds and accurate physical data. For successful
implementation of the program, the City will pursue the following institutional changes:
a) An RMS unit will be established within the Infrastructure Committee, responsible for road
network data collection, operation of a computerized RMS tool, preparation of annual road
condition reports that lays out priorities for road maintenance needs, and cost estimates for the
priority projects.
b) Budgetary process will be revised so that allocation for rehabilitation, capital repair, and
periodic maintenance will informed by the results from a computerized road network
assessment tool.
c) Budget will be permanently allocated for information technology (IT), road asset data
collection, database management/update, and operation of RMS. Policies and procedures will
be in place for data collection and quality assurance of that data.
d) An evaluation framework will be established that sets out key performance indicators, targets
to measure asset value and to preserve/enhance that value. These indicators will be regularly
(e.g., annually) monitored and evaluated. Annual report will be prepared and made publicly
available in order to keep the road investment and maintenance program transparent and
accountable.
e) Various quality assurance mechanisms should be adequately instituted. They include
technical auditing and continual quality monitoring and improvement scheme.
6 “Road Network Evaluation Tools.” World Bank, 2009. www.worldbank.org/transport. RONET, developed by the
World Bank is designed to assess the current characteristics of road networks and their future performance depending
on different levels of interventions to the networks. RONET Version 2.00 implements three evaluation modules: (i)
Current Condition Assessment Module that computes network statistics and monitoring indicators, (ii) Performance
Assessment Module that estimates the network performance and budget requirements under different maintenance and
rehabilitation standards, and (iii) Road User Revenues Module that evaluates revenues collected from road user
charges and compares them with the funding requirements. RONET version 2.0 is structured with many configuration
options and was fully released in January 2009.
22 | P a g e
Some early investment expenditure is also necessary. The City will purchase and install a
computerized road network assessment tool, choosing from commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)
software based on their functionality, flexibility and ease of operation and upgrading. Equipment for
road condition monitoring will be also purchased, including testing equipment, optical instruments,
special vehicles, and lab equipment. Road network data collection and database management activity
will also require some front-loaded investment by the city. While data is vital to success of road
investment and maintenance program, it is also expensive to collect and store. Therefore, the City
will make a cost-conscious decision on the data and monitoring frequency.
On current expenditure, an RMS that uses a computerized road network assessment allows decision-
makers to have a good estimation of required resources for road maintenance and repair over a long
time period. This enables budget planning that spans a multi-year cycle. In the long-term, the
comprehensive road investment and maintenance program based on road asset management system
will lower the life-cycle cost of road asset while improving the overall quality of the road network.
Intervention Ref.
#
Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Administrative/
Legal
A2.1 Pursue federal level legislative
changes in order to implement
performance-based contracts for
road maintenance and
rehabilitation
Transit Policy
Committee
(Strategic
Planning Unit)
Collaboration
with Federal
gov.
Immediately End of
2011
Institutional/
Organizational
A2.2 Create and build capacity for a
road asset management
assessment unit under the
Infrastructure Committee that is
supported by adequate
technology, equipment, staffing
and management capacity
Infrastructure
Committee
City
leadership
and staff,
supported by
external
consultant
Immediately Early
2012
A2.3 Institute a budgetary process that
allocates resources on the basis
of investment priorities
developed by a computerized
road asset management system
City
Government,
with Strategic
Planning Unit
City
leadership
and staff
After A2.5 Early
2012
Investments A2.4 Create a comprehensive
computerized road network
database; Recommend and
calibrate a road asset
management program for the
purpose of assessing and
recommending road
maintenance and rehabilitation
priorities
Infrastructure
Committee
External
consultant
Immediately
or Mid 2011
Mid
2012
A2.5 Purchase and install a
computerized road network
assessment tools, selecting from
commercial off-the-shelf
(COTS) software
Infrastructure
Committee
Provider,
external
consultant
In 2011
A2.6 Institute and start
implementation of performance-
based contract
Infrastructure
Committee
City
leadership
and staff
After A2.1
A3. Using Road Space Better – Strengthening Traffic Management
23 | P a g e
Traffic management measures aimed at improving the traffic carrying capacity and safety of the
existing road network are likely to be the most cost effective means of improving transport conditions
in the city. These measures consist principally of traffic signal and other intelligent transport system
(ITS) applications, road signing and marking, and physical improvements to improve traffic flow
and/or to remove or reduce traffic bottlenecks. Traffic management measures also may be utilized to
allocate more efficient use of road space through restrictions on parking as well as designating
portions of road space for exclusive public transport use. Efficient traffic management thus
contributes not only to speeding up road traffic but also to supporting other elements of the strategy.
The current arrangements
Responsibility for traffic management rests with the Traffic Management Authority (TMA) of St
Petersburg - an agency which has recently been reassigned under the Transport-Transit Policy
Committee. The current activities of the TMA are largely concentrated on the operation and
maintenance of the existing traffic signal system, with most installation and maintenance work being
subcontracted to the private sector. Four independent automated traffic signal systems exist, together
covering 250 signalized intersections located mostly in the central area of the city and approach
roadways. These systems are presently being consolidated into a single system within a central
control room. This should help to improve traffic operations
The traffic police (a Federal government entity) play an important role in road traffic law and
behavior enforcement, including accident recording and investigation. The police have historically
exercised considerable influence of the design of traffic management schemes, but as a matter of
policy their role is becoming more limited to audit of schemes on safety grounds.
The TMA is also responsible for installing and maintaining pavement markings and road signs.
Overall, this is a significant task as the city has 1,300 signalized intersections, approximately 64,000
road signs, and pavement markings on a significant percentage of the 3,000 kilometer road network.
The Issues
The city government recognizes a number of deficiencies in the present traffic management
arrangements, among which the following will be receiving priority attention as described below.
Lack of traffic management institutional capacity and authority. Until the recent administrative
reform the TMA was limited mainly to implementing, operating, and maintaining the traffic signal
system as well as installing and maintaining traffic signs and road markings. While these are
important functions, the TMA needs to assume responsibility for becoming the lead city entity in
comprehensively addressing a wide range of traffic management measures that affect traffic
operations and safety of the existing street system. At present the TMA does not have adequate
capacity to undertake ongoing research on traffic conditions, nor is it systematically involved
planning and designing measures to improve traffic conditions. More specifically the role of the
TMA needs to be broadened to include, inter-alia, planning and designing (a) improvements to and
expansion of the traffic signal system, (b) a wider range of intelligent transportation system
measures,7 (c) removal of traffic bottlenecks through physical traffic management measures, (d)
7 ITS measures could include the following: (a) traffic enforcement assistance (including red light violation,
speed violation, and bus lane violation detection cameras and systems), (b) video monitoring of traffic
conditions, (c) motorist information systems (including traffic condition information and parking lot vacancy
information, (d) public transport priority at intersections, (e) public transport information and control
24 | P a g e
measures to improve road and pedestrian safety, (e) public transport priority facilities, and (f) paid on
street parking. The TMA also needs to assume greater responsibilities in reviewing the traffic impacts
of various land use and transport initiatives advanced by others.
Figure 2-1: Desired Scope and Function of Traffic Management Authority
Inadequate Traffic Data. The existing traffic data base for development of a comprehensive traffic
management program is insufficient. Traffic information has been collected but it has been done on a
piecemeal basis and in some cases is outdated. Accident data is collected by the police, but subject to
little analysis by the Traffic Management Authority.
On signalized intersections, there is no agreed plan for expansion of centralized traffic control to a
larger percentage of the 1,300 signalized intersections, nor any plan for further expansion and
improvement of the traffic signal system or application of other ITS measures.
Inadequate attention to removing traffic bottlenecks. There are a very large number of locations
along the existing road network where physical traffic management measures are needed to address
restrictions on traffic flow as a matter of priority. These include, among other possible measures (a)
geometric improvements at intersections, (b) grade separations over railway crossings, (c) selective
widening of short stretches of road segments, (d) removal of short missing links in the existing road
system, and (e) provision of road channelization and medians.
Lack of adequate focus on road safety. While the police are responsible for enforcing safe behavior on
the roads, and have historically played an important part in deciding on the acceptability of traffic
management schemes, the high level of fatal and serious injury accidents on the roads of the city calls
for a new initiative in road safety.
Relevant International Experience
Most European and other developed country cities have well established traffic management units that
have suitable staff and authority to comprehensively plan, design, implement, operate, and maintain as
appropriate traffic management measures required adequately address traffic operations and safety on
the existing urban road network. These cities have found it important to establish a single unit to
(including public transport vehicle location and vehicle arrival information), and (f) other traffic control
measures (including ramp metering and road toll equipment and systems).
25 | P a g e
assume leadership in these responsibilities to ensure a coordinated and consistent approach to efficient
traffic management. The range of functions and responsibilities of well established traffic
management units varies somewhat but a typical array of functions is shown in the table below.8 (See
also Annex 4 for a description of traffic management units in London, Paris, New York, and
Helsinki).
Typical Functions and Responsibilities of a Traffic Management Unit
Division Functions and Responsibilities
Traffic
Management
Policy
Formulate and Implement city wide “Traffic Management Policy” to comply with objectives
defined by the “city council” which would include, at least such areas as determination of (i) a
functional road hierarchy; (ii) the appropriate balance between transport system users (private
transport/public transport/NMT/pedestrians; (iv) priority programs for action and, (iv) a “5
year” investment plan”.
Traffic
Research
Assemble/survey, monitor, analyze and evaluate all traffic and accident data to enable trends to
be identified, problems quantified and traffic management plans and improvements to be
prepared.
Traffic
Management
Plans and
Improvements
Plan, design, implement, monitor, evaluate, fine-tune and continuously up-date traffic schemes
and policies to realize the agreed Traffic Management Policy. The program would cover all
motorized road based modes (cars, public transport, trucks, etc.) and all non-motorized modes
(pedestrians, cycles). Plans and improvements would range from simple junction improvements
or marking and signing programs through to far reaching city wide strategies such as extensive
bus priority or pricing. Safety considerations are part of any scheme planning and design
process but specific safety programs and accident counter measures would be a responsibility.
Traffic Control
Devices
Plan, design, install, operate, and maintain all traffic control devices including (i) traffic signal
systems including computer controlled systems; (ii) road markings; (iii) road signs and, (iv)
enforcement devices (cameras etc.)
Traffic
Regulations
Formulate traffic regulations to realize the proposed Traffic Management Plans and
Improvements, for enactment by city government and for enforcement by the traffic police.
Parking
Management
Prepare off and on street parking policies and programs including approval for the location of
and access to parking areas proposed by others. Parking enforcement and administration (for
example, where paid parking applies) would be carried out by a separate parking authority” or
equivalent.
Approvals and
Co-ordination
Evaluate and advise city government on all schemes (e.g., new roads) and developments
(developed both by public and private sector agencies and including major new land or building
developments) which have a significant traffic impact to ensure that they are consistent with
agreed traffic policy. In effect carry out traffic impact studies for all major development
proposals.
Consultation Consultation with the public and stakeholders on traffic policy and on the impacts of specific
schemes and measures.
Budget Preparation of an annual budget for submission to city government for (i) implementation of
Traffic Plans and Improvement Schemes; (ii) traffic operations and maintenance of control
devices; and, (iii) the continuous work of the traffic management agency itself.
The strategy
The city government intends to improve traffic operations and safety on the existing street system by
placing greater emphasis on the traffic management function. It will plan for and implement a much
expanded traffic management program to include functions not hitherto well provided for in St
Petersburg. This expanded program will include the following elements:
8World Bank. “Cities on the Move – An Urban transport Strategy Review” World Bank, Washington DC 2002
26 | P a g e
Undertaking on an ongoing basis an extensive set of traffic surveys to update knowledge of
existing traffic conditions to serve as the basis for making informed traffic management
decisions
Implementation of a consolidated plan for further improvement and expansion of the traffic
signal system and deployment of additional ITS measures to improve traffic operations and
enforcement.
Development and implementation of comprehensive, prioritized, and costed traffic
management improvement programs including the following additional elements:
o Measures to address traffic bottlenecks including implementation of geometric
improvements of road segments and intersections, both in corridors and at individual
bottleneck locations
o Improvements to pedestrian safety at street crossings (see also Strategy Element C2)
o Public transport priority corridor improvements as designated by the strategic planning
unit (SPU) (see Strategy Element B2)
o On-street parking program investments where parking should be eliminated and where
paid parking should be initiated (see also Strategy Element A4)
Development of a comprehensive road safety program
The positive impacts of the implemented traffic management measures are expect to be wide ranging.
This should include (a) increased capacity and speeds on selected road links where bottlenecks are
removed and where parking controls are implemented, (b) improved pedestrian safety, (c) improved
surface public transport operations and speeds on segregated corridors, and (d) improved traffic
enforcement based on ITS oriented video surveillance of traffic operations. The impacts of the
implemented traffic management measures will be measured at the time of their implementation.
The Five-Year Action Program
Organizational and Administrative Changes. The Strategic Planning Unit (SPU), having the primary
responsibility for establishing the overall general strategy for the transport sector, will give general
directives concerning the objectives of traffic management action (such as “to give effective priority
to public transport”. It will also be responsible for the establishment and operation of a multi-
institutional road transport safety working group, again with the power to give general directives to
the implementing agencies on safety related issues.
The more tactical traffic management aspects aimed at implementing the general strategy will rest
with the TMA which will be assigned additional responsibilities and authority as the lead city entity in
charge of planning and designing traffic management measures to improve traffic operations and
safety on the city street system. More specifically the role of the TMA will be broadened to include
planning and designing (a) improvements to and expansion of the traffic signal system, (b) a wider
range of intelligent transportation system measures, (c) removal of traffic bottlenecks through
physical traffic management measures, (d) measures to improve pedestrian safety, (e) surface public
transport priority facilities as designated by the SPU, and (f) paid on street parking. The TMA also
will assume greater responsibility in reviewing the traffic impacts of various land use and transport
initiatives advanced by others.
27 | P a g e
Studies. The following traffic management studies will be undertaken during the five year 2011-2015
period9:
(a) An extensive set of traffic surveys to update knowledge of existing traffic conditions as well
as making arrangements for regular updating of traffic information. Particularly important
will be the identification of those sections of the road network which are at or near traffic
saturation.
(b) A strategic Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Plan. This plan will include consolidated
proposals for further improvement of the traffic signal system and deployment of additional
ITS measures including proposed development of appropriate ITS architecture to ensure
orderly expansion and application of ITS technology.
(c) A plan and design of geometric improvements to improve road capacity (both in corridors and
at individual bottleneck locations)
(d) Design of public transport priority corridor improvements in coordination with the Strategic
Planning Unit (SPU) and the Public Transport Management Agency under the Transport
Committee.
(e) On and off-street parking plan for historic city center
(f) A plan for establishing a commuter bicycle route or routes.
(g) A plan and program for improvement pedestrian safety at street crossings.
(h) Designation of truck routes
(i) A congestion pricing study focusing on the historic city center
Investments. Consistent with current conditions the TMA investment program should feature
investments traffic control devices, including the traffic signal system, other ITS measures, and road
signing and marking. It is proposed that that substantial increase in these investments should be
anticipated in accordance with the overall transport strategy for the city. Traffic Management
investments within the 5 year 2011-2015 period will include the following:
(a) traffic signal coordination -- Continued implementation of a contract to consolidate four
separate traffic signal systems that individually control 250 signalized intersections mostly in
the central area of the city and approach roadways. These separate systems are being brought
together under a single system which should improve overall operational efficiency of the
road system in the central portion of the city.
(b) Implementation of first phase ITS measures including further improvement and expansion of
the traffic signal system and deployment of additional ITS measures
(c) Implementation of geometric road improvements to improve road capacity both in corridors
and at individual bottleneck locations
(d) Continued implementation of a pedestrian road safety program at street crossings. This will
include both grade separated and at grade pedestrian crossings.
(e) Implementation of paid on street parking in the city center (if required legislation is approved)
9 Several of these studies are also relevant to other elements in the strategy and are also referred to in those other
sections
28 | P a g e
(f) Implementation of congestion pricing measures in the historic city center (if required
legislation is approved)
Financial Implications. Up to the present the financing of traffic management measures has been
given relatively low priority in funding compared with the development of the city’s road network and
metro systems. This lack of funding has resulted in an inadequate and piecemeal approach to
addressing traffic management issues. Under the overall transport strategy traffic management will be
adequately funded as a top priority along with improvements to the surface public transport system.
Since traffic management measures are relatively low cost, even a substantial increase in the funding
of the traffic management program is likely to have only a minor effect, on reducing the city’s budget
allocations for major road and metro investments. When a paid on-street program and a larger off
street parking program are well advanced additional revenues from these sources might be allocated
for financing traffic management measures. It is not likely that private sector financing of traffic
management measures will be an attractive option as these investments typically are not revenue
generators.
Intervention Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
A3.1 Broaden and strengthen the
responsibility of the Traffic
Management Authority (TMA)
to become responsible for
comprehensively addressing all
measures that affect traffic
operations and safety on the
existing street network.
Transit Policy
Committee
(Strategic
Planning Unit)
assigns new
responsibilities
to TMA
City
leadership
and staff
Immediate 2012
A3.2 Establish a high level Road
Safety Working Party (see
C2.1)
SPU SPU, TMA
and Police
Mid 2011
Studies/
Technical
A3.3 Undertake extensive and
ongoing traffic surveys to
update knowledge of existing
traffic conditions and problems
TMA Staff Mid 2011 Continual
A3.4 Develop a strategic Intelligent
Transportation System (ITS)
Plan including improvement
and expansion of the traffic
signal system
Strategic
Planning Unit,
TMA
Staff and
consultants
Mid 2011 Mid 2012
A3.5 Develop a public transport
priority plan and design key
segregated corridors (see B1.6
and B2.2)
SPU to designate
corridors, TMA
to design
Staff and
external
consultant
Mid 2011 End 2012
A3.6 Prepare prioritized program for
addressing traffic bottlenecks
including development of
geometric designs for
improvement of road segments,
intersections and interchanges
(see A5.4)
Strategic
Planning Unit,
TMA
Staff,
external
consultant
Mid 2011 Mid 2012;
annual
update of
prioritized
program
Investments A3.7 Complete full coordination of
traffic signal system at 250
intersections
TMA Staff,
contractor
Ongoing End of
2011
A3.8 Implementation of the first
phase of proposed ITS
measures
TMA Staff,
contractor
After A3.4 End of
2015
29 | P a g e
A4. Managing Private Car Demand – Traffic Restraint
Given the rapid rate of car ownership in St Petersburg, even with an improved, better maintained and
better managed road system, it still appears likely that the demand for road space will increase faster
than effective road capacity with a resulting increase in congestion. Some means must be found of
redressing this imbalance. The city strategy to address this is twofold. The first, traffic restraint, is
discussed here. The second, making public transport a more attractive alternative to the car, is
discussed in Sections B1 and B2 of this report.
The current arrangements
There are a number of ways in which traffic can be restrained – through direct road pricing, through
physical restraints on traffic movement and through restrictive parking policies. The city has
undertaken a brief exploratory study of congestion charging but has not taken any measures to
introduce it. The only systematic physical restraint of traffic is freight route control. And parking has
been provided as a necessary service to facilitate traffic rather than as a means of exercising strategic
control over traffic. So at present there is no effective policy for traffic restraint – only a set of non-
restrictive policies for parking.
There are two main categories of parking.
Residential parking provides for a car to be
available for trips from the home, while non-
residential parking provides for the business end
of the trip. Non-residential parking is most
commonly accommodated “on-street” near to the
trip destination. Off-street parking may be
provided for public use (“public off-street”), or
may be provided for customers or employees of a
particular business “(private non-residential”).
Some off street parking may be located at public
transport nodes to enable the trip to be completed
by public transport (“park and ride”).
Responsibility for parking lots and garages is
currently vested in a Parking and Garages
Authority responsible to the Transport
Committee. The Authority currently operates 8
commercial lots in the central city with about 700
spaces. The amount of private non-residential off-
street parking is not known, but is certainly small in comparison with that in most US and many
European cities. The Authority also operates 7 park and ride garages, some on the city periphery but
some quite near to the city center. All are connected with the Metro, and are very well utilized.
A3.9 Implement geometric road
improvement program to
improve traffic operations (as
proposed in A3.6)
Infrastructure
Committee
Staff,
contractor
2012 2015
30 | P a g e
Parking is free if taken in conjunction with a metro journey and is administered through a smart card
system. Special provision is made for disadvantaged categories of traveler. Data has been collected
from the surrounding districts on demand for Park and Ride facilities and a further 40 park-and-ride
lots are planned, some of which will be high capacity multi-storey parking garages. The authority has
a total staff of 175, of which 160 operate the various parking lots and garages administered by the
committee.
Residential parking in the inner city is accommodated in the inner courtyards of the large block
buildings, but spills over on to neighboring streets. While there are norms for the minimum amount of
parking space to be provided in association with new housing, most of the housing stock was built at a
time when car ownership was low and parking was not adequately accommodated. Residential
parking for the apartment blocks thus spills onto adjacent streets. The agency has undertaken a review
of residential parking in all 18 rayons of the city, and is developing a program to “retrofit” parking
space into housing blocks or in convenient nearby locations.
The issues
The current arrangements generate unsatisfactory outcomes in a number of ways.
Uncontrolled on street parking in the business areas contributes to congestion by limiting
available road space, damages the pedestrian environment by infringing on sidewalks, and
reduces the effectiveness of public transport priorities by blocking bus lanes.
Lack of adequate residential parking creates inconvenience to car owners by making access to
the car unreliable, contributes to road congestion and low speeds in residential areas, and
damages the local environment
Lack of control of the quantity or location of parking negates the possible effects of parking
policy as an instrument of regulation of congestion in an urban transport strategy.
Parking actually costs the city money in terms of its adverse consequences without generating
any revenue to meet those costs.
Above all, in the absence of either congestion pricing or parking restraint policy there is no
mechanism to limit traffic as a result of which serious traffic congestion is endemic.
Those unsatisfactory physical outcomes reflect unsatisfactory legal and institutional arrangements.
By federal law the city is unable to introduce general restraint on on-street parking, or make
any charge for on-street parking
Enforcement of parking regulations is very weak and penalties for infringement are extremely
lenient
Partly because of the legal impediments the city lacks an effective strategic parking function,
and some of the parking provisions, such as park and ride provisions too close to the city
center, do not relate to any coherent strategy.
The parking and garages agency, despite its enthusiasm and achievements is inadequately
staffed and resourced for the implementation of any more ambitious policy.
Relevant International Experience Parking
31 | P a g e
Most large cities in the world face, or have faced, the
problem of an excess of demand for urban road space
over its supply. Many cities faced with growing motor
vehicle ownership and use have attempted to redress
the imbalance by increasing the supply of road
facilities. Where land is not scarce and where the
needs are recognized early enough in the process of
urban growth, it may be possible to provide for
unrestrained motorization. But even then this strategy
has some undesirable outcomes. Large amounts of
space in the central city have to be devoted to either
high volume roads or car parks, which destroys the
compactness and attractiveness of the city as a place
for living and conducting business. The town center
map of Houston, Texas shows it dominated by parking
lots (see the map right). Eventually the city center
loses its liveliness: many American central cities are
effectively dead spaces after the end of the business
day.
More generally, the world’s great cities have recognized the danger of “death by automobilization”
and have therefore taken steps to control the car in a number of ways. Four main types of policy have
been adopted.
Parking Policy The most common approach is to use parking policy. The usefulness of a private car
depends critically on the ability to park it conveniently at both the point of origin and the point of
destination of a trip. Parking availability makes a location accessible by private car, while the absence
of parking makes locations inaccessible and discourages car use. Parking policy is thus a very potent
tool for managing the use of road space, and is the main instrument for controlling car use and
combating congestion in many European cities. Typically, the total amount of parking space available
is constrained in the central areas of city, and charges are levied for public parking both on-street and
off-street. Usually on-street parking is more expensive than off-street parking in order to reserve on-
street parking for higher turnover. Most notable is that in these systems the total amount of parking
provided and the charges is determined not by the total potential demand or any concept of the
affordability of parking, but by the needs of controlling congestion. In the study of transport policies
in major European cities quoted in the earlier section on benchmarks, all charged for parking in the
central city, most at very high prices.
Controls on Ownership. The most extreme policy is to control vehicle ownership. In Singapore, which
is a city state with a similar population and total land area to St Petersburg, and a somewhat higher per
capita income, the city limits the total number of cars in use through a system of “certificates of
ownership”. In order to own a car a citizen must buy such a certificate, which is surrendered when the
car is scrapped. The city government decides the maximum number of cars which it believes the road
system can effectively handle, and holds a monthly auction at which the maximum number of
certificates available is that which will bring the car stock up to the planned limit. The effect of this is
that the certificate can cost three or four times as much as the car itself and can only be afforded by
the relatively affluent. This system works, in the sense that congestion is very limited, but is only
acceptable because the city state is relatively small and has a very dense, efficient and comfortable
Garage Parking
Surface Parking
32 | P a g e
public transport system. Bans on ownership of motorcycles have also been used in the largest cities in
Vietnam.
Controls on Vehicle Usage. An alternative to this absolute control on the stock of vehicles owned is
the control of the proportion of the total stock that can be used within the city at any one time.
Number plate restrictions, banning a different part of the automobile fleet from roads each day of the
week, are practiced in several large cities, such as Athens, Mexico City, Bogota, Columbia, and São
Paulo, Brazil. Mainly introduced to combat air pollution, these measures also reduce congestion. A
weakness of this method is that richer drivers can purchase a second or third car to circumvent the
ban, with the effect that the reduction of the number of vehicles on the street is frustrated while fleets
tend to have a larger average age and higher average emissions per vehicle.
Congestion Pricing. The most striking recent development of policy for city centers is that of
congestion charging, or road pricing as it is often called, under which motorists are charged for
entering and/or operating within the city center. Though popular with many transport planners, it has
been unpopular with politicians and the public. Schemes developed in some detail for Hong Kong,
Cambridge and Edinburgh were all ultimately rejected at the political level. Though advocated since
the late 1930’s it was not applied in practice until Singapore introduced an “area licensing scheme” in
1975. A turning point appears to have been reached with the introduction of a congestion charges
scheme in London in 2003, since when schemes have been introduced in a number of European cities.
In Scandinavia, simple systems of “toll rings” with manual or electronic enforcement exist around the
city centers in Trondheim, Bergen, Oslo and Stockholm. London also has a slightly more complex
area pricing scheme. The most sophisticated scheme is in Singapore, where vehicles are charged at
different points in the urban network at rates which differ by time and location, and are varied
periodically to secure specified target traffic levels and speeds. While there are many different ways in
which to impose congestion charges, those introduced so far appear to have achieved significant
reductions in congestion, as well as yielding substantial revenue surpluses to support other transport
initiatives (see Annex 2.) The most significant lessons for St Petersburg seem to be that (i) there are a
range of alternative technologies that need to be explored; (ii) all involve a significant initial capital
investment (iii) while they all yield a substantial surplus of revenue over cost, the daily charges are
fairly high. It is not sensible to introduce a road congestion charges scheme unless the city recognizes
the need for the charges to be substantial.
The strategy element
There are several different strands to the city strategy for traffic restraint.
Strategic planning. The Strategic Planning Unit of the Transit Committee will prepare a strategic plan
for traffic restraint. On parking the plan will set out the objectives and instruments for parking policy
and act as a guiding framework for the agencies given the responsibility to implement parking policy.
This will include, inter alia, setting targets for the total amount of parking spaced to be provided and
policies for the replacement of on-street by off-street parking in the inner areas. On congestion
charging a study will be undertaken to consider a range of alternatives and make recommendations to
the city government on the introduction of a preferred scheme.
Legal. The city is lobbying strongly for a change in the federal law relating to parking. It wishes the
Federation to recognize parking as an essential element in an urban transport strategy and to empower
cities both to restrict parking, charge for parking on street, and to levy sufficient fines for illegal
parking and for overstaying allotted time in legal parking spots.
33 | P a g e
Parking policy and enforcement. The city will
also work to obtain better enforcement of
parking regulations and higher penalties for
their infringement. On-street and off-street
parking will be planned by the Traffic
Management Authority under the strategic
guidance of the SPU, and administered by the
Parking Garages Authority. If the city can
obtain the powers to charge for on-street
parking it will also seek to establish a separate
system of “traffic wardens” to enforce
payment and to take the burden of parking
enforcement off the regular police force.
Investment and Charging. The expanded role of parking will carry with it a need for an increased
level of capital expenditures. Four types of parking are to be provided: (1) on-street parking, (2)
commercial off-street parking facilities, (3) park and ride, and (4) residential parking. The Park and
Ride program will be expanded and provide access to the new light rail transport and other express
commuting services as well as to the metro. Where lots are used to their full capacity charges may be
introduced to ration their use. It is also intended to implement a more extensive residential parking lot
program to reduce on-street parking & to improve pedestrian and environmental conditions in housing
blocks. The city will consider the possibilities of involving the private sector in the investment and
management of an extended program of off-street parking under license from the city and subject to
city regulation of amount and price of parking.
Figure 2-2: Proposed Plan and Design of a City-Wide Parking Program
Congestion Charging. As in other great cities such as London, Milan and Stockholm the government
of St Petersburg considers congestion parking to be an efficient complement to parking policies,
particularly for traffic restraint in the central city. A scheme will be designed and introduced on the
basis of the strategy study discussed above.
The Five-Year Action Program
34 | P a g e
Legal. Before any significant change can be made in parking and demand restraint administration it
will be necessary to establish the necessary legal powers. These include the abolition of the right to
free universal on-street parking, and the transfer to the municipalities of the responsibility for policy,
administration and implementation. This should include the power to determine where on-street
parking should be banned and powers of enforcement, including clamping and vehicle tow-away, for
infringements of local parking regulations. Fines for infringement should also be determined at the
local level. Similar legal powers must also be established for the implementation of congestion
charging.
Institutions and Organization. Parking is both a high level strategic issue and a very practical, on the
ground operational issue. A distinction will be made in organizational terms between policy setting,
system design, and implementation, with each allocated to the agency most suitable to perform it.
Overall strategy will be part of the responsibility of the recently formed Strategic Planning Unit. This
unit will prepare the policy framework in a parking plan. Tactical management responsibility will be
assigned to the Traffic Management Authority which will design the on-street parking arrangements.
Operational implementation of on-street parking, off-street parking, including parking garages, park
and ride facilities, and residential parking provisions shall also be the responsibility of the Garages
and Parking Authority, as at present. Enforcement of on street parking will be the responsibility of a
force of traffic wardens attached to the Garages and Parking Authority.10
The expansion of the
responsibilities of both the TMA and the GPA will require expanded skills and expanded staffing for
both. The city will press for parking charges and fines to be treated as revenues of the parking service
to meet the expenses of the parking service, as well as for funding other transport improvements when
parking revenues reach higher anticipated levels.
Studies. The following studies should be implemented or completed as soon as possible:
(a) Central area parking study. A city sponsored study has been undertaken on the application of
restraints on parking and pricing of parking in the central area of the city. This study will be
updated and extended as appropriate to deal with the following issues: (i) identification of
roads on which parking is to be banned, together with identification of possible locations for
the provision of replacement off-street parking in the area (ii) estimation of the revenues and
costs associated with parking system changes (iii) estimation of the effects of the new parking
scheme on modal choice and on traffic flows and speeds.
(b) Congestion pricing. Although the introduction of congestion charging may held back until
significant progress has been made with the improvement of high speed public transport for
commuters, a study of congestion pricing possibilities will be started immediately. This study
will address the following issues: (i) identification of the preferred alternative technology for
St Petersburg; (ii) design of the practical implementation of the preferred system (iii) analysis
of the modal choice and financial revenue implications of different levels of charge within the
preferred method. Note that the parking and congestion pricing studies will use a city wide
traffic model – see discussion below.
(c) Residential parking. GPLA has already collected data on residential parking conditions and
possibilities in all 17 rayons of the city. This study will be completed and extended to address
the following issues: (i) design and costing of a program of off-street parking for residential
areas at different levels (ii) estimation of the traffic and environmental impacts of the
alternative residential parking systems designed.
10
This function could also be assigned to the Traffic Management Authority.
35 | P a g e
(d) Park and ride. A draft program of park and ride facilities already exists. This needs to be
extended and completed in association with the planning of improvement of higher quality
public transport for commuters. The study will address the following issues: (i) the capacity
of new park and ride facilities necessary to support the public transport improvements (ii) the
capital costs – including their phasing – of the desired program (iii) the implications on usage
of park and ride facilities and on system revenues of different levels of charges (including
zero charges)
Investments The development of the parking and demand restraint policy will require a number of
investments, including (i) on-street parking charging equipment (ii) capital costs of new off-street
parking capacity in the city center (for which private finance and management might be sought) (iii)
costs of the residential parking development (iv) costs of new park and ride facilities (v) capital costs
of the preferred congestion charges technology. Each of these costs will be estimated in the relevant
studies, for different levels of implementation.
Financing implications As noted in the previous two sections, most of the various strands of the
parking and demand restraint strategy have both capital cost and recurrent revenue implications. In
the long run the strategy argued that there should be substantial surplus revenues which are to be
devoted primarily to improvement of the public transport system. In the short run, however, the
capital costs will exceed the net operating revenues of the system. The adverse effect of this on the
city budget may be reduced by the use of private finance (for example by concessioning the
development of park and ride facilities). It is very important to the sustainability of the strategy that
these financing implications are estimated from the outset, so that the implications for the city budget
of alternative means and levels of implementation of the strategy can be considered.
Intervention Ref. # Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
A4.1 In line with A3.1, strengthen
skills and analytical capabilities
of the TMA for parking policy
setting and parking system
design
Strategic
Planning
Unit, TMA
City
leadership and
staff
Immediately Complet
e within
2011
A4.2 Strengthen implementation and
enforcement function of the
Garages and Parking Lots
Authority (GPLA)
Strategic
Planning
Unit, GPLA
City
leadership and
staff
Immediately Complet
e within
2012
Administrative
/ Legal
A4.3 Secure Federal legislation to
permit introduction of paid on-
street parking and congestion
pricing
Strategic
Planning
Unit
Collaboration
with Federal
government.
Earliest
possible
End of
2011
Studies/
Technical
A4.4 Update and extend the existing
central area parking study
Strategic
Planning
Unit, TMA
External
consultant
Immediately End of
2011
A4.5 Extend and complete the GPLA
study on residential parking
conditions and demand
Strategic
Planning
Unit, GPLA
External
consultant
Immediately End of
2011
A4.6 Extend and complete the draft
Park&Ride Program
GPLA External
consultant
Immediately End of
2011
* A4.4 – A4.6 can be done under one single study.
A4.7 Study alternative congestion
pricing possibilities and
recommend a solution for
implementation.
Strategic
Planning
Unit
External
consultant
Mid 2011 End of
2012
36 | P a g e
Investments A4.8 On-street parking charging and
enforcement equipment
TMA Contractor or
concessionaire
After A4.3 Early
2012
A4.9 Implement city-wide parking
program including construction
of new parking facilities in the
city center, residential areas,
and Park&Ride
GPLA Contractor or
concessionaire
After A4.4 -
A4.6
By 2015
A4.10 Implement congestion pricing
in the historic city center
including installation of
congestion charging technology
TMA Contractor or
concessionaire
After A4.7, if
recommended
to adopt conge-
stion charging
End
2015
A5. Improving the External Transport Links
Providing convenient passenger transport connectivity between St. Petersburg and the outside world is
crucial to maintaining and enhancing the competitiveness of the city as a commercial, tourist, cultural,
and industrial center. While substantial investments have been made to enhance this connectivity, it
will be important to remain vigilant in ensuring that high quality and convenient transport service is
further enhanced over time for the city to remain competitive in a global economy. While a
substantial portion of the primary responsibility for providing this connectivity will remain with the
Federal Government, the city has an important role to play in ensuring that investments in city
transport infrastructure and services are complementary to and supportive of the Federal investments.
The current arrangements
Airport. In order to modernize the airport and address capacity constraints, the City awarded a 30-
year concession to operate the existing airport facilities, construct a new terminal, and invest in new
airside and landside infrastructure to achieve an airport capacity of 17 million passengers per annum.
This project is phase I of a master plan for the development of Pulkovo airport with future phases to
be developed and funded at a later stage in accordance with the concession agreement. It is expected
that construction of phase 1 works will be completed by the end of 2013.
Sea Passenger Terminal. A new sea passenger transport terminal – Russia’s first modern sea
passenger terminal -- has recently been constructed on Vasilevskiy Island. The terminal is built on
447 hectares of land reclaimed from the sea, close to the city center. It is capable of handling cruise
vessels and ferries up to 311m long with a draft of up to 8m. It has seven berths, and is due to be
completed in 2011. This is currently the largest waterfront project in Europe, and will be able to
handle up to 1.5 million passengers per year.
Inter-City Rail Service. High speed rail service between Moscow and St. Petersburg reducing travel
time between these cities to 3 hours 45 minutes with a maximum speed of 250 kph was initiated
during 2010. High-speed rail services between Helsinki and St. Petersburg began late in 2010 with
travel time reduced by two hours to 3 and a half hours. Travel time is cut due to technically more
modern trains, faster border formalities and upgraded line. The top speed will be 220 km/h. The trains
are electric multiple units which means that locomotive changes at the border are no longer required.
Road Access. A St. Petersburg to Moscow toll road of 650 km in length is in the process of being
designed and will be implemented in stages. A concessionaire has been selected for the first 43 km to
be constructed in the Moscow suburbs. Design of the portion of the toll road leading into St.
37 | P a g e
Petersburg is also underway. Construction of the __ km section is expected near St. Petersburg is
expected to commence during __. The entire Moscow to St. Petersburg toll road is expected to be
completed by __.
The Issues
While considerable investments have been and are being made to improve the passenger transport
connectivity of St. Petersburg with the outside world, there nevertheless are some issues that will be
addressed a part of the overall city transport strategy as described below.
Access to the city center from Pulkovo Airport. Providing a fast and convenient passenger connection
between the upgraded Pulkovo airport and the city center is an important adjunct to the ongoing
efforts to expand and improve airport capacity and services. Several alternative options for providing
this access have been considered but no firm plan has been adopted and funding provided.
Land connections to Finland. Existing road and rail land links to Finland need improvement. Linking
into the Moscow to St. Petersburg toll road, improved road connections to Finland and the Baltic
states are desirable for both passenger and freight transport.
Terminal facilities and modal integration. The rail terminals serving the north and south are on
opposite banks of the Neva, with no direct connection. The central bus station is remote from the
center, and many long distance buses operate illegally into other central locations. Possible water
connections are not well developed (though this is inevitably limited by the climate).
Relevant International Experience
In most countries the main inter-urban road network of significance for national traffic is the
responsibility of the central government. Where the national routes pass through an urban area they
may be maintained by the local authority, but this is still usually on the national account.
Fast airport links with the city are also commonly financed by central government, even if
subsequently operated by a commercial company, private (as in the case of the London rail link) or
public (as in the case of Stockholm and the London Underground). In London, where there are both
underground and fast rail links, the underground link is charged the normal underground rates, while
the fast rail links are viewed as a premium, service for which an appropriately high fare is charged. It
is increasingly common for non-capital city airports to have direct connection to the national rail
networks – as at Frankfurt and Zurich – with air companies using rail rather than air connections for
regional distribution of traffic.
The issues with long distance rail terminals often arise from a history of originally having different
private railways serving different segments of a capital city. For example Paris and London like St
Petersburg have multiple, unconnected regionally oriented terminals. In both cases the majority of
traffic had its destination in the city itself so that the real need was for good connections to any part of
the city – achieved through connection by their very dense underground. The main lessons for St
Petersburg appear to be to recognize the importance of regional and local distribution from their rail
and air terminals, leaving the national rail operator or the Federal government to be concerned with
the small proportion of traffic transiting the city. Fast airport links at premium fares, can be
commercial propositions.
38 | P a g e
The strategy
The following measures will be undertaken to implement this strategy element:
Pulkovo Airport . The city government will continue the policy of airport upgrading, mainly through
the private sector concession for the development of Pulkova terminal 2. This will be supported by
the creation of high quality and high speed passenger transport access to the city center. The
possibility of increasing the use of the airport rail station by better internal connections will also be
explored.
Sea Passenger Terminals. The city government will complete the development of the passenger
terminal complex on Vassilievsky Island, and facilitate further improvement of the cruise terminal in
association with the private sector. The quality of access to the city center from the ferry terminal will
be improved by the inclusion of a road based bus priority route in a program of public transport
demonstration projects.
Inter-City Rail Transport. The city government will work to assist the rail company in developing the
high speed link to Finland. Traffic bottlenecks associated with at grade crossings, which adversely
affect both rail and road operations, will be removed by investment grade separated road crossings
Inter-city and international road links. These will be improved by upgrading of some outer radial
roads in the city, and by the removal of at-grade crossings with some heavily used rail lines. The city
will continue to support the development of the St Petersburg Moscow high speed toll road.
Modal co-ordination. The city government will combine long distance bus and rail terminals by the
development of an inter-modal terminal at the Finland railway station. Water transport distribution, in
the form of an expanded water taxi system, will also be provided on a seasonal basis. This
development will be pursued through a partnership between the city (which will provide land and
finance the water transport components), the railway company RGD, and private partners responsible
for parking and general site development.
The five year action program
Much of what is needed to improve the efficiency of the external links is already in progress, partly
financed through private sector participation and partly through federal government funding. The
critical requirement for the city is therefore to continue to develop its collaboration with those other
agencies and to ensure that the necessary complementary city investments are made in a timely
manner.
Intervention Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Studies/
Technical
A5.1 Examine possibilities to improve
and expand commuter rail
services (see also B2.2)
Strategic
Planning Unit,
Transport Comm.
Staff, external
consultant
Early
2012
End of
2012
A5.2 Identify locations and designs of
intermodal stations
Transit Policy
Committee
Staff, external
consultant
Early
2012
End of
2012
Investments A5.3 Continue the ongoing Pulkovo
Airport and Vassilievsky
Passenger Terminal projects
Ongoing
A5.4 Remove at-grade crossings at
intersections with heavily used
rail lines, including the high-
speed link to Finland (see A3.6)
Infrastructure
Committee
Contractor Early
2013
39 | P a g e
A5.5 Construct intermodal stations that
combine long-distance bus and
rail terminals
Infrastructure
Committee, City
Architect
Contractor After
A5.2
A5.6 Complete the St Petersburg-
Moscow Toll Road and other
outer area radials
Infrastructure
Committee
Federal
funding
Ongoing
40 | P a g e
B. Social Equity – Accessibility for All
B1. Improving Operational Efficiency of Public Transport
An efficient public transport system is necessary both to provide adequately for citizens who do not
have access to a private car and also to attract car-owning citizens away from their cars for trips at
peak times and in areas of traffic congestion. This is especially important for journeys to work from
the suburbs to the center of the city.
The current arrangements
Public transport in St Petersburg is provided by a wide range of modes and agencies. The Metro, the
electric transport company and the bus company are separate agencies under the supervision of the
Transport Committee, while regulation of how private and public road transport operates is the
responsibility of another agency under the Transport Committee – the “Organizator Pervozok”.
The metro company presently operates 4 metro lines, with 64 stations and currently carries 47% of
passenger trips. The Blue line, operates a peak period frequency of 34 trains per hour using 6 car sets,
and carries 40% of the total patronage. Other lines operate 8 car sets at slightly lower frequency.
Surface rail services are operated by a company jointly owned by the city and the commuter rail
company of the national railways, carrying less than 2% of total passengers (though a higher share of
passenger miles).
An electric transport company Gorelectric, has a tramway division operating a service planned for 789
trams from 6 garages on a network of 450 kilometers, of which 250 kilometers is segregated from
general traffic, carrying over 7% of total public transport passengers. This network is declining in
size, 140 kilometers is in need of repair and routes on Sadovaya and Livovsky roads have been
abandoned as recently as 2007. The trolleybus division operates a service plan for 684 trolleybuses on
250 kilometers of route from 7 garages carrying a little under 7% of public transport passengers. The
company covers 60% of its operating expense from revenue.
Two sorts of bus service are provided. “Social services” are planned to be provided by nearly1900
vehicles, 1100 of which are operated by the municipal bus company and 773 by five private operators
under five year contracts. Generally speaking the public sector buses operate the main trunk routes
with the private sector buses operating feeder services in local areas and less well patronized trunk
routes. Private minibus services began to be provided without legal authority in the late eighties and
nineties to supplement the declining public sector service; by 2000 there were 50 operators in
business. In 2005, private sector bus services began to be procured under competitive tenders to
supplement the public sector buses on the existing “social” routes and were allowed to provide other
services on a commercial basis. “Commercial services” are operated by approximately 3,500 private
sector vehicles of various sizes, on routes approved by the Transport Committee.
Fares are controlled by the Transport Committee. There are flat cash fares for the “social” bus, tram
and trolleybus services (19 roubles in 2010, rising to 21 roubles in 2011) and the metro (currently 22
roubles rising to 26 roubles in 2011). Fares for the commercial bus services vary with trip distance
between 20 and 30 roubles. 40% of passengers are carried at reduced fares. Students pay
approximately 40% of the basic fare and the elderly 30%, but these concessions are not available on
the commercial buses. Surface railways also have a graduated fare structure. In practice, only about
one quarter of passengers pay cash fares. The remaining three quarters use monthly electronic tickets.
41 | P a g e
These are valid for a specified number of metro journeys (70 per month) and for an unlimited number
of journeys on “social” buses, trams and trolleybuses. Cards are available (at different monthly prices)
for combined metro and surface transport or for surface transport only.
Procurement of services differs between public and private suppliers. For “social” services routes are
allocated directly to the publicly owned bus company by the Transport Committee. Mostly this
simply reflects the historic route structures, covering the main trunk routes, with less well patronized
and feeder services in local areas put to tender for the private sector. Social services operated by
private operators are allocated on the basis of a competitive tender and packaged in zone based lots
together with permissions for the provision of specified amounts and types of commercial service.
The contracted services are procured on a “net cost” basis with operators retaining their revenues from
both “social” and “commercial” services, with a balancing payment according to contract.
Remuneration arrangements for the operators vary between private and public companies. Operators,
of all modes, both private and public, retain their on-bus cash fare collections. Operators are paid on a
per passenger basis for those passengers using electronic tickets based on the records created when the
ticket is used on the vehicle. This payment is lower – as is the cash fare – for students and the elderly.
In addition to these payments the publicly owned operators have their vehicles replaced on the city
budget, and have their operating deficits financed by the city in lieu of any specific compensation for
concessionary fare passengers. Private suppliers of social services are treated similarly in respect of
electronic ticket passengers, but get no capital support and receive lump sum payments based on the
amount that they bid in the contract tender.
The issues
Evidence suggests that existing public transport modes are of varying degrees of efficiency and that
the way in which they are organized and regulated does not necessarily make the best use of the
resources available. There are a number of sources of weakness.
Management of the public sector companies is very constrained commercially, with service task
allocations variable at the order of the transport committee. Even the normal functions of a
commercial company, such as vehicle dispatching, are undertaken by the regulatory authority. Vehicle
replacement is a particular problem. The tram system is over 100 years old and has been suffering
from a backlog in vehicle replacement. Only 100 new trams have been procured since 2005, the rest
being over 20 years old, with an average age of over 15 years. 130 new trolleybuses were bought in
2008/9 but the rest are older, with an average age of 12 years. Even the metro, which has been in
operation since 1955, has an aging car fleet. Similar problems affect the autobus sector. Inability to
finance expansion of the public sector fleet was one of the reasons for the introduction of 700 private
sector vehicles on social services. The public bus company has little commercial freedom in
management, and is also dependent on the city for finance of its vehicle fleet. While 400 new buses
have been ordered in 2010, the last significant investment in buses was as long ago as 2003. Many of
the sensible commercial disciplines which support the efficient management of public transport
undertakings are impossible in this uncertain context.
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Fleet quality is also perceived as a
problem. Many of the commercial bus
operations are undertaken by small van
conversions which are not well suited to
public transport service. The Transport
Committee would like to see these
vehicles replaced by larger, conventional
buses. This is a difficult issue. Despite
their poor perceived quality, the vans are
well used because they give higher
frequency for any given total capacity
and are more flexible and speedy in
operation in congested traffic conditions.
Moreover, their cost is relatively low.
Fare structure. Fares for surface rail are graduated by distance. Those for metro and social bus
services are currently flat – i.e. a single fare applies to all journeys in the system. However, the fares
for commercial bus services are approximately 50 percent higher than those for social services. This is
an anomaly as the journey lengths may be shorter and the quality of vehicle poorer than for the social
services. This anomaly appears to arise from an attempt to increase service availability without
increasing the budget burden of the service at a time when capacity was insufficient in the basic
service sector. While there may be a case for premium prices where a superior service is offered (as
for express services or all seating services) there is little logic or apparent fairness in the current
arrangement. This does not mean that a flat fare system should be maintained for all modes.
Procurement of private sector services. As explained above, the origin of private sector involvement
in supply was more by historical accident than by design. Private sector operators now play such an
important role that their efficient employment is as important as that of the public sector. In a recent
retendering of routes supplied under expired contracts only 30% of the capacity required was actually
achieved – and this through a larger number (14) operators. The larger private operators appear to be
very wary to re-contract on the basis offered, which they perceive as very risky.
Financial sustainability of public transport. Financing of public transport is very volatile. Budgeted
operating subsidy for 2010 was 5.63 billion rubles. That for 2011 is 8.75 billion – an increase of 55%
- partly due to tightening of vehicle standards for private sector buses on social routes. Vehicle
replacement expenditures, for trams, trolleybuses and public sector buses similarly vary drastically
from year to year, depending not so much on the operating needs of the companies as on the perceived
fiscal situation. Other public transport infrastructure investment – track, catenaries, terminals – are
similarly volatile. This lack of stability undermines good management.
Relevant International Experience
High costs of public transport associated with inefficient operation has been countered in many
countries by the introduction of competitive pressures. In a very few countries, including the United
Kingdom, this has involved completely free entry into the market, subject only to qualitative licensing
controls. But this has generally been believed to lead to a loss of service in areas and at times of less
strong demand. Hence, even in the smaller cities in the UK the municipal authorities have the power
to supplement the service provided by the free market by the procurement of additional services by
competitive tender for subsidized provision. More generally, countries have chosen to introduce
43 | P a g e
comprehensive competitive tendering for a set of services and fares determined by the municipality
Such comprehensive competitive tendering has been introduced in London, as well as in cities like
Stockholm, Helsinki, and Copenhagen.
The form of franchising system varies from country to country. Some smaller cities have used “net
cost” tendering, under which the operator retains the fare revenues and the municipality pays only the
supplement needed to secure the service at the lowest qualified bid price. Most large cities, however,
have adopted “gross cost” tendering, in which all of the revenue accrues to the municipality (which
effectively takes the revenue risk) and service suppliers bid on the basis of the remuneration they
require to meet the full cost of operation. This arrangement requires the city to have a very secure
revenue collection system, but gives it a much greater degree of freedom to vary fares or routes
without having to renegotiate affected contracts.
The package size and structure also varies considerably. At one extreme many French cities have
assigned the whole of their operation to a single private company. At the other extreme individual lots
may be as small as an individual route. Typically, as in London, the lots consist of a few routes, often
assembled on an area basis. Sometimes, as in Santiago, Chile, trunk routes are let on a route basis
while feeder services are let on an area basis. Competitively tendered franchising has even been
applied to secure disciplined service on packages of minibus operations in Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz
Republic. Contracts are usually phased so that they do not all terminate simultaneously. This reduces
the cost of administration by ensuring a steady flow of procurement work and also tends to increase
the effectiveness of competition and reduce the possibility of effective collusion between bidders.
Results of these tendering arrangements have generally been good. The cost per vehicle kilometer in
London fell by 40% in the first round of tendering (though they have increased somewhat
subsequently). But many cities have achieved operating cost savings of about 20%. Only in South
Africa did the introduction of competitive tendering actually increase the level of subsidy
requirement, but this was due to a conscious policy of using the introduction of the competitive
system as an opportunity to require much higher quality of services than had previously existed.
A number of lessons of this experience are particularly relevant to St Petersburg. First, it is critical
that contracts specify fully all the rights and obligations of both parties, including the level of any
payment which is to be made by the municipal authority. Without that the perceived risk to bidders
will be very high and hence they will attach high risk premia to their bids. The higher the quality of
serviced or vehicle required, the higher will be the bid price. The procuring authority must develop
the skill to understand what will be the likely effect of different conditions so that it operates within
its budget.
Second, the system will not work unless all of the bidders are subject to similar legal obligations –
publicly owned companies with deficit support from their owning authorities will almost certainly bid
below cost and incur losses which simply drive up the total cost of the system. When competitive
tendering was introduced in Britain all publicly owned companies were reconstituted as commercial
companies with no recourse to their owners for capital contributions or deficit support. In those
circumstances most authorities sold off their bus companies and pursued their policy objectives
through their role as purchasers of service rather than as suppliers. Emergency requirements are
provided for in the terms of the private company contracts. The possibility of a supplying company
failing financially can be met by permitting the authority to procure service for a limited period by
direct negotiation.
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Some categories of passengers – notably students and retirees – are charged lower fares in most cities.
Where there is a city owned operator the costs of these concessions are usually carried on the city
budget as deficit fiancé of the operators. Where the fare reductions are nationally mandated – as for
pensioners in the United Kingdom and students in Poland – the cost of the concessions is carried on
the national budget. Fares may also be differentiated by mode – with rail fares higher than bus fares –
or quality of service – with express rail services, or all-seater buses as in Seoul, Korea, offered at a
premium price. Fares may also vary by source of supply, with privately supplied bus services
charging higher fares than public sector buses and not offering reduced fares to students or
pensioners. This still occurs in a number of the central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union,
but is the accidental consequence of the supplementation of failing public sector services by the
private sector rather than a designed public policy. This does not happen in any of the western
European cities where the private sector provides service under franchise contracts with the
municipality under essentially the same terms and conditions as the public sector operators.
The strategy
At least half of the surface transport service in the city is provided by the private sector. While the
quality of some of the vehicles presently used on commercial services (at higher fares) may be lower
than that of the best (but not all) of the public sector vehicles, the cost to the city budget per vehicle
mile is substantially lower than that of the public operators (autobus, tram, and trolleybus) where
comparable service quality is required on social service routes.. The city government therefore
considers it unwise to press forward the replacement of the smaller vehicles without a careful
examination of both the cost and service implications of that policy. An immediate study of this topic
will be undertaken. In any case, the supply which can be provided by the public sector has been
considered insufficient. The strategy is therefore not to drive out the private sector but to change the
organization both of public and private sector suppliers to increase the efficiency of the former and to
ensure consistently higher quality of service from the latter. There are four strands to this strategy.
Revise tendering arrangements and move to gross cost contracting. Most large cities which procure
services from private operators do so, on the basis of “gross cost” tenders. Under this arrangement all
fare revenues are kept by the organizing authority, and transport operators bid for contracts on the
basis of the lowest cost of supply (see Annex 7). The city will move as soon as possible from net
cost contracting to gross cost contracting, which leaves the revenue risk with the city (as in the case
of the public sector suppliers), and provides a more secure basis to the private companies to borrow
for new bus purchase.
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Figure 2-3: Current Arrangement of Autobus Services and Issues
Commercialize the relationship between the city and the publicly owned companies. The publicly
owned bus, tram and trolleybus companies all carry reduced fare passengers without direct
compensation but have their vehicles provided by the city and receive finance of their operating
deficits from the city. Reliance on the city for vehicle replacement has resulted in aging fleets,
increased maintenance costs and a relatively low proportion of registered vehicles available for
service. This arrangement offers little incentive to efficient economic management. Therefore all of
the public companies will operate on formal contracts with the regulatory authority which will specify
the cost per bus kilometer which they will receive, while having the new responsibility of making
their own plans and provision for fleet replacement in order to meet the conditions of the contract.
Remove the distinction between “social” and “commercial” services. The present system of
distinguishing between “social” and “commercial” services has the effect of restricting the use of the
available services by students and pensioners. Where there is no “social” service they must pay the
full fare, and even where both social and commercial services operate on a route they are faced with a
lower effective frequency. The arrangement thus somewhat randomly limits the accessibility of one
set of citizens while making less effective use of the total set of services provided. For full fare paying
passengers the present arrangements have the curious effect of resulting in slightly higher fares being
paid often for shorter trips or poorer quality of service. Therefore the distinction between “social” and
“commercial” services will be abandoned, allowing access of reduced fare passengers to all basic
services. In future premium fares will be charged only for premium service (such as commuter
express services). After careful review the city government will integrate all services within a
comprehensive fare structure with gradations based on distances (in zonal bands) and service quality
(journey speeds).
Move to comprehensive competitive tendering. The implication of removing the distinction between
social and commercial services is that all services will be operated under contracts between operators
and the city. Routes will be planned by the city and put out to operators for tender. In the transitional
period some contracts – including those with the publicly owned operators – may be on a negotiated
basis. In the longer term, however, the public companies will be treated like any private company,
competing for competitively tendered contracts for service franchises. Services will be tendered on a
“gross cost” basis based on the system successfully adopted in London and elsewhere (see Annex for
details of how this can be done.
Figure 2-4: Proposed Arrangement of Autobus Services
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Plan for public transport financial sustainability. One of the great advantages of putting all services
on a competitively tendered, gross cost basis is that the city gets to know, in advance, what will be the
budgetary implications of any planned level of service, quality of vehicle and fares level. On this basis
the city can each year prepare a public transport budget showing what funds will be required to
finance the planned level of service and where those funds will come from. Planning for
sustainability does not mean the elimination of all subsidies. There are various elements in the
strategy which will generate new funds for the city with which to finance its public transport system.
Consideration of fare levels and structures will be part of the annual review process. The city is so
large, geographically, that the city government considers it acceptable for longer distance travelers to
be asked to pay higher fares. The metro is already planning a zonal fare system for 2011. In order to
reduce the cost of extending the availability of concessionary fares to all services, consideration will
be given to limiting the availability of concessionary fares to pensioners during the morning peak
hours.
The five year action program
Most of the developments in the public transport sector are organizational rather than involving heavy
capital investment. It is therefore possible – as well as being desirable – to move forward swiftly with
the reform program.
Institutions and organization. The publicly owned operating agencies will be restructured as
commercial companies, having their own budget constraints. While initially receiving their existing
vehicle fleet as a gift from the city they will thereafter be responsible for maintenance and
replacement of that fleet from their service contract revenues (and any other revenues such as those
from advertizing which they might have). They will sell services to the PTE, in competition with each
other and with private sector contractors. They will not receive retrospective finance of their operating
deficits. Strategic decisions about fleet replacement will be made by the companies from their own
resources, borrowing or lease contracts, based on their commercial prospects. Major track
infrastructure, particularly for the Metro, will continue to be financed by the city. But the accounts of
the operating companies will show the value of that capital and will make adequate provision for its
servicing and maintenance.
Studies. A short term supply efficiency study will need to address the following issues:
(a) Design of the set of services to be put to competitive tender, this will involve the design of
trunk and feeder services.
(b) Preparation of invitations to tender and contract documents for gross cost contract tenders.
(c) Selection of a secure revenue collection system.
(d) Restructuring of the operating companies as commercial companies in a competitive
tendering environment.
(e) Analysis of the likely costs of alternative service and fare arrangements for the financial
balance of the system.
(f) Study of the implications of changing reduced fare tickets for pensioners to include all
services (including those presently commercial) but to exclude travel at peak.
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Investments. During the next five years the change in supply arrangements means that the cost of
vehicles will not be a charge on the capital budget of the city. The main investments will therefore be
the following.
(a) The shift to gross cost contracting will require the introduction of secure fare collection
equipment and GPS equipment on all vehicles. While this could be funded by the operators,
the costs would ultimately be passed on to the authority through contract prices. It may
therefore be desirable for the city to be responsible for the capital costs of the equipment,
simply requiring the operators to bear the costs of installing the equipment in their vehicles.
Finance. The changes that are involved in the public transport strategy will have very wide ranging
financial effects. The preliminary studies outlined above will assist the city to ensure that there is no
sudden unsupportable increase in the budget burden of the system. In the longer term, however, it is
important to establish a system which guarantees that the city can control the financial demands for
public transport. One of the great advantages of putting all services on a competitively tendered, gross
cost basis is that the city gets to
know, in advance, what will be
the budgetary implications of
any planned level of service,
quality of vehicle and fares
level. On this basis the city can
each year prepare a public
transport budget showing what
funds will be required to finance
the planned level of service and
where those funds will come
from.
The five year action plan is as follows:
Intervention Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
B1.1 Corporatize the publicly owned
bus and electric transport
operating companies
Transport
Committee
City
leadership
and staff
After
completion
of task B1.6
End of
2012
B1.2 Strengthen the capacity of
Public Transport Organizer, to
promote its status to Public
Transport Executive
Transport
Committee, in
collaboration
with Strategic
Planning Unit
City
leadership
2012 2013
Administrative/
Legal
B1.3 Remove the "two-tier"
distinction between social and
commercial services, and
integrate all services in a single
system
Transport
Committee
City
leadership
and staff
Gradually as
financial
situation
permits
Aiming to
complete
by 2014
B1.4 Convert all contracts except
those with the Metro company
to competitive tender that is
gross-cost based
Transport
Committee
City
leadership
and staff
After B1.6
and B1.7
In 2012
B1.5 Commercialize the existing
publicly owned transport
companies
Transport
Committee
City
leadership
and staff
Early 2012
Studies/ B1.6 Long-term structure study: Transport External Immediately Mid 2012
48 | P a g e
Technical design of comprehensive routes,
high-speed segregated track
services, and roles of trams and
trolley buses (see B2.2)
Committee, in
collaboration
with Strategic
Planning Unit
consultant
B1.7 Short-term supply efficiency
study: design of competitive
tender services, preparation of
gross-cost contract tenders,
restructure of operating
companies, cost analysis for the
new tender system
Transport
Committee
External
consultant
Immediately End of
2011
B1.8 Study possibility of automatic
controlling system to reduce
headways on the Metro Blue
Line
Metro
Authority
Metro staff,
contractor
Early 2012
Investments B1.9 Secure fare collection
equipment and GPS equipment
for performance monitoring
Public
Transport
Authority
Operators,
Contractor
Mid 2012 End of
2012
B2. Giving Priority to Public Transport – System Development
The strategy for improving transport in St Petersburg is focused on shifting person movements in
congested areas and at congested times from the private car into public transport. While congestion
and parking charges will assist this, the strategy will only be successful if the public transport
alternatives are attractive, This means that in the future public transport will need to be focused not
only on providing affordable transport for those without access to a car, as it has been in the past, but
also on providing a level of speed, comfort and quality of travel which will be competitive with the
car. High speed public transport links to the center are thus necessary to complete the system. The
development of an effective system of segregated public transport corridors is thus essential to the
success of the strategy as a whole.
The current arrangements
The principle that was adopted in the 2005 plan for public transport integration is that the metro shall
be the “backbone” of the strategic public transport network. At the moment the network of metro
routes, despite being heavily congested, has the advantage of giving station to station journey speeds
which are faster than can be achieved by car at most times of the day. But the current metro network
is fairly sparse, despite the fact that the purple line is being extended in length by two stations to
Moskowskaya, and two further new station outlets are presently being completed on existing lines.11
Moreover, metro station spacing is on average about 2 kilometers, compared with about 1 kilometer
for inner area stations in cities like Paris and London. There is an approved plan for metro extension,
but the withdrawal of strong federal financial support for metro construction makes the completion of
the plan look much more questionable in the short term at least.
Suburban rail services do exist on a number of axes, but their level of service and of patronage is low.
In principle these services cover their total costs and, since 2010, only receive subsidy in the form of
compensation for the carriage of concession fare passengers. This distinguishes them from most other
public transport in the city, and is probably an impediment to their further development. Their use by
11
This was possible as the platform facilities were already constructed but not used as a station. But little can be
done economically where such provision was not originally made.
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commuters from the Leningrad oblast as well as residents of the city has complicated the question of
financial support for the services. St Petersburg has a smaller provision and use of surface and
suburban rail services than any European city of comparable size.
The metro and suburban rail network is supported by a much denser network of surface transport
modes. These are divided both technically – between trams, trolleybuses, and autobuses of different
size – and operationally – between “social” services and “commercial” services. While the surface
transport services complement the metro, allowing trips to be completed by public transport, they are
largely subject to road congestion because of the absence of priority movement over most of the
network. Trams and trolleybuses perform essentially the same function as autobuses on the “social”
routes, with substantial overlap in many areas. Hence they are typically slower than the private car.
Only the smaller vehicles, which are being progressively replaced, can come near to competing with
cars for speed, and they are generally considered to be less comfortable and reputedly more dangerous
in operation.
Road based public transport priorities do exist in the form of bus lanes. But the extent of these lanes is
very limited, and enforcement of them tends to be weak, both with respect to cars stopping for loading
and cars entering the bus lanes in advance of turning movements at intersections. The Nevsky
Prospect public transport priority is unusual both in its length and effectiveness.
There are also some limited physically segregated tram sections. One of these – on Bukharestskaya
Ulitsa – has been identified as the route for a high speed LRT development. For the most part,
however, these segregated tram routes are located on relatively short sections of road which do not
constitute a comprehensive high speed public transport route. Moreover, there are some important
inner city roads, for example Sadovaya Ulitza and Ligovsky prospect, from which tram service has
been removed in recent years to make way for easier car movement. This trend should be reversed.
The issues
Route structure. As noted above, St Petersburg is already committed in principle to a structured public
transport system with the metro forming the ”backbone” of the system, offering high speed trunk
services. But the metro is not yet extensive enough to perform that function for the whole of the city.
Although a long term plan exists, only a three year program, including the extension of the purple
line, is committed up to 2012, with the intention to extend further to a depot by 2016. This extension
is considered essential to release demand pressure on the blue line. Moreover, the other modes are not
well structured to serve as feeders to a trunk network. A comprehensive plan will be developed
within which individual modes or services have defined functions.
Metro Capacity. Metro capacity is already near to fully employed – certainly at the peak. At peak
operation the Blue Line runs 34 six car trains per hour in each direction, with headways of less than 2
minutes. Only the red line was designed with platform lengths allowing 8 car trains, though the
further lines proposed for the future will be designed for eight car trains. At some stations there is a
bottleneck in pedestrian or rider access to the stations at the peak, though this incidentally prevents
unsafe overloading of platforms and is hence not an unmitigated disaster. Both blue and red lines are
now at the maximum safe frequency of operation with current signaling systems. Responsibility for
complementary investment in park and ride facilities is not well coordinated, with the Committee on
Architecture controlling the land availability, the parking Garages and Lot Authority of the Transport
Committee responsible for the physical investment, with Metro management playing a largely passive
role.
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Technology choice. Both trams and trolleybuses require fixed route infrastructure which impose
system costs and also reduce operational flexibility. As these are separate infrastructures the
duplication of modes with autobuses imposes extra costs as well as reducing system flexibility.
Trolley bus routes overlap with bus routes, with little apparent justification for the maintenance of the
trolley bus system other than a slightly less intrusive environmental impact. The cost per vehicle
kilometer appears to be higher than for buses. It is intended to undertake a detailed review of the
rationale for maintaining the current range of modes as the first step in implementation of the strategy.
Commuter rail. The low proportion of passengers carried by commuter rail reflects both the high
concentration of population in the urban, rather than suburban, areas of St Petersburg and the difficult
institutional arrangements with a commercially oriented national rail company which sees little profit
in suburban rail operations. The creation of a joint company between the city and the railway
company has not so far over come this impediment. There is already a substantial population in the
arm of the city lying to the south west of the Gulf of Finland, and suburbanization of population is
very likely to increase as incomes increase. The relationship with the Leningrad oblast complicates
this picture further.
Bus lanes. The small extent and weak enforcement of bus lanes need to be addressed together. This
requires some more purposeful traffic management (including provision for a restricted set back of the
bus lane before intersections and/or separation of the green phase for bus lanes from that of general
traffic at signaled intersections) as well as a campaign for enforcement.
Physical Segregation. The lack of a system of physically segregated surface public transport corridors
and public transport priority treatments at key bottlenecks has become a serious issue as the levels of
motorization and congestion have dramatically increased in St. Petersburg. These segregated corridors
and public transport priority measures at bottleneck points are needed to provide reasonable
alternatives to the automobile in terms of speed and comfort. An investigation of possibilities of
physically segregated corridors undertaken by the Research and Design Institute of Regional
Development and Transportation in 2007 suggested an even more substantial list of possibilities then
those which have been subsequently discussed and published. The absence, to date, of a more
extensive program of comprehensive corridor segregation has been in response to increased private
motor vehicle traffic in combination with a lack of resolve on the part of the city to to implement
these improvements. . Introducing such a policy is bound to raise some opposition from motorists who
find themselves squeezed by the allocation of road space exclusively for public transport. While this
likely resistance is recognized, the city government intends to work on implementing this change of
emphasis initially through demonstration projects and public education programs.
New modes. An Initial proposal for a Light Rail Transport (LRT) line in the Bukharestsky corridor
combined two different objectives,
namely to develop a fast connection
to the new airport and to
demonstrate the potential of an LRT
corridor for attracting commuters
from their cars. The danger is that
pursuing them simultaneously will
increase the cost (over half of the
estimated cost is for the new route
from the end of Bukharestsky to the
airport) and slow down the
51 | P a g e
development. Similarly, an exclusive emphasis on LRT may limit the development of high quality
services where physical limitations require hybrid mixtures of segregated and non-segregated space
use. Bus Rapid Transit might be more flexible in these circumstances.
Relevant International Experience
Most of the larger cities that have managed to reconcile high incomes with manageable congestion
and environmental outcomes have done so through their ability to limit the use of the car for the
journey to work. This has usually been achieved through a combination of high costs of all-day
parking or congestion charging on entry to the city center by car with a dense, frequent and reliable
public transport alternative. Particularly in the larger cities, like London or Paris, the public transport
part of the solution has been achieved through a high level of service integration allowing multi-
modal journeys to be undertaken without significant penalties either in total journey time or total
journey cost. The first requires physical integration and the second requires commercial integration
between the modes (see Annex 10 for more international experience).
Efficient physical integration has often included the restructuring of services on a hub and spoke
philosophy. Within this structure trunk services are not necessarily all conventional metros. Suburban
rail system perform major trunk movement functions in larger cities (like London or Paris), while at-
grade light rail systems supported by strong priority treatment in traffic management or segregated
bus rapid transit system (BRT) systems play an important role in smaller cities (like Strasbourg) or
those that cannot afford substantial metro investment (like Bogota, Colombia). In some cases, like
Brisbane, Australia, trunk priority is combined mixed with local distribution functions through an
open access segregated busway system.
Commercial integration is equally important. Through ticketing systems, implemented through
electronic card systems – like the “Oyster card” in London – eliminate penalties on interchange of
modes or operators. In many cities – such as Curitiba, Brazil – a strong sense of integration has been
achieved by the establishment of a “brand image” for the system as a whole. And where conurbations
span more than one autonomous local political authority agreements on a metropolitan scale have
helped to create an integrated system (see Annex 8).
The main lessons of this international experience that can be adapted for application in St Petersburg
include the need for a structured system, with both physical and fare integration, the possibility of
integrating several physical modes under a joint marketing brand, the overwhelming advantage of
public transport in using space on congested axes entering the central area, and the possibility of
developing surface rail services better by action at the metropolitan level.
The strategy
A comprehensive public transport investment program will be developed within which the roles of the
metro and each of the surface public transport modes clearly defined. This will include development
of a detailed route structure for each of the surface public transport modes. Wherever possible longer
distance commuting journeys will be provided with an express service on segregated or largely
segregated routes, for which a premium price may be charged.
Metro. The metro system will continue to form the backbone of a structured network and will be
further extended further where demand justifies. But it is clear that resource constraints will limit the
pace of that extension. As a result, the planned developments will be carefully appraised, including
52 | P a g e
further examination of the possibility of increasing the capacity of the blue and red lines by
investments in signaling systems to facilitate reduced headways.
Suburban Rail. For suburban services the city government will strive to extend the range and
frequency of services provided on existing lines and aim to integrate the suburban railways in a city
wide ticketing and fare setting arrangement. This will include reconsideration, along with the railway
company and the Leningrad oblast, of a basis for support of suburban rail services comparable with
that for other public transport services within the city.
An aggressive program of road public transport priority routes will be initiated.
(a) Developing solutions to address the “bottleneck” problems along comprehensive routes rather
than on the traditional opportunistic approach of creating unlinked segments where they are
easy to achieve. For example, considering the potential of a bus queue jumping option at the
proposed Orlovsky tunnel will be part of the traffic management design brief for the project.
The combination of complete segregation in central reservations with roadside busways in
central areas will also be explored.
(b) A much more extensive program of comprehensive bus lanes will be introduced, with
rigorous enforcement of the elimination of on-road parking on the selected routes
(c) Completely segregated corridor systems will be indentified and planned. These could be light
rail routes procured as PPPs under specific concession contracts, or bus routes planned and
managed either privately or publicly. A Study will be undertaken immediately to consider
alternatives for the first LRT line.
Institutional coordination. Effective implementation of high performance segregated surface routes is
not just a matter for the operating agency, whether that be bus or LRT. The Traffic Management
Authority must be involved in the design of signal priorities on at-grade intersections. The Parking
and Garages Authority must be involved in the planning and provision of supporting park and ride
facilities. The city government also intends to ensure early police involvement at the stage of study
design to facilitate effective enforcement of priorities. To secure this co-ordination each segregation
exercise will be supported by a small multi-institutional working group.
Surface rail service development will be incorporated into the integrated system plan, and facilitated
by the development of stronger collaboration with both the railway company and the Leningrad oblast
at the metropolitan level.
A set of demonstration projects will be planned and implemented at an early stage in order to gain
support for a general strategy of comprehensive segregated routes. These projects will include the
development of associated park and ride facilities. The presently proposed light rail transit PPP on
Bukharestskaya Ulitsa is a good case to begin with, and the first stage could be implemented in
advance of the completion of a route to the airport. An alternative route from the airport using the
already segregated section of Moskowsky Prospect and an extension on Ligovsky Prospect to the
Moscow railway station may be an attractive alternative. Other examples of potential demonstration
projects are shown in the diagram below. Note that these include developments which could be
primarily the linking of segregated bus lanes (as in the route along Nevsky prospect going out on to
Vassilievsky Island) or could be segregated high speed busways (the route from Slavy Prospect
through to Leninsky Prospect).
53 | P a g e
Figure 2-5: Public Transport Priority Demonstration Projects
The five-year action program
Institutions The strategy puts a heavy emphasis on the integration of the public transport modes to
create a coherent easily understood network. To achieve this, the city will restructure the transport
organizing authority – Organizator Perevosak – to create a Passenger Transport Authority under the
Transport Committee with its responsibilities extended to the co -ordination and provision of
information on all public transport services in the city. The city will also explore alternative ways of
54 | P a g e
developing an integrated network of high speed trunk services in the city with a common brand name
for the total network of services, including the participation of the private sector in a joint company.
Studies. While the general structure of the strategy is clear, the following studies will still be
necessary to
(a) Design a comprehensive route network for all modes, including allocation of functions
between modes and identification of trunk and feeder roles
(b) Identify and prepare preliminary designs of appropriate sets of demonstration projects for
high speed segregated track services
(c) Analyze the roles of trams and trolleybuses within the multi-modal system, with strategies for
transition from current to future modal balance of role
(d) Conduct separate technical studies to design the segregated corridor demonstration projects,
to cover not only the technology of the infrastructure vehicle operating system as well as the
necessary supporting park and ride facilities and traffic management measures
Investment. In this element in the first five years of the strategy will be heavily concentrated on the
development of high speed surface public transport links.
(a) The Metro Blue line will be completed, but no new lines started unless Federal or private
finance can be obtained.
(b) The LRT demonstration projects. Though this is intended to be a PPP project, with substantial
private funding, the extent of this will depend on the detailed design of the project.
The five year action program thus has the following components.
Intervention Ref.
#
Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
B2.1 Strengthening strategic
planning function for
comprehensive route
planning, intermodal
connection, service quality
control
Transit Policy
Committee
(Strategic
Planning Unit)
City
leadership
and staff
Immediately
Studies/
Technical
B2.2 Study to identify and design
the high priority segregated
public transport corridor
demonstration projects (bus,
light rail transit, and suburb-
an rail) (see A3.5, B1.6)
Transport
Committee
City
leadership
and staff
Mid 2011 End of 2011
B2.3 Study of institutional
alternatives for development
of integrated high speed
trunk network.
Strategic
Planning Unit
Staff Mid 2011 Mid 2012
Investments B2.4 Complete the Metro Purple
line
Metro
Authority
Contractor In 2013 End of 2015
B2.5 Light Rail Transit (LRT) and
possible BRT and suburban
rail demonstration projects
Metro
Authority
Staff,
operators
Immediately
after B2.2
Aiming to start
implementation
in 2014
B2.6 Expand bus lane system
serving the central area
including Nevsky Prospect
Extension
TMA, Public
Transport
Authority
Staff,
operators
Immediately
after B2.2
Aiming to start
implementation
in 2014
55 | P a g e
B2.7 Public transport priority
measures at bottleneck points
especially the Orlovsky
tunnel and bridges
TMA,
Infrastructure
Committee
Staff After A1.9 End 2015
B2.8 Extension of demonstration
projects toward integrated
segregated surface public
transport network
Metro
Authority,
Public
Transport
Authority
Contractor
or
concessio-
naire
After 2.5,
2.6
B3. Providing for Pedestrians and Cyclists
Virtually every person-trip in the city, whether it involves use of a motor vehicle or not, involves
some pedestrian activity which needs to be safely accommodated. Accommodating safe and
convenient non-motorized travel is also important for health and environmental reasons. Not only are
walking and bicycling healthy activities to be encouraged for their own sake, they are also recognized
as having virtually no adverse environmental impact unlike motorized travel.
The current arrangements
Through past and current efforts St. Petersburg has a reasonably good pedestrian environment.
Sidewalks are provided as part of all residential and commercial developments as well as along all
arterial and secondary streets where there is pedestrian activity. Priority within the program has
focused on the historical city core and high intensity pedestrian districts – for example through
Government resolution 30 November 2004, no. 1877 on the concept of development of pedestrian
areas in the historic core of St. Petersburg. But detailed plans are also in place for improving
pedestrian conditions in other high pedestrian use areas including outlying commercial districts.
Recreational bike paths are provided in parks. Provisions for segregated bike paths are also
considered as part of road construction and reconstruction projects, although there is no fixed standard
set for this.
The Issues
While the pedestrian is accommodated reasonably well in comparison with many other major cities,
this is no reason for complacency, particularly with regard to pedestrian safety. Pedestrians account
for approximately 70% of all deaths and a high percentage of all injuries associated with motor
vehicle related accidents in the city. There are a number of locations where adequate provision of safe
pedestrian crossings is not provided, especially where high speed and/or high volume traffic precludes
safe pedestrian crossings. Parked cars encumber sidewalks in areas of high parking demand.
While provision for recreational cycling is made in many parks in the city, the climatic conditions and
lack of safe bicycle commuter routes effectively precludes this form of transportation from being a
viable alternative in most parts of the city.
Relevant International Experience
The role of cycling within urban transport systems is highly dependent on national culture. The share
of total trips varies from 0.1% in Madrid to 25-30% 0f trips in most Dutch cities and over 30% in
Copenhagen. In countries such as the Netherlands and Japan the bicycle is frequently a complement to
56 | P a g e
rail transport for longer journeys, with cycle parking provided at railways stations. In this way the
bicycle contributes to a reduction of private car use even if it is not the main mode of travel. A high
share of trips is usually associated with the existence of a good network of cycle route or separated
cycle lanes. For example, in Copenhagen and the Hague the length of cycle network is over 40% of
the length of the total road network, in comparison with an average of less than 10% in the middle
size cities and 2% to 4% in large cities like London, Rome and Madrid. Higher income cities tend to
invest more in cycle routes, though not always with any great effect on modal split. Extremes of
weather are clearly a discouragement to cycle use.
The comfort and safety of the pedestrian has been given increasing attention in Europe in recent years.
Motor vehicles parked on sidewalks are a major source of discomfort and danger, especially if they
push the pedestrian out into a moving traffic flow. While in many countries this is illegal unless there
is a sign to the contrary, enforcement varies enormously from country to country. Pedestrian
precincts, in which no cars are allowed at all, exist in many cities. Sometimes, as in Manchester and
Strasbourg, LRT vehicles are allowed access, which tends to encourage the use of public transport.
Less commonly, cars are allowed to travel at low speed in “traffic calmed” areas. More generally the
use of speed humps or chicanes in roads in residential areas keeps traffic speeds down. The lesson for
St Petersburg appears to be that, in the context of securing legal powers to control and charge for on-
street parking powers to control and enforce restrictions on sidewalk parking are essential
The strategy
Encouraging safe and pleasant non-motorized travel is an important element of the overall transport
strategy. A number of measures are to be implemented to encourage the use these modes of travel as
described below.
Safe Pedestrian Crossings. The program of implementing safe pedestrian crossings will be continued
with the prime focus on improving conditions in high accident or dangerous areas. The investments
will range from providing grade separated crossings in areas where at grade crossings are not
considered to be safe, and less costly crossings where traffic signal protection and/or pedestrian
islands may be required. Safe pedestrian crossings also will be required as part of a program to
implement segregated public transport corridors (see Strategy Element C4).
Pedestrian Priority Zones. The city will continue the adopted program of pedestrian improvements in
the historic city core12
and other high density city districts where pedestrian activity should be a
significant or the dominant form of travel. These treatments include pedestrian only malls, improved
pedestrian crossing treatments, and streets with wider sidewalks.
Removing parking from sidewalks. As part of a city wide parking improvement program, including
improved parking enforcement (see Strategy Element A4), the removal of parking from sidewalks
will be part of the non-motorized transport improvement strategy. Where enforcement activities are
not sufficient to effectively remove parking from sidewalks, physical restraints of parking on
sidewalks with high potential pedestrian activity will be provided.
12 (Government resolution 30 November 2004, no. 1877 on the concept of development of pedestrian areas in the historic core of St.
Petersburg)
57 | P a g e
Implementing Bicycle Commuter Routes. While bicycling is encumbered in the city by inclement
weather and bicycling has not been a significant form of transportation, other European cities,
including Scandinavian cities with similar weather conditions, have provided bicycle facilities with
good results. The city will therefore implement, at a minimum, a pilot commuter bicycle program
featuring either physically segregated or marked bicycle lanes. Based on the results of this program
further expansion of commuter bicycle routes will be considered. The current program of
incorporating bicycle facilities as part of new road construction and capital reconstruction with a view
to providing continuous bike routes will be retained as part of this element of the strategy.
The five year action program
This element will not need large resources. What is most important for the city is that the needs of
pedestrians and cyclists are continuously borne in mind in the design of new infrastructure and traffic
management schemes.
Intervention Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Studies/
Technical
B3.1 Explicitly require
investigation of pedestrian and
cyclist interests in the design
of new roads or the upgrading
of existing streets
TMA Staff Immediately Continuous
B3.2 Develop prioritized pedestrian
safety program and improve-
ment designs and measures
TMA Staff,
external
consultant
Mid 2011 Mid 2012;
annual update
of program
B3.3 Undertake commuter bicycle
route study
TMA Staff,
external
consultant
Mid 2012 Mid 2013
Investments (C2.5) Implement pedestrian road
safety improvement program
Infrastructure
Committee
Contractor 2012 2015
B3.4 Improve pedestrian crossings
and walking environment
Infrastructure
Committee,
City
Architect
Staff,
contractor
After B3.2
58 | P a g e
C. Quality of Life – Safe and Healthy Movement
C1. Reducing Air and Noise Pollution
The results of the first independent environmental ratings of Russian cities, conducted by NERA and
the International Social Environmental Union in 2008, revealed St. Petersburg to be in 85th place
among 89 cities studied in the country. The city Committee for Nature Use, Environmental Protection
and Ecological Safety (CNUEPES) estimated in 2007 that 80% 0f air pollution in the city came from
vehicles. Mitigating the air pollution effects of transport is thus clearly important to quality of life in
the city.
The present situation
The quality of air in the city is presently monitored at 21 automatic monitoring stations and by two
mobile stations. Ten different air pollutants are measured, of which NOx, SO2, CO and PM10 are
recognized as associated with vehicle emissions. The air quality at other locations is estimated by the
use of dispersion models, which have shown a high correlation between spot measurements done by
the mobile stations with the modeled levels of air quality. Using these models CNUEPES maps the
distribution of the various air pollutants in space and to identify locations where the level of pollution
exceeds prescribed national standards. These maps are used to estimate the number of households
with air quality standards in excess of the norms.
Total emissions in 2004 were estimated at 270,400 tonnes, of which 213,400 tones, or 80 percent,
were estimated to come from road transport. Emissions of specific pollutants from road transport
were: carbon monoxide — 169,000 tonnes, nitrogen dioxide — 26,600 tonnes, and volatile organic
compounds — 17,200 tonnes. The concentration of nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide and sulfur
dioxide in the ambient air of St. Petersburg grew continually between 2001 and 2004 while those of
carbon monoxide did not change significantly. However it appears that the longer term trend is not so
unfavorable as the effect of the increase in vehicle population and use is being offset by an increase in
the proportion of vehicles with modern emission suppression technology. Moreover, the city’s
pollution is moderated by its maritime climate with moderately cold winters and cool summers,
frequent winds and a lack of stagnant areas, abundant precipitation, adjacent forestlands and urban
vegetation — factors that would facilitate the dilution and removal of air pollutants.
The issues
In its report of 2008, the city committee responsible for environmental policy concluded that the
existing transport policies of the city were an appropriate response to the impact of the sector on local
air pollution. Despite this generally favorable view the very critical NERA assessment of pollution in
the city is a cause for serious concern.
First, there is a question of the adequacy of the current monitoring arrangements. Despite the
monitoring program described above, exposure on street in the busiest and most congested areas can
still be severe.
Second, the mapping of overall excesses of standards shows a concentration in the old port area,
suggesting that the heavy concentration of freight traffic associated with the port area may be a
significant contributor. The relatively high levels of sulfur in diesel in the city may contribute to this.
59 | P a g e
Third, the program of enforcement of emission levels of specific vehicles appears to be relatively
lenient both in terms of inspection efficiency and in terms of legal penalties.
Fourth, though the quality of motor fuel used in St Petersburg is better than that elsewhere in Russia,
it still falls short of best European practice. Sulfur content of diesel is particularly high.
Fifth, type approval emission standards for new vehicles still lag those in Western Europe, while the
proportion of older vehicles on the road suggests that for actual vehicle fleet is even larger.
Relevant International Experience
Most very large cities with congested traffic conditions perceive their transport sectors as being
significant contributors to air pollution. While the problem is diminishing in the higher income cities,
few of which exceed WHO norms for most pollutants, it continues in many lower income cities where
vehicles are old and poorly maintained and fuel quality is low. Three factors are necessary to reduce
air pollution from motor vehicles – clean fuels, good vehicle standards, and good inspection of on-the-
road performance of vehicles.
On fuel quality, lead in gasoline is still the most damaging factor for health, followed by suspended
particulate matter, associated predominantly with diesel fuelled freight vehicles and buses using high
sulfur diesel. The level of sulfur in diesel is important both because a high level increases SPM
emissions and because high sulfur levels are not compatible with some state of the art emission
suppression devices. In practice lead has been eliminated from gasoline in most countries. But high
levels of sulfur in diesel continue. Whereas 10 parts per million is the Euro 5 standard, applicable
from mid 2009, Russian diesel is still produced at 2000 ppm and even for St Petersburg the lower
local limit is still 500 ppm. Euro 4 fuel with 50 ppm sulfur or less is available at some fueling stations
serving long distance trucks traveling to the EU.
On type approval vehicle emission rates the EU requires all new heavy and light duty diesel vehicles
to meet Euro 5 standard, while Russia currently only requires Euro 3 standards, which are roughly
twice as polluting. While these standards are progressing rapidly for new vehicles there remain a
majority of vehicles only meeting the lower standards.
Much emphasis has also been placed on efficient vehicle inspection procedures. In this respect
corruption is a worldwide problem. Experience in Mexico City, widely regarded as best practice,
shows that to be effective a vehicle inspection and maintenance program needs several ingredients:
Separation of vehicle testing from vehicle repair
A legal and regulatory framework that allows independent monitoring of the testing stations
and sanctions for failure to carry out the testing protocols correctly.
Testing protocols designed to minimize the chances of testers giving false passes.
An easily monitored certificate for passing the test, sufficient monitors (such as traffic police)
to ensure a high probability of catching vehicles without such a certificate, and a fine for
lacking a certificate that is high enough to act as an incentive to pass the test.
Testing technology capable of preventing temporary tuning that enables a vehicle to pass the
test but that cannot be sustained for regular driving.
▪Equally rigorous implementation of protocols and inspection of procedures at all testing
centers..
The optimal number of centers relative to the volume of traffic to be tested.
60 | P a g e
What the international experience suggests is that state of the art levels are still far from being
achieved in St Petersburg.
The strategy
The city is already deploying a wide range of measures to ameliorate the impacts of transport on the
environment. In many cases these have been adopted primarily for transport efficiency reasons, but
also fortunately have beneficial environmental consequences.
International technical standards. Technologies for suppressing vehicle pollutant emissions have
improved greatly over the last decade so that aggregate vehicle emissions have remained roughly
constant despite very rapid increases in traffic volume. The city government will progressively
introduce and enforce internationally recognized environmental standards. Private motor vehicles,
which dominate the city traffic already have type requirements of at least Euro 4 standard. It will also
explore the impediments to the introduction of international state of the art standards for fuel.
Emission inspection and enforcement All vehicles over three years old are tested every six months.
Larger buses are recommended to be at least to Euro 2 standard and recent route service tenders
specified Euro 3. The city will progressively tighten its regulation of public transport vehicle quality
as its new service procurement arrangements develop.
Land use measures are an important component of the overall strategy. The expansion of the port will
take place largely in new locations – at Kronstadt and Branko – which are away from the more
sensitive areas of the city. Warehouses are being progressively relocated out of the inner city.
Development of logistic centers
are being planned to locate out of
the center, usually close to the
ring road. Industrial activity is
also increasingly located in outer
areas which are less sensitive to
the environmental impacts.
Infrastructure investment
strategies supplement the land use
measures. The ring road
developments and the first stage
of the western expressway keep
most heavy freight traffic away
from sensitive locations. That
policy will be continued. More
generally the investments in
removing bottlenecks in the road
system (Strategy Element A1) will
both reduce travel distances and,
more importantly, increase
average traffic speeds, both of
which will reduce the aggregate
amount of vehicle emissions.
61 | P a g e
Traffic management is increasingly important. As with the road investment strategies these are
designed to increase average travel speeds and particularly to eliminate the major traffic jams which
are so damaging to fuel consumption and vehicle emissions. Freight traffic which is unavoidably
associated with industrial and trade activities remaining in the city will be kept away from the most
sensitive locations by carefully designed and well enforced truck route restrictions. The policy of
giving priority to public transport will also change the balance between public and private transport to
the benefit of the local environment.
The five year action program
Organizational and Administrative changes. While environmental policy will remain the primary
responsibility of the city Committee for Nature Use, Environmental Protection and Ecological Safety,
a small special team will be created within the Strategic Policy Unit of the Transit Committee to co-
ordinate actions in the transport sector and to ensure that environmental issues are fully addressed in
the transport strategy. This team will undertake any necessary studies and will stimulate and monitor
environmental initiatives in the sector. Among the initiatives currently foreseen are the tightening of
vehicle emission standards, the refinement of environmental considerations in public transport service
procurement, and the strengthening of control over freight vehicle routing in the city center
Studies. The effectiveness of the present arrangements for monitoring and analyzing the effects of
transport on air quality in the city will be reviewed, as will be the possibility of introducing tighter
limits on the sulfur content of transport fuels used in the city.
Investments No major direct investment is envisaged, but it is expected that tighter vehicle and fuels
standards will have some impact on the cost of transport in the city and on the tender cost for
franchised bus services.
Intervention Ref.
#
Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
C1.1 Creation of special team to
co-ordinate environmental
action in the Transport
Strategy
Strategic Planning
Unit
Staff Mid 2011
C1.2 Tighten vehicle emission
standards to Western
European standards
Strategic Planning
Unit, Environmental
Committee
City
leadership
and staff
Immediately
C1.3. Implement freight vehicle
routing control in the city
center
Transit Policy
Committee, Traffic
Management Auth.
City
leadership
and staff
Early 2012,
following
C1.5
C1.4 Introduce environmental
issues in bus franchising
process
Public Transport
Authority, Transport
Committee
Staff From 2012
Studies/
Technical
C1.5. Improve data collection and
analysis for traffic emission
and noise
Strategic Planning
Unit, Environmental
Committee
Staff,
external
consultant
Mid 2011 Data
collection
continually
C1.6 Examine possibilities of
reducing sulfur content of
fuel to 50 ppm or less
Environment
Committee
Staff Mid 2011
62 | P a g e
C2. Making the Roads Safer
The facility to move about the city safely, whether in a public transport vehicle, private car, or when
cycling or walking is an important aspect of the quality of life. The objective of achieving a quality of
life equivalent to that of western European cities, as adopted in the city’s Economic and Social
Strategy implies that St. Petersburg should enjoy standards of transport safety equivalent to those of
the other great European cities. Given the current high accident rate there is a lot to do to achieve
Western European standards.
The current arrangements
Latest figures on road fatalities published by OECD show that the first ten years of the 21st century
participating countries experienced a steeper decline in road accident rates than in any previous
decade.13
Only motorcycle accidents marred this picture with rates growing in half of the countries
studies. Within the European Union a clear distinction can be seen between groups of countries.
Those of the North West show the lowest rates, those of the South West the next, but nearly twice as
high, while those of the transition and applicant countries (not including Russia) were the highest,
nearly twice as high again.
In some respects St Petersburg mirrors international experience. Urban fatality rates are typically less
than national average rates and the proportion of pedestrian casualties is much higher in urban areas
than the national average. Trends are also similar. After a period of rising accident rates per capita
associated with a rapid increase in vehicle population in the early stages of motorization, rated have
begun to decline with respect to population, vehicle stock and vehicle kilometers traveled. The rate of
decline of road accidents in St Petersburg has actually been greater than that of most cities in Europe
– albeit partly because of the high starting level.
Figure 2-6: Trends of Road Fatality Rates of European Cities14
13
International Transport Forum press release, OECD. Paris. September 2010 14
Source: Road Police website. The City Planning and Architecture Committee provided a separate road
fatality data from a different source, which indicates a lower fatality rate than depicted in this chart. A true
fatality rate needs to be confirmed.
Paris Vienna
Madrid London
Budapest
Rome
Warsaw
St P'burg , 15.35
8.63
0.00
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
14.00
16.00
2001 2007 2010
Fatality per 100,000 residents
63 | P a g e
The difference between St Petersburg and other cities lies in the absolute levels. The 397 deaths
recorded in 2010, is about 85 per million population which is about three times the level of fatalities
in Paris, London or Brussels. About 70% of fatalities are pedestrians, with an unacceptably high
proportion of children involved in death and serious injury accidents; here again the numbers are high
by best international standards.
The police play the leading role in road traffic safety policy implementation through their
responsibility for law and behavior enforcement, and will continue to do so. They have also
historically exercised considerable influence of the design of traffic management schemes, but as a
matter of policy this is becoming more limited to audit of schemes on safety grounds.
Historically all traffic accidents had to be reported to, and investigated by the police, in accordance
with the laws on medial and car insurance. With an average of about 700 total accidents per day, of
which 50 involve death or serious injury, this is a heavy burden on police capacity. This accident
registration function is not performed by all police patrols, but is reserved for specialized patrols,
organized on a district basis. This often results in long delays in reaching and clearing up accident
sites, with adverse effects both on accident generated road congestion and on the treatment of the
injured. This latter effect is very damaging as it is common international experience that the fatality
rate is very sensitive to the speed with which specialist medical attention can be given.
The police maintain accident statistics arising from their investigation function. These are transmitted
monthly to the Traffic Management Authority, and summary statistics published on a quarterly basis.
Fuller analyses are undertaken of the main causes of accidents, including the identification of “black
spots” requiring road or traffic engineering treatment. These are not published, but are available to
other institutions or individuals on a “need to know” basis.
The Issues
The city government considers the level of injury and loss of life, as well as the focused impact on
vulnerable non-driver groups, particularly pedestrians and young people, as unacceptable. The factors
can be classified as concerned with the road infrastructure, vehicle type and condition, driver,
pedestrian and police behavior or institutions. The occurrence or seriousness of impact of specific
accidents may involve a combination of these factors.
Road infrastructure factors include defects in road design, (such as poor lines of sight, road widths
and radii of curvature not appropriate for the traffic composition, inappropriate road markings and
signage) or bad road conditions (associated with poor maintenance, which cause dangerous
maneuvering to avoid ruts and potholes, and failure to remove obstructions such as unused tram
lines). The absence of “no waiting” boxes at intersections frequently results in stationary vehicles
impeding the flows which have been given priority by traffic signals and causing collisions.
Infrequency of crossing points on major roads in built-up areas results in dangerous crossing behavior
by pedestrians.
Vehicle type and condition was considered a significant contributor to accidents in the nineties, but
appears to be less significant now as the average age of the vehicle fleet diminishes. The major
remaining problems in this respect are the mixing of heavy freight traffic with lighter vehicles and the
particular vulnerability of cycles and motorcycles.
Behavior is a perennial problem. In the early days of growth of car ownership driver inexperience or
inadequate training was considered a problem. But even with increasing experience of the driver
64 | P a g e
population some serious behavioral problems remain. Excessive speeding and driving under the
influence of drugs or alcohol have ranked high on the police list of causes of accidents since the
nineties, while failure to observe priorities or rules at intersections appears to have increased in recent
years (perhaps as drivers feel the need to hurry between the points of congestion in the network).
Institutional factors are numerous. At the very highest level there is no strong focus on the
mobilization and co-ordination of the wide range of services necessary to ensure a high visibility and
public appreciation of the seriousness of the road safety problem. Analysis and publication of traffic
accident data has been at a relatively low level. The split between enforcement of traffic safety which
has been the responsibility of the police and infrastructure design and management, which has itself
been split between the Infrastructure Committee and the Transport Committee, has resulted in less
institutional attention to safety than is now considered desirable. At the operational level, traffic
management design skills have not been well directed to safety issues. Even the specialist district
organization of the police accident investigation arrangements has contributed to delays in clearing
accident sites.
Relevant International Experience (see also Annex 12)
Countries which good road safety records (UK. Sweden) or have improved their safety records in
recent years (Australia, South Africa, Japan), have all done so on a strong institutional base. They
have mostly established high level working group or council, generating comprehensive safety
programs. Road safety has been given a very high profile including the full publication of accident
statistics. The basis for such a comprehensive approach is a good data base on accidents and their
causes, which facilitates high risk site management. Proper resourcing is crucial, with the
establishment of a special Road Safety fund – as in the Belgian Road Safety Fund.
On this institutional basis, the approach has been multi-functional. Systematic road safety education
of young people has been found effective in the Scandinavian countries, while an approach more
focused on adult education has been adopted in France. Compulsory first aid education has been
included in driver training in Germany and several other countries. Recognizing that the first few
minutes after a crash are critical for fatalities, the medical sector has also played an important role in a
road safety strategy, with an automatic emergency crash call system in Finland, and a mobile
Intensive Care Unit in Copenhagen. In Germany and Switzerland it is obligatory for traffic to create
an access lane for emergency vehicles.15
At a technical level, the recent EU handbook on best practice in road safety16
advocates good design
of road infrastructure and traffic management. For example, the Dutch Sustainable Safety Vision
emphasizes the importance of a clear functional categorization of roads, with the design and traffic
management of each related to its function and consistent along stretches of road, including enforced
low speed zones in residential areas. Roundabouts are also recommended to reduce speeds and crash
impacts, as well as to increase capacity at 4-way intersections. Good signing and marking is
recommended, with variable message signs and rumble strips to warn of danger being particularly
effective. An efficiency analysis of alternative measures – such as the Finnish TARVA program is
also desirable.17
Safety audits of road designs, undertaken by an engineer independent of the designer,
15
http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/pages/resshp/anwendg/1124101.html
http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/741_11/a16.html 16
European Commission. Best Practices in Road Safety: Handbook for Measures at the Country level Final report of the
project SUPREME. Brussels, June, 2007 17
http://www.tarva.net/tarvaintro.asp
65 | P a g e
have been found effective in improving safety in the UK and elsewhere while adding only 1% to total
project costs.
Specific causes of accidents have been given focused policy response. For poor weather conditions,
day time running lights have proved effective in Scandinavia,18
as have obligatory use of winter tires
and lower winter speed limits. Alcohol abuse has been addressed by drink driving campaigns in
Belgian model and other countries19
, by random breath testing in the Netherlands, Scandinavia and
Estonia, 20
and by an alcohol ignition interlock that prevents a vehicle from being started if the driver
has drunk too much in Sweden, Australia and Canada. For speeding, automatic speed enforcement by
speed cameras, as practiced in the UK and France, is by far the most effective measure, while in urban
areas red light cameras to monitor compliance with traffic signals have been very effective in the US.
Efficiency of automatic enforcement is higher if the vehicle owner and not the vehicle driver is held
liable, since it is easier and faster to identify the owner than the driver. Efficiency is further enhanced
if the handling of fines for detected violations is largely automated.
The strategy
The city government intends to examine the wide range of international experience very carefully and
to implement those parts of it which appear to be relevant and economic in the St Petersburg situation.
The first aspect of the city strategy for road safety will certainly be to heighten the profile of road
accidents as a serious social and economic problem. This will be achieved through the establishment
of a special purpose working group to develop a comprehensive, multi-faceted, road safety initiative,
and to oversee its implementation and support. A first task of the working group will be to review
current law and procedures with respect to speeding, alcohol use, seat belt enforcement and general
traffic behavioral offences, and to make recommendations on changes necessary to permit the rapid
introduction of best practice procedures.
Associated with this institutional initiative will be an increased emphasis on co-ordination between
sector services. Both the working group and the priority program composition will involve not just the
police but also expanded inputs from the traffic management and road investment functions, as well
as from the health and education sectors. Safety and first aid training, both in schools and as part of
driver training and testing will be a particular focus. Consideration will be given to the establishment
of a Mobile Intensive Care Unit and to the reorganization of the policing and emergency response
services to reduce response time.
The focus of the police on road safety will be further strengthened in a number of ways. A further
raise in the threshold level of damage cost of accidents requiring automatic police involvement should
reduce the number of minor accidents and using their resources. The organization of the accident
investigation service responsibilities within the police organization will be studied in order to
accelerate the arrival of the police at injury accident sites. Speeding infractions and other aspects of
dangerous road behavior will be more closely monitored and legal requirements enforced. Camera
enforcement will be introduced.
This strengthened safety focus will be supported by changes in the organization of the city traffic
management function. The traffic management unit – recently moved to the transit and transport
18
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/roadsafety/vehicles/daytime_running_lights_en.htm 19
http://www.bob.be/index.htm 20
http://www.immortal.or.at/
66 | P a g e
strategy committee alongside the Strategic Planning Unit - will be given an extended responsibility
for the analysis of accident data and the design, as well as implementation, of traffic management and
traffic engineering schemes with a greater emphasis on road safety.
Particular emphasis will be given to the protection of the most vulnerable groups – particularly
pedestrians and children. Analysis of black spots will be used to identify the needs for safe road
crossing places, which will be the subject of a priority investment program. Cyclists are also very
vulnerable so attempts will be made to provide a more comprehensive set of segregated cycle routes.
The Five-Year Action Program
Organizational and Administrative Changes
The main institutional initiative will the establishment and operation of a multi-institutional road
transport safety working group under the general auspices of the Strategic Planning Unit. The working
group will report directly to the Vice Mayor, and will have the power to give general directives to the
implementing agencies on safety related issues.
Studies
A range of relevant studies will be undertaken, including
(a) A review of accident emergency arrangements, including both the existing police arrangements
and possible new initiatives in medical sector emergency provisions and accident investigation
equipment.
(b) Preparation of a plan and program for improvement pedestrian safety at street crossings.
(c) A review of possibilities for introducing a comprehensive network of safe inner city cycle
routes
Investments and Financial Implications
Some immediate investment expenditure will be required in respect of improved the crash program of
street crossings as well as possibly on new medical equipment for a Mobile Intensive Care Unit. In
the longer term it is expected that the safety initiatives will save money both for the city health
services and for private motorists and insurance companies through the reduction of accident rates and
costs. In the short term, however, it will require a modest increase in the expenditure on the traffic
management Authority as well for the development of improved accident response arrangements.
Intervention Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
C2.1 Establish a strategic Road Safety
Working Party in the Strategic
Policy Unit (see A3.2)
SPU SPU, TMA
and Police
Mid 2011
C2.2 Develop accident analysis
capability within the TMA
TMA TMA 2011
C2.3 Raise threshold for police
involvement in accident
investigation
2012
Studies/
Technical
(B3.2) Develop prioritized pedestrian
safety program and
improvement designs and
measures
TMA Staff,
external
consultant
Mid 2011 Mid 2012;
annual update of
prioritized
program
67 | P a g e
C3. Protecting the Environment from Freight Traffic
The negative aspects of urban road freight movement are visible in most major cities, but are rarely
recognized institutionally within the urban planning process. The city environment in St Petersburg
suffers both from the road freight traffic generated by its industrial base and from the traffic transiting
through its port. There is also a substantial amount of rail freight traffic of a transit nature. While air
freight is currently limited, it may be expected to grow fairly rapidly. A strategy is necessary in order
as far as possible to avoid freight traffic from either the transit or industrial activities having adverse
effects on the local transport system or the local environment.
The present situation
The port of St Petersburg handles 250 million tons of freight annually, of which 120 million tons is
processed in the city and 120 million tones is transit traffic. This constitutes 20% of the foreign trade
of the Russian Federation It is the largest dry goods port in the country, comprised of a number of
facilities, with a total of 115 berths and having a total quay length of 18.7 kilometers, The largest
facility is at the old port which handles a wide range of dry cargoes, as well as part of the container
traffic of the port. Kronstadt Island handles 15% of the freight movement, mostly containers. A small
amount of freight traffic is handled through the passenger terminal on Vassilievsky Island and in a
private facility Lomonosov. Passenger traffic, including the developing cruise market, is primarily
handled through the recently developed passenger terminal, which has a draught of 9 meters and can
handle vessels up to 300 meters in length. The St Petersburg – Helsinki ferry operates through the old
terminal on Vassilievsky Island, as do some of the smaller “boutique” cruise liners. Total container
traffic is presently 1.85 million TEUs per annum, expected to grow to 2.5 million by 2013. 60% of
this traffic goes no further than Moscow – a distance of 650 kilometers for which it is presently
cheaper to haul by road rather than rail
The water side port facilities come under the jurisdiction of the Federal Marine Authority. Land side,
the city provides the land and in some cases the quays, while the private sector usually provides the
superstructure (for example, carnage). A co-ordination council of the interested parties can determine
which traffic shall be handled at each specific facility. Recently signed agreements provide for the
phasing out of some small unsuitably located quays, and the Finnish ferry company has been refused
permission to provide roll on/ roll off truck service through the Vassilievsky island ferry terminal. The
city has co-financed the new passenger terminal with the private sector.
There will be no significant problem of access to any of the main facilities after the opening of the
southern section of the Western High Speed Diameter road. However, traffic going north from the
(B3.3) Undertake commuter bicycle
route study (see also Element
B3)
TMA Staff,
external
consultant
2013 2013
C2.4 Review organization of on-
street traffic accident recording
and clear-up procedures
Police Police 2012 2012
Investments C2.5 Implement pedestrian road
safety improvement program
Infrastructure
Committee
Contractor 2012 2015
C2.6 Procurement of accident
investigation equipment and red
light and speed cameras
Police, TMA 2012
68 | P a g e
port will still have to go through the city area until the completion of the missing central section of the
High Speed Diameter route. Kronstadt is located on the ring road, and the new passenger terminal is
close to the central tourist attractions.
The issues
Port traffic through the old port has had two adverse impacts. First, some traffic has approached the
port through sensitive and congested parts of the city arterial road system. Secondly, traffic waiting in
the port area for entrance to the port has hindered traffic on the local roads in the area. Moreover, as
the port traffic is still growing the problem could become worse. There is already some evidence that
air quality is worse in the area of the city close to the port than elsewhere.
Both in the main port and at Kronstadt, there is a lack of standing space for the growing container
throughput, attenuated by the development of dry port facilities at Shushara and Yanina. Movement
between the docks and the inland ports are exclusively by road. While there is a rail link between the
old port and Shushara there is currently no agency willingly to operate a rail shuttle. The dominance
of road transport in the longer distance distribution of containers also puts pressure on city roads.
Freight transport associated with industry located in the city and with retail distribution has more
dispersed adverse impacts on the transport system of the city and on the city environment. Rear
access to commercial premises, off the main traffic thoroughfare, is rare, with the consequence that
delivery traffic often impedes traffic flow and contributes to congestion.
Relevant International Experience (see also Annex 12)
While all major cities suffer from the environmental impacts of truck movements, few have a
comprehensive policy on the issue. The creation of special freight transport units and the articulation
of specific plans for freight have been successful in both London and Paris. A critical feature in both
cities has been the involvement of the freight and distribution industry in a collaborative process.
For transit traffic many cities provide by-pass roads, sometimes supported by bans on movement
within the outer ring for traffic without a legitimate destination in the city or by prescribed lorry
routes within the city. Direct limited access connections from national motorway systems to ports
have a similar effect. Both of these are already largely in place in St Petersburg. What still requires
further attention is enforcement of use of the designed road facilities.
For terminating traffic the problem is more complex and a number of controls have been used These
include the following:
Controls on vehicles may be to limit vehicle size – where the problem is congestion caused by
very large vehicles – or to limit emissions – where the problem is air pollution. Low Emission
Zones, from which high polluting vehicles are excluded, exist in London, Rome, Madrid,
Paris, Copenhagen and several Swedish cities. Enforcement can be assisted by charging
systems. In Milan, the road pricing system for the central area is designed primarily to
discourage polluting vehicles by differentiation in the charges levied.
Controls on activity location have mostly been concerned with shifting the location of
manufacturing and warehousing activities to the periphery of the city, as has been very
successfully achieved in many Dutch cities. Changes in the structure of the retail distribution
sector have also seen a shift to hypermarkets on the periphery of cities, supported sometimes
69 | P a g e
by restructured bus routings. The strategies adopted by St Petersburg already reflect this
experience.
Controls on distribution systems are an extension from the control of activity locations, and
involve the establishment of peripheral depots at which goods are transshipped and
consolidated into acceptable vehicles for the inner city. Publicly organized plans were popular
in Germany in the 1980s but have declined since. Only those which have a single agency
controlling the whole supply chain – as in the case of Heathrow Airport in London – have
survived. That suggests a more collaborative, free market approach to the issue. In the UK
Freight Quality Partnerships (FQPs) are promoted to secure collaboration between firms to
develop a sustainable distribution strategy. Information technology has a role to play in the
development of such transshipment systems, with GPS, tracking systems, route planning
software, and electronic data interchange (EDI) contributing to a more efficient distribution
pattern
Controls on journey timing usually aim to separate truck movements from car traffic and aim
to reduce the disturbance caused to residents by heavy lorries at night and weekends by
requiring night delivery to retail premises at night-time or during the ‘shoulders’ of the day on
specified non-sensitive routes. For example, the London Lorry Control Scheme was set up in
1986 led to long diversions, resulting in increased emissions and increased cost to industry.
Controls on truck routing exist in many cities but must be supported not only by effective
enforcement but also by appropriate infrastructure. For example, the absence of rear or off-
street access for deliveries may necessitate that a high proportion of deliveries to urban high
streets and shopping centers are made by direct curb-side access to the frontage.
The increasing recognition of the need to reduce the environmental impacts of urban freight
movement has thus generated a wide range of experience, but no simple ready for all, solution.
The strategy
A number of policies have already been successfully adopted to limit the potential adverse impacts of
freight traffic.
For port transit traffic the main element of strategy has been the location of facilities. The outer ring
road already serves Kronstadt very well for northbound traffic and when KAD is completed will
equally well serve southbound traffic. Moreover the expansion of the container traffic of the port will
be handled through a new container terminal to be concessioned to a private sector terminal operator
at Branko, which is also located in close proximity to the KAD. For the old port direct connection to
the national network is being provided by the Western High Speed Diameter. Parking of freight
vehicles in proximity of the port is to be reduced through the development of a system of using
remote parking locations for arriving traffic with entry to the port allowed on a scheduled basis.
For transit rail freight traffic a through rail link will be developed by the national rail company to the
east of the city to separate that traffic from traffic to and from the city. A new freight terminal is
planned for Pulkovo airport which is also close to the KAD so that transit traffic will be kept clear
from the city streets. It is intended that the terminal shall be provided as a PPP.
For freight traffic associated with local industrial or commercial activities, location policies are also
important. Warehouse facilities will be progressively removed from the inner city area, and integrated
freight logistics complexes developed in close proximity of the KAD. On the basis of careful research
70 | P a g e
on the types and locations of freight traffic requirements a system of designated truck routes has been
developed and will be progressively refined and adapted to changes in need.
The five year action program
Because of its importance to the city, a new unit will be established within the city government to
develop, monitor and enforce policy for freight traffic within the city. The unit will undertake studies
to identify appropriate policies for freight and will develop a framework for consultation with local
business and commercial interests of policy for freight.
Many of the investments contributing to the implementation of this element of the strategy have either
been committed or are the responsibility of the government of the Russian Federation. Similarly some
of the administrative actions are the responsibility of quasi autonomous agencies (for example Port
and Airport authorities). The city government will continue to liaise with these authorities to try to
ensure that the actions taken are consistent with, and contribute to the achievement of, the city
Transport Strategy.
Intervention Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
C3.1 Create an Urban Freight
transport unit
SPU, Transit
Committee
Staff 2012
C3.2 Continuation of existing
arrangement under Transit
Policy Committee that addresses
intercity transport needs both for
freight and passenger
Transit
Committee
Staff Immediate
Studies/
Technical
C3.3 Designation of truck routes TMA Staff Ongoing Refinements
as needed
Investments Investment programs A1.4,
A1.5, A1.6, A4.9, A4.10 help
toward this strategy element
C3.4 Development of Pulkovo freight
terminal
Private sector
(PPP)
2013
C4. Protecting Cultural Heritage – a Policy for the Historic Center
The historic city center is the business, tourism, and cultural core of St. Petersburg. It is a unique
UNESCO world heritage site. Unfortunately, the center is suffering from serious traffic congestion
and associated environmental degradation which threatens to become worse with increased
motorization if measures are not taken to address the problem. Beyond adverse conditions within the
city center, the radial approach roads leading to the center are also congested. Hence improving
accessibility to and within this center and enhancing environmental conditions within it are of
paramount importance.
The current arrangements
While there have been individual projects concentrate on the city center (such as pedestrianizations
and bicycle path plans) there is no comprehensive strategy specifically focused on the conditions in
the historic center of the city. Many city center roads are very congested. On-street parking is free and
effectively subject to very little control. This both encourages drivers to use their cars to get to the
71 | P a g e
central area and restricts traffic flow when they are in that area. Illegal parking on sidewalks is a
source of inconvenience to pedestrians and a positive danger when they are forced to walk in the
roads themselves.
The issues
The unsatisfactory situation in the central area can be attributed to a combination of issues.
Considerable volumes of traffic which do not have business in the center use city center road
space due to the absence of attractive alternative freeway routes by-passing the center. This
presently includes long distance freight movements to and from the old port as well as cross-
center passenger trips.
Private car traffic to the center is encouraged by the provision of free on-street parking and
the lack of enforcement of any constraints on the freedom to park
Except for the metro, public transport suffers disproportionately from road congestion due to
the size and relative inflexibility in movement of the vehicles involved
In these circumstances public transport does not provide an attractive alternative to the
private car in terms of journey time or cost.
Pedestrian conditions need to be improved, particularly around the main metro stations……
Relevant International Experience
Much of the international experience relevant to improving conditions in the city center have been
discussed in previous sections, and will not be repeated here. The important thing for St Petersburg is
that they are brought together in a comprehensive and systematic way. The major components of
relevance include the following:
Parking policies designed as a management tool to control congestion rather than simply to
serve unrestricted car demand, as in most western European cities. (section A4)
Congestion charging, as in London, Singapore and Stockholm, (section A4)
Effective priority to public transport for entry into and movement within the central area,
including access for LRT within pedestrian areas as in Manchester and Strasbourg (section
B2)
Well developed pedestrianization schemes, as in Munich (section B3)
An effectively integrated public transport system, with through ticketing between modes and
operators, as in Paris (section B1)
The most important feature of the organization of metropolitan transport is the need to view and
manage the public transport network as an integrated system, preferably linked to the other main
functions with which public transport interacts. For example, London has an executive agency –
called Transport for London – directly responsible to the Mayor for public transport, traffic
management and the strategic road network. This agency is responsible for congestion pricing and
strategic parking control. All of these functions are exercised in a coordinated way within an overall
strategy framework. London has very recently published a comprehensive transport strategy. Toronto,
Canada and Melbourne, Australia have also recently published integrated transport policy statements
of this kind.
72 | P a g e
The strategy
Measures will be deployed to address each of the issues, as follows.
Enhancing motor vehicle circulation around the city center. The Western High Speed Diameter
(WHSD) when completed will substantially reduce travel through the city center. Beyond this
strategic road investment, the proposed inner loop route around the city center along the Obvodnogo
canal and the Neva River and connecting with the WHSD both south and north of the city center will
further serve to enhance travel around the city center.
Continued Pedestrian System Improvements. Beyond improvements to motor vehicle movement
within the city center, additional pedestrian enhancement measures will be implemented to improve
the pedestrian experience and movement. These include: (a) additional metro station entrances to
assist access to the center, (b) removal of parking blocking sidewalks, and (c) continuation of the
adopted program of pedestrian improvements in the historic city core.
Parking actions. The parking strategy within the city center will aim to provide parking for those
motorists that have good reasons to park in the center for the purpose of conducting business but at
the same time discourages unnecessary parking, especially all day parking by commuters who will be
encouraged to use public transport as an option. To accomplish these objectives the parking strategy
for the city center will include the following features:
Limiting the total number of parking spaces in the city center to the present level or very
modestly increasing the spaces in those locations where short term parking requirements
need to be accommodated.
Using land planning regulations to limit private provision of parking spaces in the city center
consistent with the above measure.
Charging for all parking provided by the city government in the city center whether it is on
street or off street.
Limiting on-street parking to two hours or alternatively charging higher rates for parking
more than two hours to encourage more efficient use of available parking spaces.
Removal of on-street parking where this impedes traffic flow or the implementation of
public transport priority measures. Provision of parking garages to compensate for removal
of on street parking.
Provision of park and ride facilities remote from the city center to encourage a shift to public
transport as the primary means for traveling to the center.
Congestion Pricing. A comparison of various alternatives ways of implementing congestion
charging in St Petersburg will commence immediately, to be followed by design studies for the
implementation of the chosen alternative. A scheme will only be implemented, however, when there
is sufficient public transport of acceptable quality to handle a shift of passengers from cars.
Improving public transport access to and within the center. Improving the capacity and quality of
public transport access to and within the city center is critical in terms of providing an acceptable
alternative to private motor vehicle use on the congested approaches to and within the center. The
following measures will be deployed:
Providing more metro station entrances in the city center
73 | P a g e
Extension of the purple line to the proposed southern terminus for the purposes of attracting
more public transport travel to the center
Reducing headways on the blue metro line serving the city center though implementation of
an advanced traffic control system (see Strategy Element B2).
Providing segregated surface public access to the city center (see Strategy Element B2):
o Upgrading the existing Legovsky– Buckharestskaya tram line to higher grade light rail
transit (LRT)
o Extending the Nevskiy Prospect bus lane eastward and westward across the Neva River
o Providing bus priority measures on the Orlovsky tunnel and on selected Neva River
bridges leading to the city center
Introducing circulator bus services within the city center to improve intra-center travel as
well as improved access to public transport services and parking spaces
The five year action program
Institutions. The institutional responsibilities for the planning and implementation of a parking policy
have been discussed in Element A4. The development of congestion charging is also a strategic
function to be planned by the SPU. Whether a congestion charges scheme should be implemented by
TMA, GPLA, or a special new unit solely and specifically devoted to congestion charging, will
depend partly on the actual charging technique employed. If it is purely electronic, as in Singapore, it
might be best for this to be handled within the development of the expanded ITS system within TMA.
If it depends on more physical enforcement means, it might be best allocated to GPLA. This will be
determined in a congestion charges study (see below).
Studies Most of the studies necessary for the establishment of a comprehensive and coherent strategy
for the city center have been discussed under Elements A3, A4, B1 and B2. The main addition which
is specifically focused on the central city is a study of congestion pricing which will cover both the
selection of the system considered most appropriate for St Petersburg, together with the design for its
implementation. It is likely that the second part of this work will be most effectively carried out by
international consultants with experience in the type of system selected in a local preliminary study.
Investment. The investment components essential for this element have been considered under other
elements, with the exception of investments necessary to implement road congestion charging. This
could be a substantial investment falling within the five year period, depending on the choice of
system
Phasing of Measures. Phasing of the above measures to implement the center city element of the
strategy will need to be carefully orchestrated to ensure minimal disruption of travel conditions as
these measures are being implemented. The provision of by-pass routes around the center is a priority
and is the priority to improve public transport access to and within the center. Once the road
improvements and the most important proposed public transport measures are well advanced the
implementation of congestion pricing will be seriously considered.
Intervention Action Responsible
Entit(ies)
Resources Starting Ending
Institutional/
Organizational
C4.1 Develop central area plan and
coordinate its implementation
Strategic
Planning Unit
Staff,
consultant
Immediately End
2015
Administrative/
Legal
C4.2 Issue land planning regulations to
limit private provision of parking
spaces in city center (align with A4.3)
City Architect City
leadership
and staff
Immediately
74 | P a g e
Studies/
Technical
Studies A3.6, A4.4, A4.5, A4.7, B1.6
(on demand management and public
transport efficiency) help toward this
strategy element
Investments C4.3 Construction of new Metro station
entrances in City center
Metro
Authority
Contractor Early 2012 End of
2015
Road Investment programs A1.7,
A1.8 are crucial to toward
implementing this strategy element
Infrastructure
Committee
(A4.10) Investment A4.10 helps toward this
strategy – Implement congetion
pricing in the city center
TMA Contractor or
concession-
aire
After A4.7 End
2015
(B2.7) Investment B2.7 helps toward this
strategy – Implement public transport
priority measures
TMA,
Infrastructure
Committee
Staff After A1.9 End
2015
(B3.4) Investment B3.4 helps toward this
strategy – Improving pedestrian
crossings and walking environment
Infrastructure
Committee,
City Architect
Staff,
contractor
After B3.2
75 | P a g e
PART THREE – IMPLEMENTING THE STRATEGY
The investment programs in roads and the metro approved before the establishment of this strategy
exceed the likely financing capability of the city, certainly in the next five years and possibly even
over the fifteen year period of the strategy. In addition, several of the elements of the strategy
described above are not only novel to St Petersburg but also carry their own initial capital
requirements. In other words, implementation of the strategy will have a great bearing on the city’s
budget, requiring strategic prioritization and allocation of budgetary resources and improvement of
investment and operation efficiency.
In addition to adequate financial support, implementation of the strategy requires (i) institutional
arrangements appropriate and competent to undertake the intended developments; (ii) adequate
preparation of each of the elements in the strategy that will enable effective and cost-efficient
implementation; (iii) careful prioritization of the approved and proposed investments; (iv) efficient
implementation of the various elements that is supported by clearly defined responsibilities,
coordination among the public sector, the private sector and citizens, and monitoring and evaluation;
and (v) proper sequencing of the actions.
Financing the Implementation of the Transport Strategy
Budgetary arrangements are the ultimate necessary condition for successful implementation of the
strategy. The danger of the vision-driven approach, which is being adopted, is that it ignores resource
constraints and hence offers little assistance to the practical problems of setting shorter term priorities
for action and expenditure. The proposed remedy for this is to identify the likely resource availability
in the short run and then to analyze the costs and benefits of alternative components of the strategy to
define a five year program of action linked to a five year investment plan. This program and plan will
be rolled forward on an annual basis to maintain the credibility and the flexibility of the program in
the light of progress and reflecting changes in external conditions.
The City Budget – Overview and Outlook
In the recent years, the city government has allocated about 15 to 16 percent of the city budget for the
transport sector with an exception of 2009 when the budget space contracted considerably due to
global financial crisis and recession. As shown in Figure 3-1, the city’s transport sector spending has
channeled mostly to capital investments (over 60 percent), especially to roads and metro construction.
This trend will continue in the near term as the extension of road and public transport network is of
strategic importance. In particular, the completion of critical road network will help inter-city
transportation and insulate the city’s road network from through traffic (see below, prioritizing
investment section).21
21
Modeling work by RDITRI suggests that completion of the Western High Speed Diameter would reduce
central area traffic by 20% as well as giving major benefits to national traffic transiting through St Petersburg.
76 | P a g e
Figure 3-1: Transport Sector Spending by Category and as share of total city spending
Many cities around the world allocate some considerable sum of their public resources for extension
and maintenance of road infrastructure and provision of public transport services. For example, the
City of New York spent in 2010 about 14 percent of its capital investment for transportation, a large
sum for a city with well-developed transport infrastructure and extensive public transport service
coverage. Of the cities in transition economies, Prague (Czech Republic) has executed a far more
aggressive spending on urban transport. In 1999, more than a third of Prague’s city budget went to
transport sector, which after a few years reduced to about one sixth of the budget. The City of
Warsaw (Poland) has maintained its budget allocation for transport sector at around 28 to 30 percent
over the past five years. Warsaw’s capital to current expenditure ratio has also been stable: about one-
third of total transport budget has been allocated for capital investment and two-thirds for current
expenditure. Using historical exchange rates and population of the two transition cities, their
transport spending is converted to about 280 Euros per citizen a year for Prague and about 420 Euros
per citizen a year for Warsaw.
Table 3-1: St. Petersburg City Budget and Transport Sector Spending: Trends and Plans
2008
(actual)
2009
(actual)
2010
(actual)
2011
(approved)
2012
(planned)
2013
(planned)
Total city budget (billion rubles) 364.0 336.0 329.1 351.0 375.0 414.0
Total transport spending (billion rubles) 57.4 38.8 50.1 44.9 45.3 41.7
% of city budget 15.8% 11.6% 15.3% 12.8% 12.1% 10.1%
Roads (capital) 30.8 22.2 27.9 22.0 23.9 23.7
Roads (recurrent)
Metro capital investment 16.1 7.9 10.5 9.7 7.3 4.3
Surface public transport capital investment 2.6 0.7 3.4 1.8 2.3 1.4
Subsidies to public transport operators 5.3 5.6 5.6 8.8 9.2 9.6
Other 2.6 2.4 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.7
Additional budget envelop for transport, if …
If allocate 16% of planned city budget n/a n/a n/a 11.3 14.7 24.5
If allocate 18% of planned city budget n/a n/a n/a 18.3 22.2 32.8
If allocate 20% of planned city budget n/a n/a n/a 25.3 29.7 41.1
Capital, 37.9
24.0 31.5
Maintenance, 12.4
7.7
11.5
Subsidy, 6.6
6.6
6.3
Admin, 0.5
0.6
0.9
15.8%
11.6%
15.3%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2008 2009 2010
Shar
e o
f to
tal c
ity
spe
nd
ing
In b
illio
n r
ou
ble
s (c
urr
en
t)
77 | P a g e
The approved St. Petersburg transport budget of year 2011 is about 240 Euros per citizen a year and
less than 13 percent of the city total budget, lower in comparison to the other two transition cities. In
light of other cities’ experience, there is a room for expanding transport sector spending, at least for
strategic capital investment in the short-term. Table 3-1 summarizes additional budget space if a
greater share of the total city budget were to be allocated for transport sector. For example, if the City
allocates 16 percent of its planned budget in 2012, there will be additional 15 billion rubles allocated
for the transport sector in addition to what is already planned; if allocates 18 percent of budget, there
would be additional 22 billion rubles. The three budget allocation scenarios are illustrated in Figure
3-2.
Figure 3-2: Transport Sector Spending – Trends and Three Possible Scenarios for Budget Envelope
Non-Budgetary Financing
The City will continue collaborating with the federal government to ensure that the city obtains
sufficient and due support for its role as key trade and transport hub of the country. Especially the
major motorways to/from and around the city have great significance in the national road network.
They serve the need for intercity trips and freight transport of great national/international importance.
The City will also continue seeking to tap on non-budgetary resources, such as private sector
participation, but with caution. Private sector participation can be encouraged where they can build
infrastructure and provide services on behalf of public sector. Candidate projects include some
strategic road investments, city center parking facilities and some surface public transport
infrastructure and services. Selection of projects that will be financed and operated by private sector
should be strictly based on value-for-money. In other words, the city will select only the projects that
can be implemented by private sector more cost efficiently than by public sector.
Strategizing City’s Transport Spending
The City has been allocating most of its transport sector budget for highly capital-intensive sub-
sectors, namely, the road network—new roads construction and road maintenance/repair—and the
metro system—network and stations. Transport sector spending allocation pattern in 2010 is depicted
in Figure 3.4. On the other hand, spending on parking—construction of lots and garages and
management—and traffic management system has been insignificant, together reaching less than 3
Roads
Metro (cap)
Surface PT (cap) Subsidies Other
16% of planned city budget
18% of planned city budget
20% of planned city budget
-
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
140.0
160.0
2008 2009 2010 2011(approved)
2012(planned)
2013(planned)
In billion rubles
78 | P a g e
percent of total transport sector spending. The City spent in 2010 some 8 billion rubles for surface
public transport operators; however, most of it was to compensate operating deficit caused by
discounted tickets, and very little to improve quality of public transport services.
Figure 3-3: Transport Sector Spending by Mode in 2010 (billion rubles)
As laid out under Strategy Elements A3, A4 and B1, the City will increase its spending for the
strategic areas beginning of 2011, allocating additional 5 percent of total transport sector budget—
about 18 billion rubles. Those strategic areas where increases in funding will occur include (a) road
asset management system, (b) improvement of traffic management, (c) development and
implementation of city-wide parking program, and (d) improvement of public transport efficiency.
This additional allocation is expected not to exceed 5 percent of total transport budget, 22
but would be
a generous sum to support these strategic areas, about 15 times the current allocation.
Capital investments will be required during the initial stage of these strategic investment areas. For
example, for implementation of advanced traffic management investments will be made for
coordinated control system, infrastructure and equipments, information and communication
technologies (ICT), institutional capacity building, and staff training. After the initial phase, resources
will be allocated on a regular basis for operation of the program and maintenance of the system.
As discussed in the Strategy Element A1 and A2, the city will continue to improve efficiency of road
network investment. In recent years, new road construction and capital-intensive repair combined
have been around 60 percent of the total road sector spending (see Figure 3-5). In addition, each year
considerable amounts have been allocated for periodic maintenance (resurfacing of pavement). These
road network investments together constitute a large sum of city’s budgetary resources—between 60
and 70 percent of transport sector budget. With the proposed computerized road network assessment
tool and supported by institutional arrangement and staff capacity, an asset management system will
help strategizing road sector expenditure while reducing the life-cycle cost of the asset. The initial
investments for such a system will have minimal impact on the city’s budget.
22
For more accurate estimation of the required initial investment, detailed studies and feasibility analyses are
required.
Roads (cap), 16.9 , 35%
Roads (maint.),
11.0 , 22%
Waterway, 0.0 , 0%
Traffic Management, 1.0 , 2%
Metro, 11.4 , 23%
Autobus, 5.1 , 10%
Electric PT, 2.9 , 6%
Rail etc, 0.7 , 2%
Parking, 0.1 , 0%
79 | P a g e
Figure 3-4: Road sub-sector spending in 2010
Subsidies to public transport operators amount to a considerable sum, reaching about 12 percent of the
total transport sector spending, and are projected to increase further in the short- and medium-term
due to proposed new developments. First, subsidy to autobus operators will increase as the city
continues its plan to remove the two-tier system, converting the commercial routes into public routes.
There will be medium-term burden on the city budget to pay for the increased share of discounted
tickets for the public routes users. On the other hand, more number of metro stations and exits would
mean greater resources to be used for maintenance and operation of station facilities and staff cost.
However, in the long-term, the activities planned under Strategy Elements B1 and B2 will help
improving operating efficiency of public transport and also allow for additional revenues from
premium services, leading to reduction of subsidies.
Figure 3-5: Subsidies to Public Transport Operators in 2010 and 2011 (planned)
Improving Market Efficiency and Financial Sustainability
Pricing schemes and impact on revenues
The city will rationalize the structure of fares and user charges so it is tied to the varying levels of
demand for different services and use of infrastructure. Rationalization would mean that high prices
will be associated with highly demanded goods and services, and vice versa. This will improve the
market efficiency and prevent hyper-demand for the scarce resources—severe traffic congestion,
New roads
constr. 49%
Capital repair 11%
Resurfacing
19%
Routine Maint.
21%
2.66 4.43
2.07
2.66 0.90
1.67
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2010 2011 (planned)
In b
illio
n r
ub
les
Metro
Electric PT
Bus social service
80 | P a g e
unregulated on-street parking in the city center, and over-capacity use of public transport. Further,
rationalization of transport prices is likely to lead to an increase in revenue, which can be used for
investment in congestion mitigation measures. This means a change in the way in which transport
infrastructure and services are paid for: less by general tax payers and more by direct beneficiaries,
i.e., transport users. Actions will take place in the following three areas:
First, the city will rationalize fares for public transport, which are currently insensitive to service
quality or distance travelled, while differentiated by the service provider without clear justification
(e.g., social vs. commercial autobus services). The current fare structure, which is fairly low in
comparison to the income of the citizens, is also one of the causes of the current large—and
increasing—operating deficits of the public transport operators. These are bills the city has to pick
up. As discussed above, public transport studies need to be undertaken to form a good understanding
of user demand for various types and classes of services and willingness-to-pay for different services.
Based on this understanding, revenue streams from the rationalized pricing structure will be
estimated.
Second, parking charges will be introduced as a measure to manage parking demand as well as a
source of revenue. The parking fee structure should be designed to reflect varying demand for
parking in different locations so that it can manage the demand efficiently while providing convenient
services to all. The recommended demonstration projects will allow the city to test various ideas, to
design a city-wide parking program, and to estimate potential revenues.
Third, congestion pricing will be introduced as a demand management tool that can also generate
additional revenues. A few cities around the world that have introduced various types of congestion
pricing schemes found that a well-designed pricing scheme is effective in reducing congestion and
financially viable if not profitable. In some advanced systems, a comprehensive congestion pricing
scheme is combined with parking policy and pricing scheme. In such systems, congestion pricing and
parking pricing schemes share same technological configurations, infrastructure and facilities, and
back-office support. This approach helps cost-efficient operation of a comprehensive demand
management scheme that uses pricing tools, and at the same time provides convenient and consistent
service to customers—road users. The demonstration projects and recommended studies under the
city center program will provide a good basis for design and preparation of a congestion pricing
scheme.
Revenue allocation scheme
The City will carefully devise a scheme that allocates revenues generated from pricing schemes in
order to maximize their impact on congestion mitigation. Generally, it is technically justified to
allocate the revenues from direct user charges for improvement of transport infrastructure and
services, particularly expanding and enhancing options as an alternative to the use of private cars. For
example, a congestion pricing scheme would result in a better outcome—in terms of congestion
reduction—when combined with good substitutes to road transport, i.e., high quality public transport
services. Therefore the City will make sure that the road users are not “captive” to one option that is
inferior—to continue using a congested road but at a high price, but provided with high quality
alternative—safe, reliable and affordable public transport options.
The City will also ensure that the financial implication of the Transport Strategy does not adversely
affect the citizens with lower income. To this end, part of the revenues generated from congestion
pricing, parking charges, and other pricing schemes that manage road traffic demand will be allocated
81 | P a g e
for affordable public transport services, as well as roads improvement and better traffic management
system.
Private Sector Participation and Public-Private Partnership
The private sector is expected to play an important part in the implementation of the strategy. Only a
portion of the planned investment can be funded from the budget. Many countries have been
successful in attracting investment from the private sector in areas such as public transportation,
highway construction or parking management. Sources of financing have traditionally been user
charges (such as tolls), budget contribution or commercial development. The private sector can also
improve the efficiency and quality of services for the benefit of the City budget and citizens.
Performance-based management of existing road assets is an example where the private sector can
improve efficiency of public spending with a positive impact on budget. In this case, the role of the
City remains essential but more focused on the definition and regulation of services and contract
monitoring, to ensure that the private operators performs as expected.
St Petersburg has already some experience in Public-Private Partnership (PPP). St Petersburg started
several years ago to attract private investment in transport infrastructure and has initiated several pilot
projects, including the Western-High Speed Diameter, the Orlovski Tunnel, and the Pulkovo Airport.
The Pulkovo Airport project has already been an international success, managing to secure in 2010
more than Euro 1.2 billion of private investment, without any contribution from the City. These
projects have not only increased the attractiveness of St Petersburg with private investors but also
strengthen its institutional capacity in designing and implementing PPP projects.
To fully take advantage of private sector investment, the City will carefully select the projects that
will be implemented as PPP. As the private sector needs to recover its investment, it will rely on user
charges and budget contribution, often over 30+ years, and such payments will have an impact on the
City’s future capacity to invest. User charges should remain affordable and commercial potential is
often difficult to predict, which means that the City budget may become the primary source of funding
for some projects. Thus, the identification of PPP projects will be done using the same principles than
those applied to projects funded from budget, namely the economic and social benefit, and compared
with alternatives, including less expensive ones. Finally, reforms will take place to support a specific
PPP project and it will be ensured that decisions (such as fares) are consistent with the overall policy.
Institutional Arrangements
In implementing the present strategy the city has decided on a structure which separates (i) strategic
sector planning, (ii) system management and regulation, and (iii) operations, as three separate levels
of responsibility. This is a widely adopted structure which works well in many countries. Where it
works well there is a strong strategic function which sets the parameters for regulation and service
procurement by an agency quite separate from, or at arm’s length from, the operating agencies.
At present most transport responsibilities in St Petersburg have been assembled in a group of three
committees under one Vice Governor (see Figure 3-6).
The city of St. Petersburg Government
82 | P a g e
Figure 3-6: The Proposed Organizational Structure
Within this grouping the Transit and Transport Policy Committee has responsibility for the regulatory
and management function for external transport, for traffic management. The need for a stronger and
more extensive traffic management activity is recognized by the formal strengthening of the Traffic
Management Authority (TMA). The counterpart to the new emphasis on strategic level planning is the
need for a strengthened strategic level institutional provision. The city government has recognized this
by the creation of the Strategic Planning Unit (SPU), which has been made responsible for further
developing and implementing the strategic vision set out in this document. As there is no formal
provision in St Petersburg for creation of a “super-committee” to which the other committees report,
the responsibility for strategic planning for the sector is assigned to a newly formed Strategic Planning
Unit within the Transit Committee. This unit will oversee the implementation of the strategy by all
three committees, and advise the Vice Governor on budget issues for the whole group.
The Transport Committee is responsible for public transport with administrative responsibility for
control delegated to an agency which supervises both public and private sector supplies. Operations
are undertaken by four publicly owned operating agencies (Metro, Passenger Autobus, Gorelectric
and the suburban rail company) and a number of private sector bus suppliers. Some functions – such
as bus dispatching and traffic signal installation and maintenance – are performed very well by the
existing institutional arrangements. But others – particularly those requiring co-ordination between
services and agencies – are less well provided for, or in some cases largely absent. A stronger Public
Transport Executive (PTE) is therefore being established in place of the existing Organizing
Authority. The PTE will be responsible for route planning, allocation of functions between modes,
detailed fare setting (subject to political guidance and collaboration with the finance committee),
service procurement under contracts, and service monitoring. The PTE would operate within a budget
constraint set by the Strategic planning Unit. At the same time, the Executive will pass all of its
operational functions to the operators, and the operators should be restructured as commercial
companies operating with the PTE as their public sector customer
The Infrastructure Committee will remain responsible for construction and maintenance of the road
and bridges infrastructure.
Some transport responsibilities still fall outside the core grouping, notably land-use planning
including the allocation of space for road and parking facilities remaining with the Architecture
Committee. It is therefore important to establish strong co-ordination arrangements with the
Architecture Committee.
Transport-Transit Policy Committee
Strategic Planning Unit (SPU)
Traffic Management Authorigy (TMA)
Intercity transport
Parking and garage
Transport Committee
Public Transport Executive (PTE)
Metro
Gorelectric
Autobus (public)
Infrastructure Committee
Roads
Bridges
83 | P a g e
Preparation – The Program of Studies
Planning is fundamental. Many of the problems which have to be addressed have arisen because of
the lack of comprehensive, integrated approaches to what are intricately interacting issues. Three main
areas need such integration. First, at the highest level there needs to be an over-arching strategic plan,
into which the various strategy elements fall, and to which they must conform. That is the purpose of
this document. Second, however, there are a range of issues related to roads and road traffic which
need to be integrated into a comprehensive traffic management plan, including the development of
signal control systems, and parking policies and arrangements. Third, there is also need for a
comprehensive plan for public transport which brings together the planning of routes, the
determination of the roles of various modes and suppliers, and the determination of price and service
structures. The completion of each of these plans will require the assembly of many existing studies
and their supplementation by some important additional studies. The city is committed to early action
to undertake the necessary studies and complete the elaboration of the necessary framework plans.
Reform municipal legislation requiring function-based road network classification (task A1.1)
Obtaining federal approval to proceed with on-street paid parking (task A4.3)
Road maintenance inventory and investment prioritization study (task A2.5)
ITS study (task A3.4)
A study of parking (tasks A4.4, A4.5, and A4.6)
Strategic structure study of the public transport network (task B1.6)
Short-term public transport efficiency study (task B1.7)
Public transport demonstration projects study (task B2.3)
Congestion pricing study (task A4.7)
Prioritizing Investments
During the first five years until 2015, the City will make critical capital investments in a selective
manner within the limited public resources. Priorities will be given to (i) continuation of ongoing
projects, (ii) investments and purchases that are essential for fuller implementation of the Strategy,
(iii) strategic investments that will have great impact in relieving traffic congestion and high benefit-
to-cost ratio, and (iv) necessary initial investments for demonstration and piloting of cost-efficient
transport modes. Key investments of each year are explained below.
The year 2011 will be a year when most of preparatory activities start and many of them completed
for the next steps of implementation. The City will focus on the aforementioned legal, institutional
and administrative reforms and studies, which will enable effective implementation of the strategy.
Along with them, some important capital investments will be made for implementation of advanced
traffic management system, road asset management system. The City will continue supporting the
key ongoing capital investment projects in Pulkovo Airport and Vassilievsky Passenger Terminal.
Preparatory work for major road investments, especially design and devising financing scheme, will
start.
84 | P a g e
In the following year, the City will allocate its capital for implementation of several high priority
demonstration projects, parking program, and public transport improvement projects. Many of those
projects will be ready for implementation as the feasibility studies and design work will have been
completed by 2011 or early 2012. Implementation of parking program in the city center will be
particularly important and urgent. The City will purchase equipment for on-street parking charging
and enforcement as legislative and institutional basis will have been set up for paid on-street parking
in the city center. Resources will be allocated for improvement of metro access and introduction of
Light Rail Transit along demonstration corridors.
In year 2013, some important construction works will start toward better management of traffic
bottlenecks in the city center. They will include geometric improvement of several junctions and
intersections in various locations. This will be the year when a comprehensive city-wide ITS
measures will be implemented. Investment will also be made to improve pedestrian safety at multiple
crossings, by improving visibility or providing grade-separate crossing facilities where necessary,
most likely along high-traffic roads. The City will continue implementing the city-wide parking
program that will have started in 2012, starting construction of new parking facilities in the city
center, residential areas, and Park & Ride facilities in metro stations in the outskirt of the city.
In year 2014, the City will continue on improvement of pedestrian crossings and walking
environment. Some key capital investment projects will include a new bridge that connects
Vasilievsky Island to the city center, and intermodal stations that combine long-distance bus and rail
terminals.
In year 2015, the City aspires to complete strategic links of transport network, including the Western
High Speed Diameter, southern link of the inner loop that connects to WHSD south of the city center,
Orlovsky Tunnel, and the Metro Purple line. With the anticipated further increase in private cars on
city streets, the City will start implementing measures to control traffic inflows to the city center,
congestion charging system being one of the options. This will require some capital investments in
construction, installation of equipment, retrofitting of some vehicles, and information and
communication systems.
Priority investments program for 2011-2015
Year # mapping to
Action Plan1
Priority Investments
2011 A1.4 Start preparation work (design and financing scheme) for WHSD
A1.6 Start preparation work (design and financing scheme) for Orlovsky Tunnel
A1.5 Start preparation work for other key road links:
- Improvement of the inner orbital road encircling the city center and connecting with
the WHSD both north and south of the city center to a high grade arterial standard
- Construction of the bridge over the Neva River from the city center to Vasilevsky
Island
A2.4 Create a comprehensive computerized road network database; Recommend and calibrate
a road asset management program for the purpose of assessing and recommending road
maintenance and rehabilitation priorities
A2.5 Purchase and install a computerized road network assessment tools, selecting from
commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software
A3.7 Complete full coordination of traffic signal system
A5.3 Continue the ongoing Pulkovo Airport and Vassilievsky Passenger Terminal projects
2012 A2.6 Institute and start implementation of performance-based contract
85 | P a g e
A4.8 On-street parking charging and enforcement equipment
A5.6 Complete the St Petersburg- Moscow Toll Road and other outer area radials
B1.9 Secure fare collection equipment and GPS equipment for performance monitoring
B2.5 Light Rail Transit (LRT) demonstration project
B2.6 Expand bus lane system serving the central area including Nevskiy Prospect Extension
C2.6 Procurement of accident investigation equipment and red light and speed cameras
C4.3 Construction of new Metro station entrances in City center
2013 A3.8 Implement the first phase of proposed ITS measures
A3.9 Implement geometric road improvement program to improve traffic operation
C2.5 Implement pedestrian road safety improvement program
A4.9 Construction of new parking facilities in the city center, residential areas, and Park &
Ride
2014 B3.4 Improve pedestrian crossings and walking environment
A1.10 Construct the planned bridge over the Neva River from the city center to Vasilevsky
Island
A5.4 Remove at-grade crossings at intersections with heavily used rail lines, including the
high-speed link to Finland that is being developed
A5.5 Construct intermodal stations that combine long-distance bus and rail terminals
C3.4 Development of Pulkovo freight terminal
2015 A1.7 Complete Western High Speed Diameter
A1.8 Complete southern link of the inner loop that connects to WHSD south of the city center
A1.9 Complete the planned Orlovsky Tunnel
A1.10 Construct bridge over the Neva River from the city center to Vasilevsky Island and
repair other bridges along with public transport priority measures
A1.11 Selected other proposed high priority investments as recommended under action A1.2
within the available city budget
A4.10 Installation of congestion charging technology
B2.4 Complete the Metro Purple line
B2.8 Extension of demonstration project projects toward integrated segregated surface public
transport network
C4.4 Implement public transport priority scheme in Orlovsky Tunnel 1 The numbers can be used to map each activity in the consolidated Action Plan for the Strategy.
Sequencing – A Consolidated Action Timetable
Sequencing is critical. The central transport vision of maintaining the character and quality of the city
as a cultural center while at the same time providing for its development as a center of trade and
industry will lead the city government to introduce some novel measures such as parking restraint and
congestion charging. Similarly in public transport, the determination of the city government to make
the system both more efficient and more inclusive, will lead to some radical changes in the way in
which services are provided. In both of these areas the city will ensure that the sequencing of changes
is carefully structured so that neither transport users nor transport suppliers are arbitrarily, or by
oversight, subject to major, uncompensated damage.
86 | P a g e
Many of the strategy elements and policy objectives can be achieved through a series of interventions
that require careful planning and preparatory work. Conversely, an activity or investment can help
achieving multiple policy objectives, affecting outcomes of other related activities/investments.
Activities should therefore be sequenced in a manner that will minimize cost of preparation and
maximize the synergy effect among them. Proposed below is a consolidated action timetable that
taking into consideration of such correlations. Institutional reforms, legal and administrative changes,
and other preparatory work such as studies and researches are concentrated during the first two years
until 2012. Investments and project implementation, many of which rely on the outcomes of the
preparatory work, follow after that.
87 | P a g e
Starting
Year
Administrative/legal
changes, reforms
Institutional/Organizational
restructuring, reforms
Studies, Technical actions Investments
2011 G.1 Institute traffic impact
assessment for all major
re/developments
G.2 Strengthen and streamline
collaboration between the
Architecture and Planning
Committee and a Strategic
Transport Unit (STU) created
within the Transit Committee
through a small inter-committee
working group
G.5 Pilot telecommuting and
staggering of work hours in
the municipal government
A2.4 Create a comprehensive
computerized road network
database; Recommend and
calibrate a road asset
management program for the
purpose of assessing and
recommending road
maintenance and
rehabilitation priorities
A1.1 Reform the municipal
legislation requiring
function-based road
network classification
A2.2 Create and build capacity for a
road asset management
assessment unit under the
Infrastructure Committee that is
supported by adequate
technology, equipment, staffing
and management capacity
G.6 Assess alternative locations
for the new Gasprom
development
A2.5 Purchase and install a
computerized road network
assessment tools, selecting
from commercial off-the-shelf
(COTS) software
A2.1 Pursue federal level
legislative changes in order
to implement
performance-based
contracts for road
maintenance and
rehabilitation
A3.1 Broaden and strengthen the
responsibility of the Traffic
Management Authority (TMA) to
become responsible for
comprehensively addressing all
measures that affect traffic
operations and safety on the
existing street network.
A1.2 Prepare a prioritized road
investment program based
on an agreed process and
quantifiable economic and
technical criteria.
A3.7 Complete full coordination of
traffic signal system at 250
intersections
A4.3 Secure Federal legislation to
permit introduction of paid
on-street parking and
congestion pricing
A3.2 Establish a high level Road Safety
Working Party (see C2.1)
A1.3 Road classification and
design guidelines study
A5.3 Continue the ongoing Pulkovo
Airport and Vassilievsky
Passenger Terminal projects
88 | P a g e
Starting
Year
Administrative/legal
changes, reforms
Institutional/Organizational
restructuring, reforms
Studies, Technical actions Investments
B1.3 Remove the "two-tier"
distinction between social
and commercial services,
and integrate all services in
a single system
A4.1 In line with A3.1, strengthen skills
and analytical capabilities of the
TMA for parking policy setting and
parking system design
A1.4 Complete design of the high
priority loop road encircling
the city center and connect-
ing with WHSD both north
and south of city center
A5.6 Complete the St Petersburg-
Moscow Toll Road and other
outer area radials
C4.2 Issue land planning
regulations to limit private
provision of parking spaces
in city center (align with
A4.3)
A4.2 Strengthen implementation and
enforcement function of the
Garages and Parking Lots Authority
(GPLA)
A1.5 Complete design of new
bridge over the Neva and
rehabilitation of other
bridges along with public
transport (PT) priority
measures
B2.1 Strengthening strategic planning
function for comprehensive route
planning, intermodal connection,
service quality control
A1.6 Complete design of the
Orlovsky tunnel including
public transport priority
measures
C1.1 Creation of special team to co-
ordinate environmental action in
the Transport Strategy
A3.3 Undertake extensive and
ongoing traffic surveys to
update knowledge of existing
traffic conditions and
problems
C1.2 Tighten vehicle emission standards
to Western European standards
A3.4 Develop a strategic
Intelligent Transportation
System (ITS) Plan including
improvement and expansion
of the traffic signal system
C2.1 Establish a strategic Road Safety
Working Party in the Strategic
Policy Unit (see A3.2)
A3.5 Develop a public transport
priority plan and design key
segregated corridors (see
89 | P a g e
Starting
Year
Administrative/legal
changes, reforms
Institutional/Organizational
restructuring, reforms
Studies, Technical actions Investments
B1.6 and B2.2)
C2.2 Develop accident analysis
capability within the TMA
A3.6 Prepare prioritized program
for addressing traffic
bottlenecks including
development of geometric
designs for improvement of
road segments, intersections
and interchanges (see A5.4)
C3.2 Continuation of existing
arrangement under Transit Policy
Committee that addresses intercity
transport needs both for freight
and passenger
A4.4 Update and extend the
existing central area parking
study
C4.1 Develop central area plan and
coordinate its implementation
A4.5 Extend and complete the
GPLA study on residential
parking conditions and
demand
A4.6 Extend and complete the
draft Park&Ride Program
A4.7 Study alternative congestion
pricing possibilities and
recommend a solution for
implementation.
B1.6 Long-term structure study:
design of comprehensive
routes, high-speed
segregated track services,
and roles of trams and trolley
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Starting
Year
Administrative/legal
changes, reforms
Institutional/Organizational
restructuring, reforms
Studies, Technical actions Investments
buses (see B2.2)
B1.7 Short-term supply efficiency
study: design of competitive
tender services, preparation
of gross-cost contract
tenders, restructure of
operating companies, cost
analysis for the new tender
system
B2.2 Study to identify and design
the high priority segregated
public transport corridor
demonstration projects (bus,
light rail transit, and suburb-
an rail) (see A3.5, B1.6)
B2.3 Study of institutional
alternatives for development
of integrated high speed
trunk network.
B3.1 Explicitly require
investigation of pedestrian
and cyclist interests in the
design of new roads or the
upgrading of existing streets
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Starting
Year
Administrative/legal
changes, reforms
Institutional/Organizational
restructuring, reforms
Studies, Technical actions Investments
B3.2 Develop prioritized
pedestrian safety program
and improve-ment designs
and measures
C1.5. Improve data collection and
analysis for traffic emission
and noise
C1.6 Examine possibilities of
reducing sulfur content of
fuel to 50 ppm or less
C3.3 Designation of truck routes
2012 B1.2 Strengthen the capacity of
Public Transport Organizer,
to promote its status to
Public Transport Executive
A2.3 Institute a budgetary process that
allocates resources on the basis of
investment priorities developed by
a computerized road asset
management system
G.3 Study the potential for
encouraging mixed-land use
patterns through planning
and development controls
A2.6 Institute and start
implementation of
performance-based contract
B1.4 Convert all contracts except
those with the Metro
company to competitive
tender that is gross-cost
based
B1.1 Corporatize the publicly owned bus
and electric transport operating
companies
G.4 Explore possibility for
targeting densification of
residential development
around public transport
stations
A4.8 On-street parking charging
and enforcement equipment
B1.5 Commercialize the existing
publicly owned transport
companies
C1.3. Implement freight vehicle routing
control in the city center
A5.1 Examine possibilities to
improve and expand
commuter rail services (see
also B2.2)
A5.6 Complete the St Petersburg-
Moscow Toll Road and other
outer area radials
C1.4 Introduce environmental issues in
bus franchising process
A5.2 Identify locations and
designs of intermodal
B1.9 Secure fare collection
equipment and GPS
equipment for performance
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Starting
Year
Administrative/legal
changes, reforms
Institutional/Organizational
restructuring, reforms
Studies, Technical actions Investments
stations monitoring
C2.3 Raise threshold for police
involvement in accident
investigation
B1.8 Study possibility of
automatic controlling system
to reduce headways on the
Metro Blue Line
B2.5 Light Rail Transit (LRT)
demonstration project
C3.1 Create an Urban Freight transport
unit
B3.3 Undertake commuter bicycle
route study
B2.6 Expand bus lane system
serving the central area
including Nevskiy Prospect
Extension
C2.4 Review organization of on-
street traffic accident
recording and clear-up
procedures
C2.6 Procurement of accident
investigation equipment and
red light and speed cameras
C4.3 Construction of new Metro
station entrances in City
center
2013 A3.8 Implement the first phase of
proposed ITS measures
A3.9 Implement geometric road
improvement program to
improve traffic operation
C2.5 Implement pedestrian road
safety improvement program
A4.9 Construction of new parking
facilities in the city center,
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Starting
Year
Administrative/legal
changes, reforms
Institutional/Organizational
restructuring, reforms
Studies, Technical actions Investments
residential areas, and Park &
Ride
2014 B3.4 Improve pedestrian crossings
and walking environment
A1.10 Construct the planned bridge
over the Neva River from the
city center to Vasilevsky
Island
A5.4 Remove at-grade crossings at
intersections with heavily
used rail lines, including the
high-speed link to Finland
that is being developed
A5.5 Construct intermodal stations
that combine long-distance
bus and rail terminals
C3.4 Development of Pulkovo
freight terminal
2015 A1.7 Complete Western High
Speed Diameter
A1.8 Complete southern link of the
inner loop that connects to
WHSD south of the city
center
A1.9 Complete the planned
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Starting
Year
Administrative/legal
changes, reforms
Institutional/Organizational
restructuring, reforms
Studies, Technical actions Investments
Orlovsky Tunnel
A1.10 Construct bridge over the
Neva River from the city
center to Vasilevsky Island
and repair other bridges
along with public transport
priority measures
A1.11 Selected other proposed high
priority investments as
recommended under action
A1.2 within the available city
budget
A4.10 Installation of congestion
charging technology
B2.4 Complete the Metro Purple
line
B2.8 Extension of demonstration
project projects toward
integrated segregated surface
public transport network
C4.4 Implement public transport
priority scheme in Orlovsky
Tunnel
95 | P a g e
Appendix – Membership of the Working Group
Chichkanov, Alexei (chairman) Chairman of Committee on Investments and
Strategic Projects
Asaul, Nikoly Anatoljevich Chairman, Committee on Transit Policy
Mituryev, Yury Konstantinovich First Deputy Chairman, Committee on Architecture
and Planning
Dunajeva, Marina Dmitriyevna First deputy Chairman, Committee on Investments
and Strategic Projects
Aseev, Alexander Alexandrovich Deputy Chairman, Committee on Urban Planning
and Architecture
Bakirev Alexei Sergeevich Deputy Chairman, Committee on Transit Policy
Lvov, Alexei Vladimirovich Deputy Chairman, Committee on Transit Policy,
Head of Development Programs Department
Popov, Stanislav Vladimirovich Deputy Chairman, Committee on Transport
Tagijev, Ruslan Ragimovich Deputy Chairman, Committee on Transport
Shapiro, LyudmilaYevgenievna Deputy Chairman, Committee on Transport
Infrastructure Development
Bakey, Yury Konstantinovich Chief Urban Planner, Deputy Director Research and
Design Center of St Petersburg Masterplan
Zurbin, Alexey Alexandrovich General Director, ZAO Stroyproject Institute
Zentsov, Vitaly Nikolayevich General Director, SUE Lengiproinzhproject
Pichugov, Igor Anatolyevich General Director,ZAO Peeterburg Dorservice
Solodky, Alexander Ivanovich General Director, ZAO NIPI TRTI (Institute of
territorial Development of Transport Infrastructure)
Kocherov, Konstantin Alexseevich Adviser to the Chairman of the Committee on
Transport
Smirnov, Alexei Mikhailovich Deputy Head of Department on Public Utilities,
Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture