International experts were meeting Monday in Istanbul for the "International Symposium on Sustainable Transport Policies" being held as part of the "There's no Place Like Istanbul - New Administration Model Development Project for a Livable Istanbul That Preserves Universal Values."
The forum, organized by the Turkish Interior Ministry Strategy Center and the Union of Marmara and Bosphorus Municipalities heard a speech by the chairman of the Istanbul Transport and Infrastructure Platform Cetin Gumusoglu, who said it would be difficult to say that Istanbul had the transport infrastructure capable of providing for a modern city of 10 million people, the Anatolia news agency reported Monday, quoted by Turkish Daily News.
Gumusoglu stated the main issue in Istanbul was one of rapidly switching the modes of transport over to a rail mass transit system. He also noted that one of the most important characteristics of a transportation infrastructure was that it reflect the level of the community's economic, social and cultural development and the people's quality of life.
Gumusoglu drew attention to the rapid growth of Istanbul since the 1960s and the fact that it was the country's financial hub providing 25 percent of the nation's income. He added that transportation problems existed in all major cities that were witnessing a steady influx of displaced persons and that transportation ranked highly among the Istanbul people's list of problems. As for the matter of switching to a mass transit system, Gumusoglu said the necessary 300 km of track required would cost $10 billion over 10 years, not an easy task under present conditions, he noted.
Gumusoglu stated that 82 percent of Istanbul's transportation system was currently road-based, 12 percent rail-based and 6 percent on water – Albawaba.com
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