Motorists from Moscow Region are not welcome in the capital – and transport changes are designed to take the strain off the city’s road network.
Marat Khusnullin, deputy mayor responsible for urban policy and construction, is determined that cross-border transport will focus on mass transit rather than building new roads.
And he told RIA Novosti he wants to see highway development limited to schemes which will improve traffic flows at existing bottlenecks rather than create acres of extra tarmac.
No expansion
Although he expects Moscow to develop in close connection with the region, Khusnullin categorically ruled out any expansion of the capital’s borders.
“We want to develop economic relationships,” he said. “We’re planning new development so that people who have bought houses in satellite towns can also find work there and are no longer forced to commute to the city.”
That, coupled with enhanced metro and rail links, should mean no need to greatly increase road connections.
Existing radial routes, however, will need to be modified.
Khusnullin wants to see Varshavskoye and Simferopolskoye Shosses upgraded in Moscow to enable them to carry the same volume in the city as they do in the region.
And he suggested that Moscow Region authorities should do the same to ensure Leningradka doesn’t become utterly gridlocked once it crosses the city limits.
Nashi get involved
While the officials were outlining their ideas, pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi announced a crackdown on cars parking on pavements.
Girls with inflatable baseball bats are planning to patrol the pathways of Volgogradsky Prospekt, slapping giant stickers on offending vehicles and deploying iron barriers to block the exits of uncooperative parkers, RIA Novosti reported.
A video clip of the campaign will be passed on to the authorities in the hope of generating prosecutions against offending motorists.
The group attempted a similar crackdown last year, and prompted both applause and anger.