Author: Merxhan Daci
Shortly before midnight on June 20, 2008, the former prefect of Vlora, Xhevahir Rexhepi, ended his last journey in life by crashing to death with a truck. The former official was in a hurry driving his private vehicle to stay with his family, and according to experts, the victim did not have time to reflect on the signs that signaled a cautious walk due to the works. According to the police, the prefect's vehicle was driving from the overpass of the Kamza curve, bound for Tirana. The vehicle with Bulgarian license plates was parked on the side of the road and the prefect's vehicle, unable to maneuver, collided with it in the rear. According to the investigators at the scene, due to the works, the road was with stepped asphalt, which caused the vehicle driven by the former prefect Rexhepi to lose control.
The accident that claimed the life of the 50-year-old turned into an investigative case, although in the end it did not conclude with a result on the main axis that was filled with warning signs and not at all effective. But this is not an isolated case of a traffic accident in Tirana. Hundreds of citizens have accidents a year on the streets of the capital, and dozens of them lose their lives, with a trend that has introduced pedestrians as the most vulnerable, who collide not only because of carelessness but also because of traffic lights, as well as cyclists.
The population of Tirana, together with the surroundings, is estimated to be over 850 thousand inhabitants with a continuous increase every year. Since the expansion of the capital, the volume of traffic has increased more and more. On rainy days, when citizens tend to use vehicles more, traffic in Tirana often becomes impossible and impenetrable.
On a holiday
It is the 25th of April and it is an official holiday from the Orthodox Easter. The traffic on the road is sleepy and no car on the road. There are rare days when the map showing traffic movement in Tirana is mostly green. In most cases the map is red, even bright red. Green on the Google Maps map indicates that there is little traffic while red indicates a traffic jam on the road.
On normal days, mostly in the morning from 9:00 and in the afternoon from 17:00, the traffic map in Tirana is red, which indicates a continuous traffic.
Elbasan Street is one of the streets with the most traffic in Tirana. On a morning like this, where the time has passed 10:00 and it was assumed that the traffic had eased, in fact the traffic is not the least.
From an observation of Sinjalizo, for example, it takes about 30 minutes to go from the Center to the Brewery with the Kombinati bus.
Heavy traffic is a concern for every three out of five citizens of the capital
A recent poll by Euronews Albania showed that traffic in Tirana was a concern for 60% of the citizens questioned or for every three out of five respondents.
This problem started after the biggest one for the residents of the capital, which was the cost of living.
Maksi Hoxha is a taxi driver in the Elbasani street area. He tells Sinjalizo that the traffic situation has tired him and that it directly affects his private business.
"There is a lot of traffic. The example block has a lot of traffic. Because youth comes out, that's why. The Black Bird, the entrance of Don Bosco, Bardhyl street, Elbasani street are problematic. It's bad because the traffic lights are badly designed. Pedestrians have priority. Then let's not talk about the fuel, which is consumed more. The car brings me more expense." Max tells Signal.
The data show that over 400 fines were imposed in Tirana in 2021 alone, a high number if we compare the number of residents in the capital.
Heavy vehicles continue to circulate in the city
At the beginning of this year, the municipality of Tirana changed some instructions for the movement of heavy tonnage vehicles, as well as the circulation of goods transport vehicles in the capital.
These measures, undertaken to regulate the circulation of vehicles and facilitate the movement of citizens, do not seem to have worked to a full extent, as in Sinjalizo's field observation, several heavy vehicles are observed passing through the inner streets of the capital and thus contributing directly to traffic volume.
According to INSTAT data, in 2021, 366 building permits were granted in the Tirana district, most of them normally in the capital. As noted by the traffic monitoring, there is a greater load of traffic volume near these constructions where various construction materials distribution vehicles circulate, but not only.
Has the traffic decreased after the measures taken by the municipality?
At the beginning of this year, the Municipality of Tirana took several measures to try to reduce the volume of traffic in the capital.
From 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. vehicles for transporting goods have been banned, to avoid traffic in the capital. Meanwhile, from 9:00 a.m. to 20:00 p.m., heavy construction vehicles, such as concrete mixers, are prohibited.
According to the traffic police in Tirana, traffic has been reduced by about 40%, after the prohibition of concrete mixers and trucks during daylight hours and means of transporting goods.
Gerhard Baka, urban traffic management specialist at the traffic police, told Sinjalizo that the relief from traffic after the measures is visible despite all the problems it may have.
"A kind of traffic relief is observed. We can say up to 30%. Exceptions are made, for example, in cases where there are still works, such as the case of the Ring, where the relevant signage has also been installed". he said.
Asked about the case of the Durrës road that has been returned with one direction of movement, Baka said that it is an access road and that with the exception of wrong parking, this axis performs the necessary function.
Fatmir Hasho, road expert, on the other hand, tells Sinjalizo that traffic remains a problem in the crossroads.
"I don't see any significant improvement. I think so. It is true that the municipality has prohibited the circulation of heavy vehicles, but it has added bicycle lanes and reduced the number of parking spaces that increase the volume of traffic. In my opinion, for example, the return of the Durrës road with one direction of movement is a failure. It increases traffic." he said.
Road expert Arben Luzi tells Sinjalizo that there seems to be a slight decrease in the volume of traffic in the capital. However, the expert adds that the traffic comes from several reasons.
"It has been noticed a trend of decreasing traffic in the capital. But for example Dritan Hoxha street has a slow movement of traffic every morning, it takes some time to empty in the morning and pass. There are traffic lights in Tirana that create more traffic than regulate work. For example, we have a bad thing where we make a policeman stand there at the intersection and he waves to him "go fast". In fact, this is not even in the Highway Code. As for the infrastructural projects that have been made to ease traffic, such as the case of Shqiponja Square, it is still under construction, but when it opens according to the project, I believe it will help traffic." he says of Signal.
137 accidents with 5 deaths in Tirana in the first three months of the year
According to the data of the Institute of Statistics for the first three months of 2022, there were 137 accidents in Tirana. Among them, 5 were fatal with loss of life.
If we look at the data in more detail, the number of accidents in Tirana is even greater than the number of all accidents in the country taken together.
However, if we compare the period January-March 2022 with the same period of the previous year, a decrease in the number of accidents and fatalities is observed.
Often, the source of accidents are the pedestrians themselves who do not follow the rules set for them, such as white lines.
Such is the case, for example, of a passerby captured by the traffic monitoring camera located at the ministry building.
The white lines are attached, but the pedestrian chooses to walk straight to cross the road and go in the direction of the "Reja" installation.
Ambulance in traffic
Traffic, in addition to others, is a significant problem for the emergency service, i.e. ambulances and the fire service.
An ambulance driver in the capital named Goni told Sinjalizo that there are times when his job becomes difficult due to heavy traffic.
"There are cases when we tell them that we are coming in 3 minutes, for example, to the destination, and not only are we late, but we can also go 10 minutes or more late." says Goni.
However, he says that recently there has been a greater awareness of vehicle drivers who clear the way for the ambulance and this, according to him, came after the pandemic period when the circulation of ambulances in the capital was greater.
So often the passage of ambulances from the traffic crowd remains in the drivers' consciousness.
"Dritan Hoxha" road and "Durrësit road" are the only ones in Tirana that have an emergency lane.
