Instead of expansion of pedestrian zone, new roundabouts planned in Belgrade center near City Assembly building, Igumanov Palace and Prizrenska Street – Big zebra crossing near Republic Square also to be removed

The new roundabouts that have been built in Belgrade in the past period have not improved the traffic flow all that much (especially the huge one near Usce), but that has not disuaded the city authorities from their intention to continue building them. In the next period, the city plans to build roundabouts near Prizrenska Street, the Igumanov Palace and in the Nikola Pasic Square zone. These “traffic solutions,” according to mayor Aleksandar Sapic, are something that, according to his estimate, will “unburden the traffic and make it more fluid.”

– We will start from the intersection in front of the City Assembly, the part between the Nikola Pasic Square, the Old Palace and the National Assembly building. It is an entirely undefined intersection, at a constant risk of potential collisions. We will create a kind of a roundabout there and enable movement in two to three directions, which has not been possible so far. We will also expand public transport stands there, at the expense of several parking spaces that are used by the employees in the City Assembly. Dragoslava Jovanovica Street will be a one-way street from December 9, so the garage will be accessible from the direction of the Nikola Pasic Square, the left lane will be yellow, for entrance to the garage, and the right line will lead through the street toward Kralja Milana Street. At Terazije, near the Igumanov Palace, we will also form a small roundabout, thanks to which we will get movement directions which have not existed so far. We will keep the traffic lights everywhere, but we will try to have them be open as much as possible during the day. Then, near Prizrenska Street, we will form another roundabout, which, with the other two, will fully unload the traffic. All the roundabouts will enable the drivers to honor the rules, and not violate them, as has been the case so far. Near the Albanija Palace, there will be a stop exclusively for taxi vehicles – clarified Sapic.

Sapic announced that the big zebra crossing near the Republic Square would be removed (this probably pertains to the crossing at the beginning of Makedonska Street toward the Staklenac building, note by eKapija), because, as he estimated, there is already a crossing near the Youth Center, and in the place where there is the marked part on the asphalt, a traffic island will be formed, which will clearly indicate the movement lines. A similar island will be formed on the intersection near the National Theater.

Sapic emphasized that Vasina Street would be open to all vehicles in the future.

– This street will no longer be a zone of limited traffic for buses and trolleys, but a two-way street open to all. That way, we will connect Kalemegdan and that whole part of the city with the Republic Square, and we are removing the traffic from the streets of Dorcol, which has created a terrible traffic jam. Vasina Street will lead to Uzun Mirkova Street, the bus turn remains, the taxi stop will be better arranged. There will be an exit to Pariska Street, the parking lot in Rajiceva Street will be available, and it will be possible to enter Cara Dusana Street, without turning and creating jams in small Dorcol streets. We will try to finish everything before the New Year so that, once the development of the Nikola Pasic Square is completed, these works are also done – pointed out Sapic.

Let us remind that, in the past ten years or so, Sapic’s predecessors at the Old Palace have advocated, formally and essentially, for the public transport and the pedestrians to be given priority in traffic, especially in the core city center, at the expense of cars. Although many things that have been announced have not been fully implemented, several streets in the Kneza Mihaila Street zone (such as those in the Obilicev Venac and Topicin Venac areas) have been turned into pedestrian zones, whereas the city has also planned for the stretch Vasina Street-Students’ Square to become a cultural zone where pedestrians and ecological forms of public transport would be given priority. For a long time now, this has not been mentioned at all.

D. A.

Grad Beograd

Aleksandar Šapić

construction of roundabouts in city center

removal of pedestrian crossing in Republic Square zone

turning Dragoslava Jovanovića Street into one way street