Significant changes to come in the traffic system in downtown Budapest

On 22 May, the people of Budapest – and Hungary – will have metro line M3 back in full. With this, the five-and-a-half year period of metro replacement will end. Significant changes will be made to the traffic regime with the reconfiguration of the lanes used for replacement buses on the north-south axis, the Budapest Transport Centre (BKK) said on Friday.

The end of travelling on metro replacement buses

As BKK wrote, the plans for the new traffic order were also coordinated by the Municipality of Budapest, the Budapest Transport Centre (BKK) and Budapest Public Roads (Budapest Közút) with the district municipalities concerned, the Hungarian Automobile Club (Magyar Autóklub) and the Hungarian Cyclists Club (Magyar Kerékpárosklub).

“BKK and Budapest Public Roads are working on a traffic regime that will maintain the lower congestion in the inner city districts, while at the same time reducing the congestion in the inner city core – on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street or the Small Boulevard (Kiskörút) – caused by traffic restrictions,” they wrote.

As part of the plans, the traffic regime before the metro replacement will be restored on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street and the Small Boulevard with minor modifications. This will mean the restoration of the former 2×2 car lanes on both sections, in addition to the existing bus lanes on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street and the tram tracks on the Small Boulevard.

Transport experts have designed junction layouts and traffic light programmes that aim to provide congestion-free traffic in the downtown areas while still accommodating the traffic of recent years, the company said in a statement.

Cycling to improve significantly

With the end of the metro replacement, cycling is also expected to improve significantly. The north-south axis through the city centre was previously only safe for cyclists in sections. However, the new traffic regime will allow full north-south access to the city centre.

On Üllői Street, the bus lanes will be replaced by new, safe cycle lanes between Kálvin Square and Népliget, and on Váci Street between Nyugati Square and Gogol Street. The safety of the cycle lanes will be ensured by physical separators where possible, an unprecedented improvement in Budapest for the safety of cyclists. The improvements to make cycling safer will be funded by the Community Budget, as voted by the people of Budapest, 24.hu reports.

A cyclist crossing will be built on Nyugati Square parallel to the overpass through the Great Boulevard, and three new zebra crossings will be built at the junction.