Opinion piece from SEA Globe magazine:

‘Phnom Penh should be a city designed for humans, not cars’
Phnom Penh is at a development crossroads – not yet carved up by major expressways, but with the potential to move in that direction. Future Forum researcher Aronsakda Ses urges authorities to stop and consider a more human-focused urban plan, before it's too late
Ses Aronsakda
May 20, 2021

The mornings start early in Phnom Penh, the food stalls open for business tucked into allocated spaces along the road as a flow of cyclists and pedestrians begin the journey to work along tree-shaded paths and plazas.

As for the vehicles? They arrive in trickles, mostly transit buses, the occasional car and a handful of motorcycles. The dreaded rush hour wave never arrives.

While an appealing vision of the future, this is clearly not the reality today in Phnom Penh, a city which approaches urban planning from a car-centric perspective. Driven by the global ascendancy of automobiles after World War II, the car-centric city model encourages urban sprawl along city fringes, larger roads carving up neighbourhoods, elevated expressways cutting through historic urban centres and vast deserts of parking lots. It is a model which emphasises vehicles first and people second.

After decades of global adoption, the true costs and fundamental fallacy of such a model are only recently being understood. Worldwide, relentless urban sprawl has led to increasing costs to city halls and greater inconvenience and cost to commuters, all while compounding severe environmental damages. Additionally, despite cities spending billions to build and enhance vehicle infrastructure, traffic congestion has only become worse in the most car-dependent cities. Larger roads only create more traffic demand – and thus attract even more traffic. Phnom Penh is no different, with rush hour each day bringing with it major arteries going in and out of the city clogged with traffic.

But a better future could become a reality, even in a city like Phnom Penh, if we were to choose to adopt a new urban planning model. A model that is pedestrian-centric, cyclist-friendly, and transit-orientated, leaving behind the issues of a car-centric model. This vision may sound like a dream invented by idealistic Cambodian architects and planners, but these ideas are in fact already being implemented in many major cities around the world.

Removing and reducing roads will reduce traffic congestion

Leading the charge on re-envisioning what urban centres could look like are cities like Seoul and Madrid. Each formerly relied heavily on a car-centric approach, and have since moved away to pioneer more effective planning policies.

During South Korea’s economic rise of the 1980s, Seoul constructed multiple rounds of expressways cutting through its urban centre. By the beginning of the new millennium, these structures had become dilapidated and did little to alleviate Seoul’s ongoing problems with traffic congestion.

Seoul took drastic measures in 2003 by removing a full section of congested elevated highway from its central district. The expressway’s demolition revealed the long buried Cheonggyecheon stream – the namesake of the project.

Replacing the space once dominated by vehicles is a one hundred-acre, 5.8-kilometer urban park straddling the restored stream, flowing to the greater Han river. It is a lush and winding greenspace which has helped reduce heat in the immediate surrounding areas by 3.9 to 5.9 degrees celsius, has led to a reduction in air pollution by (35%), and has increased the area’s vegetation and marine biodiversity as well.

However, the most surprising benefits of this was a reduction in vehicle congestion in the city centre, and a marked increase in public transit ridership (15.1% for bus and 3.3% for subway respectively) for the central districts.

Additionally, the park’s accessibility increases connectivity between the formerly disconnected north and south districts, with the inclusion of bridges for pedestrians and vehicles. Bus transit lines were added to replace lost commute capacity, but the formerly sprawling ground-level driving lanes were greatly reduced to discourage personal vehicle usage, successfully reducing automobile trips around the central district areas.

Thus, paradoxically for Seoul, the solution to traffic issues was to minimise space and infrastructure which were exclusively reserved for cars. This counterintuitive approach exemplifies the new pedestrian-centric strategy for urban planning.

This same strategy could work in Phnom Penh as well.
Full article: https://southeastasiaglobe.com/phnom-penh-cars/

Can we pop in a metro first?

Freightdog wrote:The old ‘don’t know what they’ve got until it’s gone’!

Some of the charm and character, and ease access of areas like riverside (yes, I know...) would be much improved if they were largely pedestrian only. But you’d need the big ego, self important folk to ditch their expressions of wealth and power.

Are you sure the Khmer can build and maintain an efficient and convenient mass transit network that would eliminate the need for cars? And motos?

There’s a rumor that the French gave the city a master plan for growth that would have reduced congestion and smog, and prevented flooding. Supposedly still sitting on a shelf somewhere.

And the original article called for Phnom Penh to have trees and plants everywhere in the city. Most development seems to do the opposite - replace everything natural and scenic and replace with concrete.

But the Cambodians can still dream…

And live in luxury Boreys that look like a European themed amusement park.

As much as it sounds great to walk in Phnom Penh, reality is it's too damn hot to walk to business meetings, etc without arriving drenched in sweat. Before anything else happens, public transport needs to be developed to a standard that business people would consider using it. Without that, everything else is just a pipedream.

Bogota was able to do it with strong no b/s mayor 15 years ago. It's still not a perfect and in some ways it has took steps back even, but huge improvement compared to late 90s when city had many same characteristics what Phnom Penh has now. Parking on pathways being the norm for example.



That video has lot of great examples what Phnom Penh should do too (rapid bus system, focus to pedestrian pathways instead of roads).

Freightdog wrote: ↑Wed May 26, 2021 7:01 am
But my comments were more to the point that vehicle traffic should be largely unnecessary in most of the area around St110-172, riverside, and in towards Norodom. Pedestrian area, Khmer Tuk-Tuks, street sellers. Scooters. Pedal rickshaws. Nothing bigger. A less pressured pace, a more pleasant environment.
There’s a quite a few areas that would benefit, I’m sure.

This. Would make the all the restaurants/bars/cafes boom if they would do this. They could start this in small scale making the area of Wat Phnom - Post office - Riverside to pedestrian only at first.

So, those folk that live between 110 & 172. Where do they park? Sure they will be thrilled to walk a few blocks in the rain to get to a car park that they have to pay for.

Why would restaurants/bars/cafe's boom? are you suggesting that folks with cars would love to come to 110 - 172, but its too hard to do so now in their car, therefore don't come now?

I would suggest that most middle class Khmer families (read: people with money) won't come to that part of town for bars / restaurants, etc. because there are too many whore bars with tarts mulling around outside compounded by Johns staggering about pissed looking for 50c beers. It's the same reason you don't see Thai families taking a stroll down Soi 4. It's the ugliest Soi in Bangkok for a reason and it isn't because of cars.

To sort out the area you are talking about, move all the bars to one specific street only (have a prostitution zone) or simply just don't re-open them. Then, maybe then, look at more one-way streets, mature trees, footpaths and sensible parking up around St19 - Norodom is too far. Perhaps that could work.

ego bibere nimis wrote: ↑Wed May 26, 2021 3:55 pm So, those folk that live between 110 & 172. Where do they park? Sure they will be thrilled to walk a few blocks in the rain to get to a car park that they have to pay for.

Why would restaurants/bars/cafe's boom? are you suggesting that folks with cars would love to come to 110 - 172, but its too hard to do so now in their car, therefore don't come now?

I would suggest that most middle class Khmer families (read: people with money) won't come to that part of town for bars / restaurants, etc. because there are too many whore bars with tarts mulling around outside compounded by Johns staggering about pissed looking for 50c beers. It's the same reason you don't see Thai families taking a stroll down Soi 4. It's the ugliest Soi in Bangkok for a reason and it isn't because of cars.

To sort out the area you are talking about, move all the bars to one specific street only (have a prostitution zone) or simply just don't re-open them. Then, maybe then, look at more one-way streets, mature trees, footpaths and sensible parking up around St19 - Norodom is too far. Perhaps that could work.

How many of those living in that area actually have a car? My guess is that the number is very very low. Like Freightdog said scooters would be still ok. And you can keep some street open for cars still. But mix car traffic with pedestrians to keep speeds low and block through traffic. Not really that difficult. This has been done in many cities around the world.

Restaurants would boom because you would have actually space for al-fresco dining, no fumes and noise from cars / speeding scooters etc just more relaxed atmosphere. Again this has been done in other cities with similar "booming" results.

Totally agree that girly bars etc. should be moved to one street to have proper red light district and clean others streets to make them family friendly.

This is the first of a series of articles written by architect Ses Aronsakda, published in VOD.
Opinion
Riverside’s Reinvention: The Case for Car-Free Sisowath Quay
Ses Aronsakda
| Thu Dec 8, 2022 10:26 am

Phnom Penh’s most valuable urban space is dominated by traffic that makes a mess between the riverfront and Royal Palace. In the first of a four-part series campaigning for a car-free Sisowath Quay, Ses Aronsakda highlights the idea’s potential for civic activity and commuters.

In its founding myth, Cambodians are said to be the descendants of Nagas who dwell underwater in lakes, rivers, and oceans. These Nagas of old were a benevolent force, but now a new race of mechanical, polluting serpents is choking Cambodia’s lands. 

The challenge I refer to is the never-ending lines of motor vehicles that snake their way across Cambodia’s towns and cities. Phnom Penh is especially afflicted. Even the city’s most beautiful public spaces are designed not with humans in mind, but planned in a way that caters to traffic instead.

Preah Sisowath Quay, the promenade along the riverside, is a prime example of a public space and a crucial anchor point for the city’s civic life. But even in this place vehicle traffic dominates, with four fast-moving lanes disconnecting the riverside promenade from the lawn of the Royal Palace, and from the area in front of Wat Ounalom.

Imagine a future scenario where Sisowath Quay is pedestrianized from the Chaktomuk Conference Hall to the Night Market, offering a continuous 1.4 kilometer-long public space, brimming with social, economic, cultural and leisure activities. Driving lanes clogged with cars and motorcycles could instead be replaced by a large pedestrian and cycling thoroughfare, where instead of dangerously dodging traffic to catch a breath-taking glimpse of the confluence point of four rivers, anyone — be they young, old, riding a bike, or using a wheelchair — could casually stroll to view the river’s scenery.

Although such a radical transformation may seem daunting and obstructive, it is crucial to unlock the full potential of urban space. And it is possible to achieve this kind of change — on the riverside, and elsewhere in the city — without sacrificing the overall flow of movement around the capital.
Full article: https://vodenglish.news/riversides-rein ... wath-quay/