Experts divided over building underground tunnels in Tallinn
Several Tallinn mayoral candidates have said they want to move car traffic underground to make room on the main street, even as experts warn that tunnels may not solve congestion.
According to Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) emeritus professor Dago Antov, while it is the case that the current area where the main street is being planned is hardly pleasant for anyone — drivers, pedestrians and cyclists alike, directing traffic underground requires thorough consideration, as experience has demonstrated that this may not actually solve the congestion problem.
"Our current experiences, perhaps not so much with going underground but rather above ground — with multi-level intersections — show that these have not remedied traffic jams as a whole," Antov said.
The professor added that traffic jams often tend to be pushed elsewhere.
"That has been the case with both the Haabersti and Ülemiste intersections. I'm afraid that with underground solutions like this, we could face a similar problem," Antov went on.
Geologist and vice-rector for entrepreneurship at TalTech Erik Puura meanwhile said that while the idea might be a reasonable solution, building an entire subterranean system would be an extremely costly project.
"As far as I know, the figures are roughly as follows: For Estonia, one kilometer of a four-lane highway costs about four million euros to build; a kilometer of Rail Baltica, without stations, is five million euros; but a kilometer of Tallinn's 'metro' would cost around 50 million euros — about ten times more," Puura noted.
Lecturer in road engineering and TalTech Ain Kendra meanwhile said that the key question with tunnel construction is where the best point to go underground would lie. A similar issue was explored in a master's thesis which would have put the tunnel at the beginning of the proposed main street.
"In 2017, Kristen Veibri wrote a master's thesis in which he drafted a concept for a Tallinn tunnel that would connect Reidi tee with Paldiski maantee and would run under Toompea," Kendra said.
A solution like that would disrupt life in the capital less, in the course of construction, than would other alternatives.
According to Kendra, there are other areas beyond the city center where tunnels would also be needed in Tallinn.
"If the Kopli area gets as many new residents as a town the size of Pärnu, yet the whole connection relies only on two routes — the coastal road and Sõle tänav — that won't be sufficient anymore," Kendra said.
Conversely, Antov said that the recent trend has been to abandon tunnels and to invest more in public transport; he would apply the same principle to the main street project. Antov said he would not completely eliminate car traffic on the main street, since businesses and institutions in the area still require it to some extent.
"In general, we should primarily reduce transit traffic in the city center. Perhaps the first strategic step should be to make public transport faster," Antov said.
Puura, however, pointed out the cost of free public transport. If Tallinn were to start charging again for bus rides, the revenue could help support tunnel construction.
"Free public transport in Tallinn costs around €40 million per year. Let's compare the scales. Theoretically, anything is possible," Puura said.
At the same time, he acknowledged that carrying out large-scale projects in Estonia would be complex in any case.
"It's extremely hard to implement major projects in Estonia. Good ideas emerge, but then the obstacles arise," Puura said.
The proposed Peatänav ("Main street") project would run along the multi-lane stretch of Pärnu mnt running a northeast-southwest direction from the city center end of Narva mnt, to the intersection with Estonia pst./Kaarli pst., by Vabaduse väljak (Freedom Square).
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Johanna Alvin
Source: Vikerraadio
