Driver beware

In our neighborhood, the traffic flow is further impeded by cars double and triple parking on the main street of Üsküdar. This, in effect, turns a normally two-laned roadway into a bottleneck of cars, buses and minibuses, as each vehicle vies to squeak past the illegally parked autos and delivery vans. Now, though, a new problem has arisen on the tiny lanes leading on and off the main street of downtown Üsküdar. At some point in the last few weeks, several of the streets that were one-way in one direction suddenly switched to funnel traffic in the opposite direction. In many other countries, such a move would prompt postings of notices well ahead of time to alert motorists to the upcoming changes. For some reason, however, no such notices were posted on the streets involved. The result has been chaotic, to say the least.

Since some of the new traffic patterns now involve maneuvering hairpin turns, chunks of sidewalks have been hacked away to allow motorized traffic to navigate the tight corners. This, however, has added confusion to the pedestrian traffic as those who are walking to and from the boats and buses now must enter into the lanes of oncoming cars in order to reach their destination. Some of the long established minibus stops have also changed location due to the changes in traffic. This has resulted in long lines on sidewalks that once were clear walkways. Commuters heading to and from the boats now have to push and shove their way through the queues for the minibuses that form along the parts of the sidewalks that have been chiseled away to accommodate the traffic. In addition to the hassles of dealing with the lines waiting for minibuses, the traffic lights have been removed, so now pedestrians have to cross the street at their own peril. Of course, the traffic lights were always just there as a suggestion for motorists to slow down for those on foot, but it did make it a tad safer. Now, those of us who travel on foot are left to our own devices to figure out how best to get through the oncoming traffic.

The inconvenience to pedestrians is minimal compared to the headaches that drivers are experiencing. Since signs or notices were not posted ahead of time to alert drivers of the upcoming changes, many motorists have been caught by surprise as they try to navigate the small streets that for years have been flowing in a particular direction. Out of habit, they continue to drive along the routes they know well. The result is chaos as minibuses zoom around tight corners, following the new direction of traffic, only to have to screech to a halt as they encounter oncoming cars with confused drivers trying to proceed in the opposite direction. On the small, one-lane streets of our neighborhood, there is no room to pass in most places. The result is that there are many more daily dramas being played out with yelling and waving of hands as drivers argue about who is in the wrong, and which vehicle should reverse and change direction.

The up side to all of this is that the men who spend their days lingering over cups of tea and board games at the local teahouses that line the streets now have more entertainment right on their doorstep. As cars block the streets and drivers lean out of their windows to argue with one another, the men from the teahouses take sides in the disputes. As they sip their tea and smoke cigarettes, they debate amongst themselves who is in the wrong and yell encouragement to the driver of their choice. Often several of the men leave the teahouses and come into the streets to assist in directing traffic as the losing driver is forced to try and reverse direction or move out of the way in the traffic-clogged streets.

In the weeks since the street rerouting went into effect, the result has been more problems on the small streets that feed into and off of the larger arteries in the area. The aim, most likely, was to ease some of the existing traffic problems, particularly at rush hours when more commuters are filling the already crowded streets. The traffic problems are compounded by the construction under way for the Marmaray project. This has added to the continual redirection of cars, buses and minibuses as the project progresses.