The capital's Department of Transportation recognized the current traffic pattern in the business center as inconvenient for both pedestrians and drivers. Therefore, it was decided to make changes.
Each tower will now be accessible only through a specific entrance, and taxis will have separate parking areas. Each skyscraper will also have additional "kiss & ride" zones for drop-off and pick-up. However, stopping at these zones will only be permitted for a five-minute period. A decision has also been made to create three pedestrian zones near the Afimall City shopping center .
Alexander Shumsky, head of Probok.Net, commented on the current situation and upcoming changes. He believes that Moscow City is currently experiencing urban chaos, completely lacking organization. The entire business center is practically a single roadway, where pedestrians are forced to sprint to avoid cars, coupled with a near-total lack of public space organization. Shumsky expressed satisfaction that the authorities have finally addressed the problem and decided to restore order in Moscow City. He believes that the decision to limit parking to five minutes at the tower approaches and to create a separate taxi stand is absolutely correct and rational, as each skyscraper has underground parking. However, only half of Moscow City's visitors can afford the 1,000 rubles per hour parking fee.
Nevertheless, the new measures promise to bring order to the Moscow International Business Center. They will create more pedestrian areas in the business center, each skyscraper will have its own organized entrance, and through-passages will be eliminated. This doesn't mean there will be fewer cars in the City, but traffic should be more organized and parking more streamlined. The new measures will also prevent the filming of videos for TikTok and similar platforms, which has been a frequent occurrence in Moscow City and is so disruptive to residents and visitors, causing traffic delays.
The Department of Transport also announced the creation of dedicated lanes on two streets surrounding the Moscow International Business Center: Testovskaya and 1st Krasnogvardeisky Proezd. These lanes will be designated for public transportation.
Work to implement the new measures is already underway, but within a few days, difficulties have emerged. The dedicated lanes have caused significant traffic congestion, according to Petr Shkumatov, coordinator of the "Blue Buckets" movement. He explained that one of the dedicated lanes (the exit from the inner Third Ring Road, which allows access to the "Tower on the Embankment" and beyond) has already been marked but is not yet operational. Therefore, only one lane is currently operational instead of two. As a result, traffic congestion near the exit to Moscow-City has become even worse. He believes that the dedicated lanes for public transport should be reconsidered. He believes that the designated lane on Testovskaya Street could be eliminated or even expanded to three lanes, at least toward Presnenskaya Embankment.
Thus, questions remain, although the idea of streamlining traffic within Moscow City itself resonates strongly with the majority. After all, according to Moscow City Hall, the business center is visited by over 140,000 people daily, 97,000 of whom arrive by public transport, 30,000 by private car, and the remaining 12,000 by taxi. Nevertheless, Maxim Liksutov, head of the Department of Transport, is convinced that once the new traffic plan is implemented and the quarter's visitors are adapted to it, getting there will become more convenient by any means of transport.
