New cameras are scheduled to be installed on September 29 near Yerevan’s entrances and the Small Center, Mayor Tigran Avinyan said, stressing that they will help the municipality complete its analysis of traffic flows, Factor.am reports.
Avinyan also said that areas for new parking lots have already been designated in different parts of Yerevan, particularly near city entrances, allowing motorists to leave their cars there and continue their journeys by public transport.
“Certainly, instead of 60 passenger cars, one bus is enough to transport that number of people,” he said.
Avinyan noted that regional transport is not permitted to pick up or drop off passengers at stops in the capital.
“Regional transport generally has no right to carry out passenger operations at Yerevan city stops, and that is effectively illegal activity,” he said.
The mayor noted that the issue is not solely about restricting interregional transport. The goal is to establish unified and coordinated management of public transport in Yerevan.
“Our task there is not specifically interregional transport, but to organize public transport in Yerevan competently from a single center,” Avinyan said.
He also said integrated travel cards may be introduced for passengers. According to the mayor, final solutions for reorganizing interregional and urban transport should be clarified this year so implementation can begin next year.
The mayor also addressed discussions about a possible increase in public transport fares. He said prices for the existing packages will remain unchanged, while the only possible change could concern the cost of a single journey.
“The only thing that may happen is an annual 10-dram change in the price of a single journey, but there is currently no such decision at Yerevan Municipality or the Council of Elders,” Avinyan said.
At the same time, the mayor said public transport routes need to be reorganized, with more vehicles allocated to heavily congested routes and fewer to routes with lower passenger demand.
According to Avinyan, parking restrictions have already been introduced in some parts of the Small Center, particularly where parked vehicles obstruct traffic. He cited Nalbandyan Street as an example, where angled parking is being changed to parallel parking.
Avinyan assured that the Ajapnyak metro station will be built. He said discussions are currently also underway regarding Russian involvement.
“We are currently in discussions. As soon as there is news, the process will become public,” the mayor said.
He said construction of the Ajapnyak metro station is scheduled to begin next year.
Addressing the upcoming City Council elections, Avinyan confirmed that the Civil Contract party will participate and that he is preparing for the elections, but did not specify whether he would be the party’s candidate.
“Of course, I am preparing for the upcoming elections. We are definitely preparing for the upcoming elections because the Civil Contract party will participate. I believe that, in any case, whatever we decide, the Civil Contract party will make the right decision,” he said.
Asked whether Security Council Secretary Alen Simonyan could be Civil Contract’s candidate, Avinyan said that would become known after the relevant decision is made.
“I think you will learn about our decision when that decision is made. We are not planning it yet; we have two years,” he said when asked about the timeframe for discussions over the candidate.
