No Car Day in UB

Saturday was no car day in UB. All traffic was blocked on Peace Ave, Baga Toiruu, Seoul St and Sambuu / Beijing Streets. It was extraordinarily refreshing. Lots of people out today enjoying the easy walking, bike riding and roller blading. I wish they would have more days like this!

Selbe River Make Over

The Selbe River is getting a long awaited make over. The gully that runs north south is being redone with walking paths and public spaces. The project started a few weeks ago and will probably take a year or more to complete but progress is underway. The first area to be developed is the section between the US embassy and the Sky Shopping Mall. This should definitely add some life to an otherwise neglected part of the city.

School No. 5 Park

My last post described a new park behind Ard Kino, let’s just call it the Ard Kino Park (unless anyone can suggest a better name).

Now there is another new park, this one is located behind School No 5. So we’ll call it School 5 Park. (if you are looking for it, walk along the lane that runs along the south side of School 5, then turn left near the soccer field)

Significantly, this one was funded by the government. There is a big sign nearby stating that it was an initiative of Zorigt, Minister of Minerals and Energy.

The park is not as flashy as the Ard Kino Park but it does feature some pavement for roller skating, walkways, benches and gazebos. Certainly its an improvement over the concrete and rubble that was there before. When I visited last Sunday the local residents were hanging around, enjoying their new park. Now we just need to replicate this park in every courtyard around the city.

Another note, directly behind School No 5 is a new soccer field, with artificial turf. It replaces and older dirt soccer field. It’s a great place to kick a soccer ball around but unfortunately it’s usually closed to the general public. Soccer teams practice here frequently but at other times the gates are locked. The same goes for the new soccer field near the Manduhai Hotel. If anyone knows any soccer fields that are open for general use feel free to comment here.

Some pix of the new park…

New Park in UB

A brand new park has officially opened in UB. It’s located behind Ard Kino, near the French Bakery. Its a great addition to central Ulaanbaatar and if you have not already been down there I encourage everyone to go check it out. There are a couple of water fountains, some grassy areas, trees and benches. It is just what every neighborhood in UB needs. The park was not built by the city. It was built by a private investor who was given the land to develop into a park. In return, the investor was given some land to put up an apartment building nearby. Hopefully this park will be a model for other areas of the city. Here are some pix:

Fountain in new park by Ard Kino

New park behind Ard Kino.

New park behind Ard Kino

Little Ring Road

So the Little Ring Road project is done. The street has been resurfaced and enormous curbs installed. Where the road meets Peace Ave, it has been widened a little, allowing for easier left and right turns. But there are lingering questions, namely, what will be done with the “green space” left between the sidewalk and the road? There is a heck of a lot of space there - about 10m in some spots. For now is pretty much waste ground but, we can only assume, the city has plans to beautify these areas with grass, trees, benches etc. Clearly, the city has elected not to bring more parking spaces along this road. When I look at this land, I think bike lane. It would be a perfect opportunity to make a bike lane in the city center.  There is also plenty of room to make small parks, similar to the little park that has been built on Tourist Street (near Luna Blanca restaurant). What would you do with Little Ring Road? Send in your comments.

An example of the large areas of undeveloped land left on the Little Ring Road. This patch is near Bagshiin Del bus stop (near the UB Hotel). The land could be used for small parks or a bike path around the whole Little Ring Road.

More Traffic Woes - and solutions?

Traffic this week has been horrific. It must be a perfect storm of pre-Naadam work rush and road construction. The rain yesterday did not help but the traffic was just as bad today even without rain. I walked, of course, clear across town because it was faster than a bus or taxi, and while walking I considered two low cost solutions to the traffic problem…

1. Make UB bike friendly. Build a bike path on Seoul Street and the road from Chinggis Khan Hotel to Tengis Kino, plus other streets, and install a bunch of bike racks. Give people a chance to ride bikes an alternative form of transport.

2. Do what China did during the Olympics - force cars to drive on limited days. If car has a license plate that starts with an even number it can be used Mon, Wed, Fri. If it starts with an odd number it can be used Tues and Thurs. Then switch the following week so that odd number plates can be used on Mon, Wed, Fri. Violators would be fined. By doing this you (in theory) reduce the number of cars on the road by 50%. Yes, some people will find ways to cheat but wouldn’t hurt to try it.

Just my two tugriks. Any one else have any bright ideas?

Sukhbaatar Square Street Now Two-Way

The street on the east side of Sukhbaatar Square (between Choibalsan statue and Central Tower) has gone from being one way to two-way street. The intersection at Peace Ave has been widened and now connects with Olympic Street. The picture below is taken next to the Central Tower, with the Foreign Ministry on the other side of the street.