Xi an Urban Road Network Improvement Project (RRP PRC 43032) PROJECT TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION 1. With sustained economic growth, Xi an is experiencing a rapid increase in urban population and motor vehicle ownership, which has led to rising congestion levels, increased air pollution from motor vehicles, a high traffic accident rate and parking on pedestrian paths due to shortage of parking spaces inside the city walls. Although only 10% of current trips in Xi an are made by car, the rapid growth of private vehicle ownership and use poses a great challenge on the sustainability of the existing transportation system and approach to urban mobility. Through the proposed project, bus prioritization, nonmotorized transport (NMT) routes, pedestrian safety, advanced traffic management, vehicle emission control, and parking strategies will be introduced in an effort to promote better road use for all. The project includes five interlined outputs: (i) Output 1: road network improvements; (ii) Output 2: pedestrian crossing and safety improvements; (iii) Output 3: multimodal interchange facilities; (iv) Output 4: ITS and road user safety program; and (v) Output 5: environment protection enhancement. A. Output 1: Road Network Improvements 2. The road network improvement output consisting of 3 municipal roads and 6 interchanges, each form part of the strategic road network for Xi an and are priority requirements as identified in the Master Plan for Xi an and conform with the city s five-year transport plan. These investments will provide the necessary access and interconnectivity between the two growth poles in Xi an namely, the commercial and business area in the southwest of the city between second and third ring roads, and the government offices to the north of the city. The output will provide key missing links between the second and third ring roads, and improve the overall linkage of the urban road network. The roads will be constructed in such a way as to provide for all users, private cars, public transport, cycles and pedestrians, and will incorporate environmental enhancements such as linear parks along rights-of-way wherever possible. 3. The output will reconstruct 12.92 kilometer (km) of urban roads along Keji 2nd Road (6.2 km), Kunming Road (4.39 km) and Dazhai (2.33 km) West Road in the southwest part of the city, between rings roads 2 and 3.These roads will include 21.57 km of bus priority corridors, 21.57 km of NMT lanes and a 4.39 km linear green park along Kunming Road. This output will also include six urban interchange to provide suitable size and configuration at critical bottleneck points in the road network and thus provide sufficient access to the new growth centers between ring roads 2 and 3. 4. The proposed bus priority corridors along the roads will include exclusive bus lanes, bus signal priorities, station improvements, and traffic management measures, which will significantly improve travel conditions for bus passenger. The roads will include facilities for cyclists and pedestrians and thus provide street design and operation for all road users. 5. The road network improvements will enhance the functionality and connectivity of the existing second and third ring roads, connecting the two growth poles of the city and providing vital missing links and junction improvements on the strategic road network of Xi an. The individual project sub-outputs are as follows: (i) Road 1A: Keji 2nd Road West Section a dual 6-lane new road with a length of 6.2 km from South Orbital Road (Urban Expressway) in the west to Zhangba North Road in the east.
2 (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) Road 1B: Kunming Road Reconstruction has two segments: (i) the shorter segment is a 635 meters (m) road from Jing Xi Rd (to be constructed) to Xibao Road with a 6 m median divider, dual 8 lanes; 8 m landscaping strip; 5 m bike lane; 5 m sidewalk over a 70 m right of way; (ii) the longer segment is 3,755 m long starting from the east bank of Zao River to the West 2nd Ring Road. The westbound is 4 lanes with an 18.5 22.5 m landscaping strip covering Dahuan River (mainly an open sewer), 7 m auxiliary road & bikeway, and 6 m sidewalk. The east bound will be reconstructed while retaining its original 3 lanes with 5 m bikeway and a 6 m sidewalk Road 1C: Dazhai Road West Expansion a new bi-directional six-lane, having a length of 2.33 km from Yanhuan in the west to Dazhai Road in the east and crossing the West 3rd Ring Road with a fly-over bridge Interchange 2A: Zhuhong Road North 2nd Ring Road Interchange is a 3-level interchange with the dual 6-lane Zhuhong Road crossing (3rd level) over existing North 2nd Ring Road (2nd level) and the other directional flows (N-W/S-W) will be on ground auxiliary roads controlled by signal lights (first level). 8m ramps connect North 2nd Ring Road W-E to Zhuhong S-N, as well as from Zhuhong N- S to North 2nd Ring Road W-E. Interchange 2B: Zhuhong Road-Fengcheng 4th Road Interchange this is a dual 6-lane, 856 m flyover bridge along Zhuhong Road running over the Shihua Avenue-Fencheng 4th Road and Fencheng 5th Road. Interchange 2C: Hongmiao Po Interchange is a 3-level interchange with a dual 6-lane S-N Xinghou Road going under the E-W Hongmiao Po Road & Daxing East Road. The rest of the turns will be level-crossings on ground level auxiliary roads controlled by signal lights. Interchange 2D: Xinghuo Road Interchange this project will consist of the Xinhou Road as dual 4-lane running underneath from Longhai Railway, to passed the Ziquiang West Road and Fenghe Road through a box culvert. The auxiliary roads will be utilized for level crossings from Ziquiang West Road to Fenghe Road and vice-versa. (viii) Interchange 2E: Fengcheng 8th Road-Beichen Avenue Interchange will be a 2- level full cloverleaf interchange with a dual six-lane Fengcheng 8th Road crossing over Beichen Avenue. This will have left-turn bridge ramps, 10-m ongrade right-turn ramps and 9-m auxiliary road. (ix) Interchange 2F: Fengcheng 8th Road-Taihua Road Interchange will be a 3- level partial cloverleaf interchange with the west-east dual six-lane Fencheng 8th Road at the 3rd level, north-south dual six-lane Taihua Road at the 2nd level, and a 60 m radius roundabout at the ground level. The 2nd and 3rd levels are connected by three 10m viaducts left-turn clover leaf ramps, while a right-turn (8 m) ramp connects from the elevated portion of west-east Fengheng 8th Road viaduct to the ground level. 6. It is expected that with the implementation of these nine infrastructural components, improved access will be provided and traffic congestion reduced; while ensuring mobility and traffic safety for all road users. Provisions for safety and engineering components such as drainage, barrier walls, lighting, pavement design etc. will be included along with protection and minimization of disruption of major utilities in each of the component sites. The locations of the 9 project components are shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Location Map of Road Network Improvements 3
4 B. Output 2: Pedestrian Crossing and Safety Improvements 7. In Xi an, walking and cycling, together with public transport users who require walking access constitutes 21%, 13% and 23.5% of the modal split respectively (2008). While these trip percentages are expected to decrease due to the projected increase of motorized vehicular trips, they will still provide account for the majority of trips in the city. In addition, walking trips and cycling modes are often the only mode available for the poor in society and thus supporting these modes has a pro-poor element allowing equitable access for all. 8. The project includes the improvements of 110 urban intersections and 15 mid-block crossings which were selected through a detailed survey and prioritization process. The main impact of the pedestrian safety improvement is to provide protection to pedestrians and cyclists from vehicles through the intersection improvement and traffic safety furniture and enhance traffic enforcement capability through advanced IT based traffic enforcement systems. The main features of the equipment are estimated to include 1,410 traffic and pedestrian signal, 420 red light running enforcement camera, and 3,030 street signs, this will be confirmed during detailed design. 9. This output is linked with output 4 which includes a capacity development component for pedestrian safety, which will develop toolkits, training materials and safety campaigns target at vulnerable roads users such as children and the elderly. The output will promote the use of non-motorized transport that is safe and caters for those segments of society that are less likely to have access to private modes of transport and therefore rely on walking, in particular the poor, children and women. The output will also provide safe crossing facilities for public transport users, as walking is a vital component of the overall trip. 10. The total 110 intersections and 15 mid-block crossings were selected for their demonstration impact and to ensure improvement at critical points across the city, where high pedestrian volumes are observed, namely, schools, commercial buildings, hospitals, etc. The remaining junctions or mid-block crossing improvements required across the city will utilize the experience and capacity developed in this project to continually improve safety and should be considered as additional works by the City of Xi an in the future. The locations selected for the pedestrian safety improvement is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Intersection and Mid-Block Pedestrian Crossing Improvement Locations 5
6 C. Output 3: Multimodal Interchange Facilities 11. The multimodal interchanges facilities (MIF) output includes construction of four intermodal interchange facilities, five multi-level parking facilities, and five new compressed natural gas (CNG) stations. The proposed sub-outputs will provide the interconnectivity between modes that has been neglected thus far in the cities transport system. The selected locations will provide demonstration of key types of facilities that can be further developed as more multimodal and interchange locations are required for the expanding metro network and offstreet parking provisions. 1. Multimodal Hubs 12. In order to improve and upgrade the public accessibility to the Xi an metro system, the project will construct four multimodal hubs. These four hubs will provide integrated multi-modal transport facilities accommodating subway, railway, bus, long distance coach, taxi, motorbike, and bicycle traffic. The four multimodal hubs are: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) T1-Xi'an North Train Station Multimodal Hub T2-Xi'an National Civil Aerospace Industrial Base Multimodal Hub T3-Xi'an Yuhuazhai Multimodal Hub T4-Xi'an International Logistics Park Multimodal Hub 2. Multi-level parking garages 13. Five multi-level parking facilities, providing spaces for 2,249 vehicles in off-street facilities, as well as provisions for motorcycles, bicycles, buses and taxis are located as follows: (i) two at transport interchange hubs (Xi an Yuhua Zhai and Xi an International Logistics Park) to promote sustainable mode share and the use of public transport by providing park and ride facilities for private vehicles, motorcycles and bicycles and (ii) three parking garages on the edge of the old walled city (Leju Chang, South Guoshang Village and Xizhan Community) which will act as traffic demand management measure to avoid motorized trips entering the walled city by providing alternate parking locations outside the city walls. The parking facilities will also incorporate parking management and enforcement on the surrounding streets and address the series issue of illegal parking on The five multi-level parking garages are: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) T5-Xi'an Yuhua Zhai Parking Garage T6-Xi'an International Logistics Park Parking Garage T7-Leju Chang Parking Garage T8-South Guoshang Village Garage T9-Xizhan Community Garage 3. CNG 1 fueling stations and Bus Depots: 14. In Xi an the current vehicle stock fuel source data shows that almost all taxis and public transport vehicles are operated on CNG. However, there are a limited number of CNG stations within the city which results in additional or longer trips being made to access the CNG Stations, creating additional congestion. 1 CNG and/or gas station.
7 15. The implementation of the CNG fueling stations will augment the existing inadequate number of CNG stations, and provide vital support to accelerate this environmentally sustainable fuel source. The five CNG fueling stations include the following five sub-outputs: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) T10-Xi'an North Train Station CNG Fueling Station T11-Xi'an National Civil Aerospace Industrial Base CNG Fueling Station T12-Xi'an Yuhuazhai CNG Fueling Station T13-Xi'an International Logistics Park CNG Fueling Station T14-Mujiangwang Interchange CNG Fueling Station Suboutput Table 1: Features incorporated in MIF sub-outputs Facilities in the site and integration Rail Transport Integration Site Bus Taxi Private Bicycle Motorcycle Commercial CNG Bus Railway Subway Number Station Station Parking Parking Parking Area Station Depot Station Station T1+T10 T2+T11 T3+T5+T12 T4+T6+T13 T7 T8 T9 T14
8 Figure 3: Location of Multimodal Interchange Facility Sub-outputs
9 D. Output 4: Intelligent Transport System and Road User Safety Program 16. This output will: (i) support the expansion of the existing ITS beyond the second ring road to the third ring road in order to provide ITS coverage of these important sections of the strategic road network; (ii) develop a plan for improved use and management of the ITS system; (iii) improve and enhance information dissemination for both private and public transport modes; and (iv) implement a public road safety education program to support the pedestrian crossing safety project output. This output includes capacity development components to more effectively operate the ITS system for improved traffic management, traffic incident management, information dissemination and for policing and enforcement for improved safety. 17. The output will include installation and integration of equipments comprising 20 variable message signs, 140 microwave detectors, 66 close circuit televisions, 31 red-light cameras, and 10 speed violation cameras. The equipments will be installed on 3rd Ring Road and associated link roads along the strategic road network. Before the installation of the planned equipment, the evaluation of existing microwave detectors and maintenance practice will be performed to enhance the accuracy of the information collection and to mainstream the maintenance practice. 18. In addition the following soft elements are included to complement the above physical outputs and thus increase their effectiveness. The key elements of these soft elements are: (i) Develop a roadmap for the cities ITS architecture to provide direction for future development of ITS within Xi an and ensure minimal redundancy of the systems employed for this project in any future expansion/upgrade. (ii) Options for the development of traffic and traveler information 2 distribution in Xi an and recommending ways in which this can enhance the systems employed before and during this project. (iii) Guidelines for a review of international best practice in the area of policy, regulation and standards, related to asset and operational management, which can be applied to the Xi an situation to enhance the level of traffic management in the city (iv) Guidelines for a public education program will be developed to maximize the effectiveness of the implemented systems and increase safety within the network. 19. All the solutions identified above will be required to be implemented in an integrated and orderly fashion in order to maximize their effectiveness. Locations for the ITS outputs are provided in Figure 4. 2 Traffic and traveler information refers to both public and private modes of transport.
10 Figure 4: Locations of Dynamic Traffic Information Collection and Release Sub-System
11 20. A road user safety program is an integral part of the ITS and pedestrian crossing and safety improvement output. The component includes road safety publicity campaign, the education of children and other vulnerable road users. 21. A road safety publicity campaign is part of a set of activities which aim to promote safe road use amongst the general public. Mass media advertising is often the most visible component of a campaign, however to be effective, this must be combined with visible government and/or community support, particularly law enforcement. All major campaigns should be evaluated. 22. Road safety education involves teaching children to be safe road users. It does so by developing: (i) knowledge and understanding of road traffic; (ii) behavioral skills necessary to survive in the presence of road traffic; (iii) an understanding of their own responsibilities for keeping themselves safe; (iv) knowledge of the causes and consequences of road accidents; and (iv) a responsible attitude to their own safety and to the safety of others. 23. A number of steps are required to ensure that the education campaigns are effectively developed and implemented, with lessons learnt being incorporated into future plans. The work will include: (i) prepare and support improved school-based road safety education programs for children in the selected areas; (ii) train teachers in the implementation of improved school-based road safety education programs in the pilot areas; (iii) evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of improved school-based road safety education programs for children in the pilot areas; (iv) prepare a city-wide program and guidelines and manuals for a school-based road safety education program for children, for inclusion in an updated City Road Safety Action Plan; and (v) scheduling of the program implementation. E. Output 5: Environmental Protection 24. The vehicle population in Xi an has reached 1.2 million with an annual increase rate of 15.5% since 2008. With the rise in automobile numbers, vehicle emissions have increased. In some areas, roadside CO and NO2 concentrations are 2.59 and 1.02 times the limits set in Grade II air quality standard respectively. Traffic noise is also becoming increasingly significant, disturbing people s daily lives, and even their psychological and physical health. The deterioration of the urban traffic environment has greatly affected the social image of Xi an and become one of the key problems in the social and economic development of Xi an. 25. Before the rapid increase in vehicle numbers, air pollution in Xi an was mainly caused by coal burning industries. However, using SO 2 as indicator of industry pollution and NO2 as indicator of vehicle emission, air pollution in Xi an is apparently moving from predominantly Coal Smoke Pollution to Combined Coal Smoke Pollution and Vehicle Emission. The total vehicle emissions (comprising the major air pollutants of CO, NOx and PM) has increased from 359,800 tons in 2006 to 419,800 tons in 2008, and will increase to an estimated 450,000 tons in 2010 with an increasing rate of 30,000 tons per year. 26. The Vehicle Emission Prevention and Control Regulation, XEPB is developing the Xi an Vehicle Emission Prevention and Control Plan to clearly define the objective, tasks and mitigation measures to be taken for the next 10 to 15 years. Establishing an intelligent and comprehensive vehicle emission management system (EMS) is its main approach to control vehicle emissions. The monitoring program will help the government identify and trace heavy polluted vehicles. The implementation of the Project will support Xi an Environmental Protection Bureau in developing and implementing comprehensive plans for air quality improvement and
12 vehicle emission reduction. 27. Through the establishment of a vehicle emissions information system and the expansion of emissions testing and monitoring efforts the project will enhance the capacity of the government to collect, analyze, and disseminate emissions and air quality data to policy makers and the public. The project will strengthen the ability of the XMG to enforce emissions standards through the procurement and utilization of mobile testing vehicles. 28. The output will (i) enhance the vehicle emissions inspection program by providing random inspection capacity and equipment (5 emission regulation enforcement vehicles, 10 black smoke stations and 4 mobile emission enforcement equipment). These enforcement stations can check all vehicles as they pass the stations, automatically record the violation vehicle s license plate number, and report them to the police, an emission regulation enforcement vehicle can check 5,000 vehicles per day. Xi an Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) has authority to issue on the spot tickets to vehicles that violate the emission regulations, (ii) improve air quality monitoring by establishing 4 sub-monitoring stations along the third ring road equipped with air quality and noise monitoring systems connected to the environment information center, and remote sensing data receiving system in the environment information center to monitor the city wide air quality. Information obtained from monitoring stations will be integrated with remote sensing information to provide area-wide air quality status, (iii) environment and vehicle emission control information sharing system, a computer software for environment information sharing, emission regulation violation information sharing system, public sector vehicle management, obsolete vehicle scrapping enforcement administration assistance, and environmental information disclosure, and (iv) environmental information center. This output will support more effective management and enforcement of vehicle standards. It will help identify heavily polluting vehicles, improve the efficiency of vehicle emission control and enforcement, as well as reduce on road vehicle emissions. 29. Xi an City government has committed to increase the number of days with air quality better than standard II to more than 300 days per year by reducing total pollutant emissions from industry, household, and vehicles. This output will help achieve the government commitment. The vehicle emissions will be reduced through stringent application of the 3 rd Stage State Vehicle Emission Standards and crackdown of violations of vehicle emission standard. Roadside vehicle emission regulation enforcement capacity will be significantly increased through introduction of information sharing among EPB, emission inspection centers, emission monitoring stations, and Public Security Bureau. This improved roadside violation inspection system will increase the vehicle emission inspection coverage from 70% to 80% of total registered vehicle.