Instead of the previously approved "cloverleaf" interchange developed at Kyivproekt, it is proposed to build a three-level distribution ring. According to the author, architect and inventor Viktor Petruk, such a solution will more than double the capacity, reduce the number of accidents, and decrease the area occupied by the interchange from 9 to 1.9 hectares.
However, the key point is not how rational Petruk's idea is, but that it has generated wide public interest. The project is being praised, criticized, and actively discussed.
- The official option only involves adding two turns (from Hetmana Street towards the center and from the bridge to the center) and replacing the existing overpass with a similar one. I propose a three-level interchange with isolated transit flows. It provides for all directions: right and left turns, straight movement, and even a U-turn, - Petruk is confident. - This was achieved thanks to a patented solution: traffic moves not counterclockwise, but clockwise. Such an interchange is ideal for the city and does not require demolishing buildings. A similar one could be built at the intersection of Volodymyrska and Shevchenko. For a "cloverleaf" there, we would have to destroy the park and demolish the university.
To confirm that the capacity of their interchange is higher than that of the "cloverleaf" and that the calculations are not "pulled out of thin air," the Kyivans conducted an experiment. On a 150-meter section near the Ring Road, they marked out a fragment imitating the interchange and invited volunteers behind the wheel. Not just one or two people responded, but as many as 60 cars. Each was given instructions with a route, and all movement was recorded on video.
- The precedent itself is curious. It is nice to see that people are not indifferent and know how to self-organize. I quickly figured out the proposed scheme and understood how to drive on it, - shares his impressions the experiment participant Bohdan Ahanin. - But the implementation of the project is frightening. If construction begins, the city will stand still for two to three years. Imagine a pit being dug on Shuliavka in the middle of the avenue!
The photo below shows the Shuliavsky overpass reconstruction project from Kyivproekt. Above is an alternative option proposed by Kyiv enthusiasts.
Volodymyr Vorobyov, director of the Kyivdormostproekt institute
- They do not have a single positive expert opinion. In their interchange, only the traffic scheme is new. And it contradicts Ukrainian traffic rules. It is extremely dangerous due to oncoming traffic on the ring. Therefore, all experts refuse. Instead of self-regulation on the ring, four signalized intersections will have to be installed. I carefully studied their project and noticed that their scheme would greatly harm public transport: instead of passing straight through the ring, buses would have to go around it via three left turns.
