TBILISI, October 7 – Tbilisi plans to introduce yellow box markings at congested intersections in an effort to stop drivers from blocking traffic.
Mayor Kakha Kaladze announced the plan at a city government meeting on Wednesday, saying the markings would be used at busy transport hubs where traffic lights alone have not solved problems with cars getting stuck inside intersections.
The problem occurs when drivers enter an intersection on a green light even though there is no available space for them on the other side, forcing them to stop in the middle of the junction and blocking vehicles from other directions once the traffic lights change.
Kaladze said Georgian traffic law already prohibits drivers from entering an intersection if they are likely to stop there and obstruct traffic, even when the light is green. He said enforcing that rule had been difficult and pointed to yellow box markings as an approach already used in many other countries.
Under the system, drivers are expected to keep the marked box clear unless there is enough space on the other side of the junction to continue through.
Kaladze said the measure is needed due to the growing number of cars in the capital. He said around 180,000 private cars were on Tbilisi’s roads before 2012, compared with up to 900,000 vehicles during peak hours today.
The city has also been introducing so-called smart traffic lights.
