Moscow River to Reclaim Cargo and Public Transportation

The Moscow City authorities have plans to explore the transportation function of the Moscow River that is hardly used now, said Sergey Kuznetsov, Moscow Chief Architect, in his Vesti FM interview.

“The river is almost never used as a traffic artery. If we compare the situation now with what we had back in the Soviet times, the river’s share is virtually nonexistent. Everyone knows  there used to be pleasure boats, passenger and cargo traffic. It all added up to quite a volume. But now the river is quiet”, noted Sergey Kuznetsov.

“Eco-wise and efficiency-wise, river cargo transportation is much better than trucking. There is a lot of development taking place in Moscow right now, so there is a significant need for cargo transportation that isn’t going to go away any time soon. We have to plan for the development of both cargo and passenger traffic. I think we’ll see it all coming to life in the nearest future”, concluded the Chief Architect.

According to Kuznetsov, the competition for the concept or urban development of the Moscow River was the biggest planning contest ever to take place in Moscow, as well as one of the biggest in the world. Huge territories were involved in the project, including 25 acres of lands adjacent to the river, 50 miles of the riverbed length within the city limits and more than 125 miles of riverwalks on both sides of the river from which only 37 have already been redeveloped.

“Despite the impressive figures, the general idea of the concept of urban development of the Moscow River is very simple. People should be able to walk along the river, to access it easily. We have to create pedestrian and cycling routes, improve the territories that are abandoned, littered or misused. It’s important because wastelands like this turn into breeding grounds for criminal activity, stray animals and pollution. They have to be cleared, cleaned, and redeveloped. Territories like Mnevniki or ZiL factory that are now being upgraded, big territories and industrial zones adjacent to the river will all be redeveloped when the time comes”, confirmed Kuznetsov.