11.01.2026 20:11
Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş announced that they plan to reintroduce the "preferred lane" application to overcome traffic congestion. Yavaş stated, "By purchasing electric buses, we will try to create preferred lanes at certain hours like before, and we will only ask the public about this through a referendum."
Ankara Metropolitan Municipality (ABB) Mayor Mansur Yavaş attended the 23rd Ordinary General Assembly Meeting of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce and Drivers. Speaking at the General Assembly held at the Atatürk Indoor Sports Hall and Exhibition Palace, Yavaş stated that one of the main reasons for the traffic congestion in Ankara is poor urban planning.
"THERE ARE NO NEW ROADS, NO OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP" Addressing the differences between the planned population in various regions of Ankara and the current population, Yavaş said, "Yaşamkent was planned for a population of 19 thousand, but it has now increased to 31 thousand due to zoning changes. Alacaatlı was planned for 65 thousand, and it has become 124 thousand with zoning changes. Don't underestimate 124 thousand. Now everyone has their own car, their spouse's car, and their children's cars. If you count the number of cars per person, there is space. Beytepe was planned for 59 thousand, currently it is 95 thousand but will exceed 100 thousand. Dodurga was planned for 9 thousand. We published last year that exactly 500 thousand people are going there. All of them will use Eskişehir Road, they will all use the same roads. There are no new roads, no opportunities to develop. Therefore, İncek Neighborhood was planned for 19 thousand, but it has become 108 thousand. Due to these constant zoning increases, when you go up from İncek Boulevard, look at those buildings on the right and left. We have to calculate each apartment as having four vehicles," he said.
"THE REASON FOR TRAFFIC CONGESTION IS IN FRONT OF SHOPPING MALLS" Stating that approximately 20 thousand vehicles enter and exit the Central Ankara project every day, Yavaş said, "We will solve Ankara's traffic problem together, friends. Every day, 20 thousand vehicles enter the Central Ankara built next to the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality building. Calculate how many of those 20 thousand vehicles enter and exit that street. Most of the major traffic congestion in Ankara is always in front of shopping malls. Therefore, when you plan the city, we are not saying 'don't build shopping malls,' but if you count the traffic passing through there, multi-storey buildings to be built there will do nothing but congest the traffic," he said.
"WE WILL TRY TO BUILD PREFERENTIAL ROADS LIKE BEFORE AND WE WILL ASK THE PUBLIC THROUGH A REFERENDUM" Yavaş stated that they will implement new projects supporting public transportation to solve the traffic problem, and that the purchase of electric buses and preferential roads at certain hours will be on the agenda again.
Yavaş continued his speech as follows: "From now on, with the work we do, we will hopefully implement solutions that will support public transportation together. By purchasing electric buses, we will try to create preferential roads at certain hours like before, and we will only ask the public about this through a referendum. Only municipal buses, public buses, minibuses, and taxi drivers will use these roads. We will provide some incentives to ensure that people do not come to the city with their vehicles and to encourage the use of public transportation. We will do these together. Throughout the history of the Republic, there were 2 million vehicles, but since 2019, there has been an increase of 1 million vehicles. In addition, our Transportation Department counted that there are 700 thousand vehicles coming from outside Ankara in a week. Unfortunately, this 700 thousand population increase has not yet reflected in the statistics. Those who bear the burden of a problem know its solution best. Therefore, we are collaborating with our chamber on every issue. Again, by collaborating with our Transportation Department, we will hopefully find a solution to this problem together with the examples you will suggest."