This morning I left home at 7:25 and arrived for my first meeting on al. Ujazdowskie at 8:10, cycling there directly. On my way home, I cycled from my office on ul. Fabryczna to W-wa Powiśle station and took a Radom-bound train which deposited me at W-wa Dawidy. Bike-train-bike, the journey home also took 45 minutes. This represents a 40 to 50 minute time saving over the car-metro-bus, bus-metro-car round trip. The saved time can be spent working or indeed writing this post.
The car's in the drive, not taking up roadspace or burning expensive fossil fuel. I'm getting valuable exercise, keeping fit.
Puławska is bad but it's going to get much worse. Above: New temporary traffic lights have been installed between ul. Dzierzby and Kormoranów. They're not yet operational, just flashing amber right now. This signals the impending start of some serious roadworks that will see the S2 flyover crossing over the top of Puławska. When it happens - any day now - Puławska will be choked down from three lanes in each direction to two. And that will have catastrophic effects for motorised commuters coming up Puławska from Piaseczno and all points south of Warsaw.To appreciate just how bad, compare it to yesterday's jams on ul. Modlińska, the main artery running north-east out of Warsaw. Just before the morning rush-hour, one town-bound lane (of three) suddenly sprang a hole 15 metres long by two metres wide. Sławka, our admin head, came into work at 11:30, two and half hours late. Traffic was totally paralysed; buses were stationary, passengers started walking towards the city centre. It will not be this bad on Puławska because commuters will be readied for the choke-down, but expect monstrous korki.
Meanwhile, regional train operator Koleje Mazowieckie (KM) can't run more trains into town from Piaseczno because of the ongoing work at W-wa Okęcie to connect the main line to the airport. As an interesting aside: I found an old railway timetable book from 2000 the other day, back then, there were just four trains into town from Jeziorki between 6am and 9am, compared to seven trains today. Once Okęcie has been sorted out, KM could run one train every 15 minutes into town and they'd still be full.
According to Życie Warszawy/Rzeczpospolita's Warsaw section, the Mazowsze local authorities today tested a railbus connection (presumably) running along the coal train route to Konstancin. If that happens - wonderful - but cynics dismiss this as a pre-local election stunt.
Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the start of roadworks to join the S79 to the S2 Southern Warsaw Bypass - the construction of Węzeł Lotnisko and Węzeł Puławska. Much has been achieved in 12 months of snow, rain, mud and standing water, but so much more needs to be done. Euro2012 kicks off in 631 days time. By then, southern Warsaw's commuting nightmares... will be over?
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Mu colleague who lives in Tarchomin came to work just one hour and fifteen minutes later - at 9:20. But she took a shortcut. People along ul. Modlińska were getting off buses and walked towards the centre - I wonder if it happens on ul. Puławska. I did it many times and it did work.
I really appreciate my employer accepts flexible working hours what means I can go to and from work before the worst traffic jams.
For the next four months I'll be surely commuting by buses, but not in rush hours so I think I won't waste a lot of time in traffic jams, but what later?
I read about that railbus - I'm a cynic - we've heard about that idea many times, plus is it really technically feasible?
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