The spreading city - a vicious circle

I've not been to Nowa Iwiczna for several months; most of my rambles south of Jeziorki have been around the S7 extension roadworks west of the railway line. From the border of Warsaw, south of W-wa Jeziorki station, I take the footpath following the railway to its east (below) - this was once the path of the siding into the runs parallel to the rampa na kruszywa (aggregate transshipment ramp). 

Below: crossing the border (ulica Graniczna) between Mysiadło and Nowa Iwiczna, I notice that the path has widened and hardened for vehicular access. Soon I see why - a development of ten homes, two terraces of five houses on ul. Torowa (lit. 'track street'). Any space that a developer can squeeze in more housing - even if it's right by the railway line (you can make out the electricity gantries beyond the trees to the left). The row of houses to the left are less than 50m from the coal train line - which residents of Osiedle Etap by W-wa Jeziorki station complain bitterly above despite being twice as far away.

Below: the same thing is happening around the corner on newly-built ul. Turystyczna (lit. 'touristic street'), also in Nowa Iwiczna. Here, the houses are less than 30m away from the line, although there are no frequent passenger trains using the line here - only the long, heavy and loud coal trains. Photo taken from the pedestrian-only level crossing (bicycles can cross too - but you'd be hard pressed to get a motorbike past the barriers).

From this development to Nowa Iwiczna station is an eight-minute walk via that crossing. But to drive to the station is a journey of at least 2.6km, entailing two level crossings. I suspect walking makes sense to all but the laziest polluter-commuter. An alternative to taking the train is driving to town, along ul. Puławska, notorious for its traffic jams. Below: the section of ul. Puławska from ul. Energetyczna to ul. Okulickiego in Piaseczno is being widened to three lanes each way; a bottleneck bunging up the road. I can only hope that the long-(like ten years or more) delayed bus lanes for Puławska will finally appear. No excuse - especially now that the S2 tunnel has opened.

We know how all road-widening ends; "It's so much easier to drive to town!" More people do so, leading quickly to more congestion and calls for further road-widening. Meanwhile, as seen in the photos above, more and more development, more housing, more people, are moving out into Warsaw's suburbs. I can only hope that the growth of working from home will reduce numbers of people needing to make the daily trip to town, and once the pandemic has eased people will feel more comfortable using public transport and ditch the car.

For my Polish readers, this carbon-footprint calculator, courtesy of BNP Paribas, is worth looking at, in case you feel you're doing your bit to save the climate. It's sobering.

[Postscript, 9 January 2022: at the northern end of ul. Główna, Bobrowiec, less than 5km from Nowa Iwiczna, I see another development arising out of the fields. Sprayed on the chipboard surrounding the building site are the words: Jebać szeregowce - "Fuck terraced houses".]

[Postscript, 12 January 2022: fellow Warsaw blogger Student SGH sent me this wonderful photo from Nowa Iwiczna - the promise clashes with the reality. On a new house, a large banner proclaiming 'I wouldn't buy this house a second time'. Caveat emptor.

This time last year:
New sewers, new estate

This time two years ago:

The ultra-rich - deserving, or not

This time six years ago:
Globalisation and its part in PiS's return to power

This time seven years ago:
UK overtakes France as the world's fifth-largest economy

This time 11 years ago:
Wetlands winter meltdown

This time 12 years ago:
Winter's walk to work

This time 13 years ago:
Winter drivetime, Jeziorki North