Budapest City Planning Fail: WHY??
Budapest is easily one of my favourite cities in the world! Beautiful architecture, amazing nightlife and above all: Great public transport and a walkable inner city.
I currently live in Munich, where I often like to jog along the river Isar. This time I decided to try jogging along the Danube river in Budapest. What a mess!
Trying to enjoy a prolonged journey along the Danube is impossible, due to all the cars! After 10km my ears were ringing from the traffic, my spit turned to tar from the pollution, and I had to return several times because the sidewalk just 'ended'. The worst part was the heat the concrete had absorbed by 8:30am.
Who thinks that having up to FOUR LANES + CAR PARKS on both sides of the river is a good idea?? At least one side could be turned into a beautiful park for exercise, or a pier to enjoy the Országház. There are already public transport lines running along either side, so driving by car is really not necessary. It must cost the city so much to maintain all these roads on the river banks.
I am writing this rant from Margaret Island, which provides me with live saving shade and tranquility after this exhausting run. Obviously Budapest appreciates how nice a car free zone along the river can be. I was considering moving to Budapest soon, but this experience left a bad taste (literally).
Are there any plans to remove these roads in the future, or is the Danube doomed to be car infested forever?