Moscow tries to deal with traffic congestion by encouraging bike and foot traffic

The Russian capital is a city of many layers. But on street level, it is all about the traffic jams. To unluck the eternal congestion — and resulting pollution — Mayor Sergei Sobyanin is set to unveil a plan to close selected streets to motor vehicle traffic, creating areas and whole routes reserved for pedestrians and bicycles.

The streets would be closed on weekends, holidays and for special events.  “The goal is to institute pedestrian areas in the city, with the possibility of stopping traffic on certain streets on weekends for pedestrians,” said Maxim Liksutov, the head of the city’s transportation department.