Shanghai Daily news

Clearing up Shanghai's traffic congestion and protecting its old homes are two of the top concerns being voiced as the city's lawmakers and the chief municipal advisory body hold their annual sessions this week.
At least 10 proposals addressing those issues have been submitted by delegates to the Shanghai People's Congress and the Shanghai Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
"The government should redesign the city's traffic routes and further encourage local people to use the public transportation system," Wang Zhong, a member of the CPPCC Shanghai Committee, said in a proposal submitted yesterday.
He pointed out the rapid growth in vehicles on Shanghai's roads has made it necessary for the government to review its traffic flow, pinpoint bottlenecks and redesign control schemes, such as banning turns at busy intersections.
He also urged local government to do more to encourage bicycle use to reduce traffic density, particularly during rush hours.
Le jiazhen, a Shanghai People's Congress deputy from Jin'an District, said in a proposal to improve traffic flow that government needs new policies to encourage motorists to use underground parking lots at office buildings.
She said many private cars are parking along the already congested roadsides in the central business district while many office parking lots are underused.
"Hopefully, the government can draw up some preferential tax policies to persuade office building property managers to open some of their vacant parking space to the public," said Le.
Xia shanchen, a CPPCC representative from Shanghai University, said in his proposal that enhancing the skills of transit drivers is crucial to improving the traffic situation.
"Many bus and taxi drivers don't care about traffic lights when the police aren't around. Nor do they slow down in pedestrian crossings," he said.
He said bus and taxi companies need to provide more training to educate their employees to drive safely and politely.
On the historic preservation front, Xiang Siwen, a CPPCC member, said: "The city needs to establish a municipal panel of experts to study the historic value of old houses."
He suggested that the government ban the demolition of old houses until all properties can be assessed for their historic values.
"Many valuable old homes have been pulled down during the renovation of our old areas because the city doesn't have such a rule," he pointed out.