How will new orbital motorways reshape accessibility in Bratislava metropolitan area?

Abstract

Abstract Dynamic economic expansion of metropolitan regions in post-communist central Europe induces dynamic traffic growth, which calls for new transport network solutions and improvements to existing transport infrastructure within the regions. This is also the case of Bratislava as the capital city of post-communist Slovakia, which has recently been facing new economic and urban development challenges. A booming labour market, intensive suburbanisation processes, traffic expansion and urban (re-)development bring new conflicts and demand for grand-scale transport projects. An ongoing upgrade of the motorway system in the region of Bratislava will result in the construction of a substantial part of an orbital motorway surrounding the southern and eastern parts of the city. The potential effects of the motorway network-upgrade projects on the city urbanism are probably immense. This paper attempts to evaluate the possible changes in accessibility within the road network after completion of motorway upgrading project D4/R7 in the metropolitan area of Bratislava. The interaction potential of both population and jobs was applied here to assess possible impacts of road network enhancement on accessibility of places of residence and of work.