Pet Peeve of the Day

Traffic in Beijing

Namely, there being so much of it. Now, the government has already issued a policy where only 90% of all cars are allowed on streets at any given day.

So that means each person has one day (of 7) where they are not permitted to drive. This is supposed to lesson the amount of pollution and traffic...
Regardless of this policy, there is still such complete blockage that the 90% seems a whole lot more than that.

It isn't just cars. It's the bikes. The rickshaws. Thousands of bikes. Hundreds of rickshaws. And pedestrians. All vying for their way across streets and between stopped cars...

Crossing the street is the most precarious game of Frogger I've experienced. I rarely hold hands with people, but given the opportunity I will have a death grip on anyone near me.

These cars don't stop. They don't slow down. They honk, but only to indicate that they're not going to stop. Being in a tourbus? Even worse. People know tourbusses are slower, so they deliberately bully the tourbus by always budging in front.
Oh, the budging!

Not only is it cars, people, and cyclists, but the two times I've flown out of Beijing, both times the aircraft was even in a traffic jam.
Each time we've had to line up in a queue to fly. I have never experienced this out of any other airport. Don't they time this stuff? Don't they plan and organize so that they don't need to do this?

Yes, I understand that Beijing has a population of about 30,000+ million people. Which is the entire population of Canada... in one city. I get that.

But they could make it a whole lot more welcoming and less intimidating. Add more lanes. Actually enforce the laws you make about the number of cars on the road. Have safe pedestrian cross-walks. Note other major airports and follow what they do!

I don't like fearing for my life by just crossing the street...