Starting October 13, Jinan will officially implement an “odd-even traffic restriction measure”—banning half the city’s vehicles from the roads during the 11th National Games—in order to guarantee a smooth flow of traffic and cleaner air during the opening of the Games.

In accordance with the provisions formulated by the authorities in charge of the measure, from October 13-18 and from 7:00am to 7:00pm daily, vehicles in the city will be allowed on the roads on alternate days depending on whether their number plates end in odd or even numbers; for those ending with letters, rules apply to the last Arabic number printed on the plates. Cars with odd-numbered endings will be banned on even-numbered days, and vice versa.

The areas covered by the restriction plan are as follows: west of the East Ring Expressway, Lvyou Road, north of the Second Ring South Road, east of the Second Ring West Road, south of the Second Ring North Road, west of Jiangjun Road, and areas south of the North Industrial Road. The traffic restriction plan also applies to the following roads: the Second Ring South Road (from the Second Ring East Road to Yingxiongshan Road), Lvyou Road (from Gangxi Road to the Second Ring East Road), Longding Avenue, and the Second Ring East Elevated Road.

Four vehicle groups exempt from restriction

According to the regulations, vehicles in the following four groups will be exempt from the odd-even plan: authorized National Games vehicles; buses, taxis and coaches; police cars, fire engines, ambulances, emergency vehicles, sanitation vehicles; on-duty police wagons and cars sprayed with uniform patterns and those performing special tasks.

Several roads to become exclusive traffic lanes

To ensure safe, on time, reliable and convenient traffic for the games and activities of the 11th National Games, from October 13-28, the left-most lanes on Jingshi Road, Olympic Center Mid Road, Longding Avenue, Olympic Center East Road, Olympic Center West Road and Lishan Road will be marked as National Games exclusive lanes. During the stipulated dates from 6:00am to 10:00pm, no other vehicles can operate on these lanes.

On the following ten roads—East Ring Expressway, North Ring Expressway, Second Ring East Elevated Road, Shunhe Viaduct, Beiyuan Viaduct, Shungeng Road, Jingyi Road, North Industrial Road, Wei’er Road and Lvyou Road—authorized National Games vehicles will have priority to operate on lanes closest to the central separation fence, green belt or double-solid lines from 6:00am to 10:00pm.

Certain vehicles to be banned in some areas

From October 13-31 and from 6:00am to 10:00pm, cargo vehicles weighing two tons or more and those carrying sand or stones will be prohibited from running on ring expressways and inner lanes; cargo vehicles less than two tons must run in accordance with the stipulated time and routes. Some heavy polluting vehicles and those carrying dangerous substances will be banned.

Serious violators will face 15 days of detention Those violating the traffic restrictions during the National Games will be punished according to the severity of their violation, a traffic policy official said. Minor breaches of the provision that do not cause very negative effects and those showing a cooperative attitude will mainly face dissuasion and education. Deliberate violations that result in serious impact and anyone caught disobeying the management of the traffic police will face a fine of 200 yuan to 2,000 yuan; for particularly serious violations, 15 days of detention. Those who breach the rule of exclusive lanes will be charged a fine of 100 yuan, with no point loss.

Vehicles from other provinces need special permits to enter Shandong

Traffic management authorities have already made applications to the 11th National Games Committee for providing vehicles to spectators and athletes from other provinces, in order to reduce the inconvenience brought on by the traffic restrictions. Vehicles from other provinces entering Shandong will require special permits which will be checked at the province’s entry points.

A test of the traffic plan was carried out in urban Jinan from September 8-11, which showed an obvious improvement in traffic.

By Li Jing