LOCAL AGENDA 21 – LOCAL PLAN FOR SUSTAINABLE ...

23GIURGIUIn comparison with main port cities located along LowDanube (i.e. Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Turnu Măgurele,Zimnicea, Oltenita and Călăraşi), Giurgiu had thefollowing standing in 1994:- 3 rd place in terms of number of inhabitants;- 3 rd place in terms of active population fromthe total population (47.65%);- 2 nd place in terms of occupied workforcefrom the total population (43.35%);- 2 nd place in terms of number of seniorcitizens from the total population (14.02%);- 4 th place in terms of average number ofapartments per building (2.72%);- 3 rd place in terms of the size of a dwelling(2.57 rooms per dwelling);- 3 rd place in terms of average economicgrowth rate during 1989-1994;- 3 rd place in terms of occupied workforce inthe secondary sector (59.85%);- 4 th place in terms of occupied workforce inthe tertiary sector (36.85%).I.2.2.2. Roads and transportGiurgiu is a hub for road, rail and naval transportation.Motorway transportThroughout history, Giurgiu was both a militarylocation and an urban settlement at the junction ofseveral important roads—Banului, Untului,Bucureştiului, and Olacului - which continued onto thesouth, over the Danube, towards Istanbul. Roadwaysgradually turned into county, national and Europeantransportation corridors, as follows:- Giurgiu-Bucureşti: DN5 – segments of DE70 towards Serbia and DE85 towards sub-Carpathian Ukraine;- Giurgiu-Ghimpaţi: DN53 – connection withDN6 and DN61;- Giurgiu-Zimnicea: DN 5C;- Giurgiu-Alexandria: DJ 503, 503A and 504.The modern city of Giurgiu extended, starting with1830, on a radial-ring shaped outlook of the streetnetwork, stemming from the downtown oval piazza(the so-called “Plate”). The street layout, unique inRomania, was preserved until present times except forthe downtown piazza, which was destroyed by urbanarchitectural approaches of the Communist regime. In1881, the city had 6 open squares and 26 streets witha total length of 26 km. Uncontrolled urbanisationstarted in the second part of the 20 th century led totraffic problems. Although the radial street layout ispreserved, the absence of the former ring-shapedroads prevents good traffic flows between residentialareas.Currently, the municipality has 112 km of paved andproperly sized streets. The other roads are notproperly maintained and cannot sustain traffic flows. Amajor North-South axis runs through Giurgiu and endsin the harbour at the Danube. The axis is crossed overby Bizetz Road Bridge, which has exceeded itsoperating timeframe and is no longer safe for vehicletraffic. Another traffic corridor comes from TeleormanCounty to the Giurgiu Border Customs and then ontothe Near Eastern region. Transit can be made over theDanube Bridge (built in 1955) and at the two borderpoints by ferry. One of the crossings is located nearthe bridge and the other one in the harbour. Poorquality of municipal roads prevents efficient trafficmanagement; timid attempts have been made toseparate heavy motor vehicles from the rest of thetraffic.RailroadsThe first railroad in Romania was laid in Giurgiu in1869 and connected the city to Bucharest, Filaretdistrict. In 1902, the railway was extended to Smârdanharbour, and further on to Ramadan harbour at theDanube, three years later. In 1910, the connectionwent to the town of Videle.Bizetz Bridge, the first road and railway-curved bridgein Europe was built near Giurgiu, in 1905. Until thatdate, a ferry was used for transportation. Railroadscross the municipality for 24 km, of which 3.5 kmbelong to the Northern Railway Station – DanubeBridge traffic corridor.Four railway stations provide transportation forpassengers and merchandise:- Giurgiu City Railway Station wasestablished in 1869 and is the main stationfor passengers going to Bucharest andVidele.