Why are traffic jams in Geneva so bad at the moment?

In the past few weeks, residents of Geneva have complained of intolerable conditions on the city’s roads. Here’s what drivers need to know about the gridlock, why jams are so bad at the moment, and what is being done to resolve them.

Geneva businesses demand measures to solve traffic jams

In the past week, a collection of entrepreneurs, freelancers and other businesses has called on the government to make rapid improvements to the traffic situation in Geneva. They argue that the city is becoming a hotbed of traffic jams, which is making it harder to conduct business.

"We can no longer predict travel times to get to customers' homes to carry out work. We're even forced to cancel some jobs because we no longer know when they'll arrive. We have to do something; this can't continue, because otherwise, small businesses like mine are doomed to disappear," carpenter Jean-Louis Fazio told RTS.

The Fédération des Entreprises Romandes Genève and the local Employers’ Association have called on the local council to reform how traffic is managed in the city. "It is necessary to put an end to the waste caused by this work by ensuring better coordination," they demanded.

Why is Geneva beset with gridlock?

The reason for the sudden rise in traffic in Geneva has been attributed to a spike in construction sites across the city. What RTS described as a “backlog” of road maintenance work has led to a labyrinth of diversions, closures and other disruptions on Genevan streets.

Services Industriels de Genève (SIG), the local energy, gas, heating, fibre-optic and water supplier, has also been blamed for the disruption. Since a successful referendum in February 2022, the company has been tasked with creating a brand new city-wide network of eco-friendly heating systems. This is expected to lead to major disruptions on the roads for the next 20 years.

In response to the demands, Geneva State Councillor Pierre Maudet told RTS that residents and drivers “must expect difficult years ahead,” but added that more can be done to address the traffic. "On the one hand, we can optimise by better coordinating construction sites, optimising road traffic, and ensuring minimum safety conditions.”

“Efforts will also need to be made to increase the use of carpooling," he concluded, adding that they would be increasing working hours on construction sites to help speed up renovations.