Post by Vache Jihanyan

Three historic projects, approved in one day, excuse the lack of humility, but this really is big. A new metro station, modernization of the existing metro system, and a major e-BRT corridor project. Combined they are $650 million. That is not a small day for Yerevan. Congratulations to my colleagues who worked tirelessly on these projects. I’ve seen the sweat and tears that went into this, and I’m guessing the blood comes next. Just kidding. Mostly. For Yerevan, this is not just about building new infrastructure. It is about punching above its weight. 🦾 Huge respect to Mayor Tigran Avinyan, Aneta Babayan, PhD, Sveta Harosyan, Mery Harutyunyan and the rest of the team who pushed these projects forward. The Yerevan Urban Development PIU will now be responsible for preparing and implementing these projects, including procurement, coordination with development partners, and project delivery. The devil will be in the details. Walkability, accessibility, inclusiveness, public transport integration, and bicycle infrastructure are already part of the logic of these projects. They may represent only a fraction of the cost, but they can profoundly shape everyday behavior, access, health, safety, quality of life, and even how people feel about their city for the next decades. The challenge will be to keep these elements central through design and implementation, learning from what has worked elsewhere and from missed opportunities in other cities, so they remain part of the project’s real value, not disconnected, symbolic infrastructure in a city where walkability and active mobility should function as a system, not as add-ons. Because the real goal is not just a new station, newer trains, or electric buses. The real goal is to change how Yerevan moves in the near and not-so-near future. #Yerevan #UrbanDevelopment #Metro #PublicTransport #ElectricMobility #SustainableMobility #UrbanMobility #Walkability #Accessibility #CyclingInfrastructure #YUDPIU