TRAFFIC CONGESTION IN CHOSEN CITIES OF POLAND

The dynamic development of motoring observed in the last two decades contributes to many negative phenomena occurring in road transport. Distinguished among these negative phenomena are high share of car traffic, road accidents, emission of toxic exhaust fumes into the atmosphere, etc. For these reasons, many initiatives are taken in the field of road transport management and city logistics. Traffic problems are solved from many aspects, such as the development of transport infrastructure, changing of urban transport organisation, parking organisation in city centre and Park & Ride system, as well as the progress of alternative means of transport. The problem of traffic congestion in urban areas is still a current topic. This article presents the formation of congestion in urban areas in chosen big cities in Poland. The first part of the article deals with the theoretical issues of traffic flow and congestion formation in the city road networks. The second part of the article outlines the situation of transport congestion with these cities based on the worldwide TomTom Traffic Index within the period of 2008-2016. This study is a brief analysis of the trends relating to the transport congestion based on the TomTom Traffic Index in Polish cities, which will allow future researchers a wider study of this problem. The authors suggest some solutions to reduce the level of transport congestion and harmful emissions from means of transport.