Many say it's never been this bad before: traffic in Istanbul at a new low point

Increasingly snarled and slow moving traffic throughout the city has been an unfortunate part of life for Istanbul residents for years, though the past few weeks have seemed particularly bad to many. With city municipality crews currently working on roads at 50 different points throughout the city, statements like "we will work out these problems within the next 5 years" from Transportation Department head Rafet Bozdogan have not helped assuage the anger of those sitting in their cars and buses for hours on end. While the Istanbul Governship offices point to the Municipality as responsible for the unending roadworks, the municipality work crews complain of insuffienct machinage to get the job done. With rehabilitation projects going on on both Bosphorus bridges, as well as the 0-1 freeway, as well as digging and repair projects happening on at least 5 major artery roads, morning and evening traffic in Istanbul is practically at a standstill point these days. Responding to criticism that the road repairs are chaotic and unplanned, Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas has reportedly ordered work crews to forget the "9 to 5" mentality, and work through the night. "I have given orders that from late at night until dawn, the crews should be out there working" said Topbas.Whether these efforts on the part of the Istanbul Municipality bear any fruit remains to be seen, but for the meantime, those wishing to get to work on time and avoid lines that can stretch kilometers long should consider leaving the house early and then heading home as late as possible.  Â