When I first arrived in Ulaanbaatar, I was completely shocked by people’s crazy driving patterns.  My first weekend here, I was walking up the Ring Road in front of my apartment in an effort to find the Sky Supermarket.  The walk was harrowing. Cars were driving up onto the sidewalk to get around traffic blockages, and moving fast.

I made a mental note to compose a blog post: “Ulaanbaatar: Jane Jacobs’ Worst Nightmare.”  Jacobs was an early, articulate critic of automobility, especially in urban areas. Along with Rachel Carson, she is a founder of the modern environmental movement.  I tried to imagine what she would think about UB. 

I also joined a health club. Jogging in the city seemed an impossible pursuit.

People said that the problem was closure of the Peace Road, the main arterial through the center of the city. It had been closed off for a major rehab.  Once it opened back up, things would improve. But I had my doubts.

I next tried walking the other direction down the Ring Road to the International Language Center.  One day, walking back, I noticed that large parts of the sidewalk had been broken up.  Work had begun on the Ring Road as well.  The state of the sidewalks and increased dust drove me away.

When work was completed on the Peace Road, things did improve dramatically.  A pedestrian still had to contend with erratic UB drivers. I generally wait for three or four other people to gather before I cross at a large intersection. But the sidewalks seemed markedly safer.

The Ring Road construction was, however, ongoing, and creating huge amounts of dust. I could see the cloud rising as I left my building in the morning.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I walked out of my building last week to see an empty Ring Road.  The cars were gone. The dust was gone.  The havoc was gone. People were strolling along the empty street and obviously enjoying it.  The road had been closed to complete the final stages of  construction.  It was a traffic holiday.  

I even decided to take a jog last Saturday morning.  Things were going fine until I ran into workers using air compressors to blow the dust out of the cracks in the road.  Next I encountered a large truck tire burning on the sidewalk, with acrid black smoke rising into the atmosphere.  One lap seemed sufficient.

Yesterday, the reconstructed Ring Road reopened: very quiet, no dust.

Things may not be perfect, but they are definitely looking up.