Mashhad Traffic Organization (MTO) was founded in February 1990.Accomplishment of the first comprehensive transportation study is one of the MTO`s glories. Results of this study have had significant impacts on applying innovative solutions to urban traffic management. MTO`s activities are aimed at Mashhad traffic improvement through in-depth investigation, planning, engineering design, cooperation and education in order to providing safe, rapid, cost-effective and convenience transportation of road users and freight. Establishment of Mashhad Traffic Control Center (MTCC) in February 2002 was another MTO`s important effort done in metropolitan level. During past six years MTCC has covered over 200 km of Mashhad major routes by installing closed circuit television (CCTV) video surveillance system.

MTCC has been implemented various traffic management programs such as:

• Utilize and Intelligent management of intersections throughout the city using Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic Systems (SCATS)

• installing Variable Message Signs (VMS)

• installing traffic lights phase time counter at intersections

• installing new traffic lights

• installing red light and speed cameras and

• establishment of traffic radio

Other MTO activity areas are presented below:

• overhead informative traffic signs

• pilgrims directional road sign

• pedestrian overpasses

• pavement marking

• technical inspection centers for motor vehicles

• multi-storey parking lots

• streets and intersections geometric improvement

• enhancing safety level of city routes

• road barrier installation

• holding technical traffic conference

• educational courses in schools and kindergartens

• organizing children traffic clubs (CTC)

• advertising campaigns to promote traffic culture

• modern on-street parking management

The Mashhad Central Business District (CBD) access management program started late March 2007 as an experimental project. The goal is reducing traffic congestion throughout the CBD and according to comprehensive study a restricted zone defined.

A list of Mashhad Traffic Organization upcoming programs:

• Achieve a sustainable transportation prototype for Mashhad city by reducing traffic problems to provide a healthy peaceful city with quick, safe, and efficient transportation

• Make sidewalks and streets suitable for cyclists, pedestrians and handicapped people

• Propose amendment of laws, bylaws, standards, and regulations to the related departments and bodies

• Improving safety of streets and public sidewalks and identifying accident-prone locations

• Design and development of roads for public transportation and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

• Management and organization of traffic congestion and fair distribution of parking spaces

• Drafting and approving projects to reduce unnecessary travel (commuting)

• Expansion of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and development of the Traffic Control Center

• Automated control of the restricted CBD zones in order to organize travel demand

• Development of transportation infrastructures by constructing urban bus terminals, revival of destroyed useful ancient routes, installing air pollution measurement stations, and other similar facilities according to plans

• Performance of technical training and implementation of necessary investigations to scientific enrichment of projects

• Propagation of the right transportation culture through public education

Traffic & Transportation Deputy of Mashhad municipality is the up most authority that has responsibility of policy making, coordination, programming, and performance control of Mashhad traffic.

Due to our mission, improving traffic in Mashhad metropolitan city and investigating inside and outside effective factors and assisting the comprehensive pattern of strategic management, Traffic & Transportation Deputy is achieving to modify long-term plans and then gathering, codifying, evaluating and selecting suitable strategies to reach that plans.

Strategies and main subject of Traffic & Transportation Organization:

According to the honorable Leader of Islamic Republic of Iran guidelines, the esteemed Mayor of Mashhad policies, overhead rules & documents such as Developing Public Transportation Rule ratified in The Islamic Consultative Assembly in 2007, Mashhad Traffic and Transportation Comprehensive Plan and the results of dynamic studies and feasibility studies, the strategies and main subjects of improving Mashhad traffic & transportation are as below that will perform with the selected companies and organizations:

Expanding Public Transit:

Including (Bus Rapid Transit) BRT lines, Metro lines, special bus transit lines, executing integrated public transit network, settling urban terminals.

Increasing Routes Safety and Productivity:

Including road geometric and connections reform, settle roadside parking, expanding intelligent systems, promote and settle horizontal and vertical signs, promote public transit means quality

Trip demand management:

Omitting unnecessary urban trips, settle urban goods transportation management

Promoting traffic culture:

Training and culture making for people, obligating to observe traffic rules with Police cooperation, preparing transportation improvement bills to ratify with authorized authorities.

Decreasing Environmental Pollutions:

Expanding technical inspection centers with private sector cooperation, revising technical inspection structure, applying limitation to high pollutant vehicles.

To achieve the above mentioned goals, the following responsibilities are defined for this organization:

• Planning and supervising on traffic and transportation in Mashhad.

• Evaluating plans and projects & studying their execution possibility.

• Setting the necessary rules and standards to solve traffic related issues.

• Issuing the required sanctions to execute these rules & standards.

• Assigning functions to lands & spotting tourist attractions and manufacturing centers.

• Conducting studies and researches about the requirements of urban transportation in Mashhad.

• Collecting road data through surveys and information centers.

• Devising short, medium and long term urban traffic plans.

• Participating in national or international, educational or scientific conferences a workshop.

• Prioritizing environmental factors in all designing, policy makings and standard setting.

A prospect of future activities:

• Setting a sustainable transportation pattern in Mashhad by eradicating nuisances such as traffic, air pollution & noise pollution for the well-being of the citizens.

• Setting standards and traffic guidelines.

• Identifying and rectifying incident spots in highways.

• Designing and developing expressways and arterial ways so as to improve traffic flow.

• Managing road assets and providing a fair share of parking space.

• Adopting plans in order to ameliorate traffic management system.

• Developing intelligent urban transit systems.

• Intelligent and centralized control of Traffic restraint zone in order to settle trip demand to the traffic zone.

• Demand management of transportation systems.

• Presenting specialized training and doing necessary researches for improving scientific condition of projects.

• Promoting Traffic culture by increasing public trainings