June 15th, 2010 02:50am
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The traffic gridlock you face on the way to work and back home every day, well, it just got worse several times over.
Starting this month-end or early next, Delhi Traffic Police will begin blocking one lane of several carriageways across the city to test a traffic plan that will be in force during the Commonwealth Games in October. The restrictions will be in place for all 24 hours of the day.
Almost all of the roads along the 170-km stretch, beginning from East Delhi and leading up to the airport, will have one lane reserved for Commonwealth Games competitors and authorities. These roads, located in South, Central and East Delhi, will connect to all competing and training venues.
Traffic police expect jams on these following roads, among others: Parade Road, National Highway-8, Safdarjang Road, Kemal Ataturk Marg, Aurobindo Marg, Lodhi Road, Ring Road, National Highway-24, DND flyover, Captain Gaur Marg and stretches of Outer Ring Road. “We are only waiting for the lane markings in green to be done, and we will start the trials soon after,” a police official said.
The pilot project will most likely begin at the end of this month at Vinay Marg near Ashoka Hotel at Chanakyapuri.
As part of the dry run, traffic police will start blocking one lane on these roads in phases.
Ajay Chadha, special police commissioner, said the lanes will be out of bounds for commuters throughout the day, and that traffic police personnel will be deployed to ensure commuters don’t enter these lanes, which will be painted green.
He admitted people will face problems. “We know managing traffic will be a challenge,” he said, “but we’ll do our best to educate commuters so that traffic moves smoothly.” Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said traffic authorities will try their best to ensure traffic is not disrupted but added that trial runs were unavoidable as a lane had to be reserved for athletes during the Games.
“There is no doubt that Delhi’s roads have huge traffic.
But if traffic restrictions are managed well they’ll help in improving vehicular movement,” she said. ” It’s all about enforcing the rules. Trial runs will be carried out till authorities achieve some degree of confidence in the traffic plan.” But Dr P. K. Sarkar, professor of transport planning at the School of Planning and Architecture, is certain that city traffic will turn chaotic as a result of these trials.
“There is bound to be chaos,” he said. “What else would you expect if a lane lies unused on a major road?” He warned that if Delhi Traffic Police does not plan the closures well, it could create a ripple effect on other roads.
“People will try to avoid blocked roads and take other routes. As a result there will be traffic jams on several roads.” Traffic officials have decided to put up bollards on several roads where it is not possible to post traffic constables.
“This will physically keep commuters away,” an officer said. He said there is no formal timeframe for the trial run.
“It could continue right up to and certainly during the Commonwealth Games.” Rohit Baluja, president, Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE), said: “Such traffic schemes have to be planned much in advance so that agencies have time to implement it.
There seems to be lack of planning here. Every agency does its work and there is hardly any coordination between them.” But that does not seem to bother the police. Chadha said if commuters don’t follow the trial route, police officials could invoke Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that makes flouting the rule an offence.
“Managing traffic would be like a challenge and it would be the last option. After this, the vehicle can be seized,” Chadha said. He said there would be signage all over the city to ensure commuters find their way easily. We will also use the media effectively to educate commuters about the diversions.” Sources said the traffic plans were prepared in consultation with the Delhi Police, the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, and the MCD, PWD and the NDMC. The decision to reserve a lane was taken at a high- level meeting convened by Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna.
‘Levy Congestion Tax’: Union urban development minister Jaipal Reddy on Wednesday suggested that states levy congestion tax on private vehicle users.
This would discourage their use, reduce carbon emissions and smoothen traffic.
Heavy congestion tax, as it is levied in some of the busiest cities abroad, intends to discourage motorists from visiting some of the congested areas and instead force them to use public transport. Taxes are also levied on new vehicles.
June 15th, 2010 02:43am
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Chamba Himachal Pradesh : At least seven people were killed on Wednesday, when a multi-utility vehicle in which they were travelling fell into a 300-feet-deep gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba District. The passengers were returning to their village in Kangra district from Bharmour, when the mishap took place on the Chamba-Bharmour road. Kailash Wali, the Station House Officer of Chamba district said the jeep carried over 17 people. “At around 11.15 a.m., we came to know that a jeep has fallen 300 feet downwards. 10-12 injured people have been admitted to a hospital. Seven people died on the spot. Approximately there were total 17 people in the jeep. We are investigating how the accident took place,” said Wali.
June 15th, 2010 02:42am
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Harried commuters using the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway may get some relief from traffic snarls in the coming week. The Gurgaon traffic police are in the last stages of implementing a comprehensive plan to make the stretch between the toll plaza and Shankar Chowk Crossing signalfree. The three traffic signals on this small stretch cause bottlenecks and long snarls during morning and evening peak hours.
We have been trying to de-congest the stretch. We are ready with our plan. The changes are in progress and the plan will be implemented in a week or 10 days,” said Gurgaon police commissioner, S S Deswal.
The traffic mess at this point has been there ever since the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway became operational as a major portion of the vehicles take the narrow service lane after crossing the toll plaza. Only the vehicles going towards IFFCO Chowk, Manesar or Jaipur take the flyover since most of the offices and industries are located in Udyog Vihar or Cyber City. “The service lane is inadequate to handle the massive load of traffic,”police commissioner said.
According to the new plan, traffic movement will be unhindered and will flow in a loop. “A part of this plan is already operational in the Cyber City area for the past three months, where we closed a crossing and provided a U-turn. Although initially commuters found this change bothersome, they will experience a lot of relief once the entire plan comes into effect,” Deswal claimed.
June 15th, 2010 02:32am
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Even as a date is yet to be fixed for commencement of trial runs for the dedicated Games lanes civic agencies are yet to complete marking the special lane on roads the traffic police have started enrolling volunteers to help with traffic management during the sporting extravaganza. The plan is to rope in about 1,000 volunteers, train them and post them on major roads during the Games. With the Intelligent Traffic Signals (ITS) scheme not taking off, the traffic police have also sent a request for additional manpower from the total pool of Delhi Police.
The cops are also pushing for legislation for the Commonwealth Games. ‘‘We have sought harsh penalties for those entering the Games lanes. Such vehicles would have to pay hefty fines and could also face seizure of vehicles if the legislation is approved by the government. If not, we can book the drivers under section 144 of Indian Penal Code under which they would have to face arrest,’’ said Ajay Chadha, special commissioner of police (traffic).
In the next three months, the emphasis is going to be more on regulation than prosecution. The focus of the traffic police will be on offences like lane driving both Games lane and general lane discipline, enforcement of Right of Way (RoW) on major roads, roundabouts and intersections without signals and safety of pedestrians.
On Friday, the traffic police also launched the volunteer programme on their website where interested Delhiites can fill up an online form to enroll for the programme. ‘‘The scheme is voluntary. There is no payment or meal allowance. The volunteers will be trained and expected to help with traffic management for about three hours daily at an area near their residence. They won’t have powers to prosecute but their complaints will be followed up by our staff. At the end of the programme, volunteers will be given an experience certificate,’’ Chadha added. The Delhi Traffic Police link on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter are also being activated to get people participation in traffic management before the Games.
June 15th, 2010 01:46am
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Auto accident statistics in India rising rapidly creating concerns for government
If you think avoiding an auto accident with one of 300 million people is hard, try avoiding one with over a billion people. That’s the problem that the country of India is faced with every day. In 2006, India passed China in the number of wrongful deaths caused by auto accidents and the number continues to grow — up 40 percent in five years.
By comparison, China is doing better as their official numbers for fatal auto accidents have been dropping for much of the last ten years. Rising numbers in India are a result of a microcosm of reasons including a surge in automobiles as well as poor road planning and insufficient law enforcement.
Indian drivers and non-drivers face the same dangers as Americans. Reckless driving and the increasing amount of pedestrians in streets create an auto accident scenario waiting to happen. Reporters taking a 40-minute ride on the highway saw various infractions on that a highway going from Delhi to Greater Noida. Wrong-way driving, an illegal stop and distracted driving were just samples of the greater problem.
Kamal Nath, India’s minister of road transport and highways said in an interview that “road safety is one of the major issues” the ministry is addressing. Funds in excess of $45 billion from private investors may increase highway expansion plans to extend India’s 2-million-mile road network.
Some government opponents say that wrongful deaths in India aren’t likely to decline with new roadways, but examples in Brazil already show that new private highways have lower fatal auto accident rates than others.
If you live in a country where one highway has the nickname “Expressway to Death”, you should begin to question how much is being done to prevent fatal auto accidents. Our auto accident lawyers in San Diego know the problems that American drivers face pale into comparison to what Indian drivers do. Hopefully, more roads will be added to help lower numbers to make roads safer.
