CUT THE PRACTICE OUT  Gaps in road dividers are a blessing in disguise for motorists looking for a cut-short distance ride. But this practice leads to major traffic jams for most part of the day

LUCKNOW: Ineffective traffic management, poor road sense among people and unnecessary cuts in dividers together make a perfect recipe for chaos on city roads.

GOKHALE MARG CROSSING

The authorities had constructed a permanent divider at this crossing to ease out traffic. But, last month, the divider was removed to facilitate a VIP. Now the crossing is again witnessing traffic snarls, as people coming from Sikander Bagh try to enter through the cut.

While these ‘openings’ are a blessing in disguise for motorists seeking to cut short their travel distance, the practice is proving to be a hindrance to the free movement of other commuters.

HT takes a look at some crossings in the state capital that suffer from daily chaos.

GOKHALE MARG CROSSING

The authorities had constructed a permanent divider at this crossing to ease out traffic. As a result there was no chaos here for some time. Even locals welcomed the move despite having to travel the extra distance (driving up to Sikander Bagh crossing) to reach Nishatganj.

However last month, the divider was removed to facilitate some VIP who resides in Gokhale Marg. And now the crossing is again witnessing traffic snarls, as people coming from Sikander Bagh try to enter Gokhale Marg through the cut, which remained blocked for a year or so.

GOMTI NAGAR (VIBHUTI KHAND) FLYOVER

Those commuting on this stretch going towards the Mithaiwala crossing have developed a habit of taking a short cut through the one-way lane on the wrong side. This opening is meant only for the traffic headed towards Lohia Park.

“People are not ready to go a little distance to reach their destination and as a result there is traffic problem. Rows of vehicles can be seen stranded on the flyover because of this. The authorities have also failed to act strictly against the defaulters. The problem gets worse during office hours,” says Sneha Singh, a daily commuter on the road.

METRO HOSPITAL STRETCH

Initially, there was no opening in the divider here and traffic flow remained streamlined. But now the barricades have been removed, which has led to problems for commuters.

NAZIRABAD ROAD

The local administration had in the past introduced one-way traffic system on this stretch. But due to poor implementation, the system died soon after it was introduced. The lenient attitude of the civic body towards shopkeepers also took a toll on the system.

The one-way traffic system was introduced to prevent traffic jams in the vicinity. Though authorities claimed to devise strategic plans to overcome the problem, no action has been taken till date. Due to increasing vehicular population and mushrooming shopping complexes, the parking problem worsens during school hours and in the evening.

The only proper parking facility available in the area is the underground lot at Jhandewala Park. “Only those driving fourwheelers use it. Two-wheelers are often parked along the roadside, which creates problems,” said Sunil, shopkeeper in Aminabad market.

“The civic body kept on passing maps of multi-storey commercial units without taking note of parking space. As per the rules, it is mandatory to leave adequate space for parking in commercial complexes,” he rued.

Source-http://paper.hindustantimes.com 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

If the severe parking problem inside Supreme Court complex is not sorted out soon, then lawyers having offices nearby , including senior advocate Harish Salve, may have to explore the option of cycling down to the court after parking their cars in their offices.An initiative to solve the parking problem inside the court premises was started with a PIL 14 years ago as the increasing number of cars had started to choke the complex’s limited parking space on big litigation days ­ Mondays and Fridays.

More than 12 years ago, then solicitor general Harish Salve and then additional solicitor general Mukul Rohatgi had on July 10, 2002 told the court that they would hold consultations with all stakeholders and the SC’s administrative side to chalk out a long-term plan to solve the problem. On Wednesday, solicitor general Ranjit Kumar said the parking problem would be solved once the new court complex came up on the land allotted to the SC.

A bench of Chief Justice R M Lodha and Justices Kurian Joseph and R F Nariman said the project “as on date has been delayed by a year because of paucity in funds”.

“It may take 10 years to complete. All depends on the money provided by the government. This is a very serious problem,” the bench said and requested Kumar to do everything possible to solve it. The SG said the ACP (traffic) has expressed inability to do anything to solve the

parking problem inside the court complex. “The Central Public Works Department is the executor of the project.

If it gives the break-up of funds needed for speedy completion of the project (on Appu Ghar land), we can approach the ministry concerned for funds.” The CJI asked whether it would be possible for advocates with offices nearby to use cycles to come to court.

The SG said given the heavy flow of traffic around the court, it would be impossible for lawyers to cycle to court.

Justice Lodha said, “We cannot become traffic inspectors. You (SG) must come out with something concrete. We get the impression from the bar associations that the government is avoiding this issue.” The SG said he had a meeting with the parties concerned and was hopeful that in six weeks, a solution to the problem could be found.

Source-http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/

Thanks to the Delhi government’s decision to reserve one lane on Josip Broz Tito Marg, between Moolchand Hospital and Ambedkar Nagar, exclusively for buses to implement the BRT system, a large volume of cars and bikers has now shifted to August Kranti Marg.

Bikers, cars and even buses now jostle for space every morning and evening, making driving a nightmare on this stretch. Motorists say the road does not have the capacity to handle such a huge rush of vehicles.

According to experts, traffic on August Kranti Marg has increased by at least 20-25 per cent in past 2-3 years.

“The government may have ensured a quick and smooth passage to bus commuters on the BRT but it is the motorists and the bikers who now suffer on both the BRT as well as this road,” said Tanmay Sharma, a resident of Asiad Village.

“People use this road as an alternative route to BRT to reach their destinations fast but get stuck amid slow moving traffic, sometimes for up to one hour,” he adds.

Motorists say problems on this stretch are plenty. With two big office complexes — HUDCO tower and the Siri Fort Institutional Area — shopping mall Ansal Plaza, lawns at Asiad Village complex that see frequent marriage functions, Siri Fort auditorium, a venue for film festivals and shows, and a number of residential colonies on either side, this road witnesses a huge volume of traffic every day.

“It is so difficult to take your car out of the office around 6pm. There is bumperto-bumper traffic. Since the road is narrow, the right turning traffic obstructs the vehicles going straight, resulting in chaos,” said Peeyush Sharma, who works at PHD Chamber of Commerce.

The problem, say commuters, compounds during marriage seasons and when there is a concert or a show at the Siri Fort auditorium. When it rains, the motorists are in for a major trouble.

“Since the parking space is limited, people often park their vehicles on the main road itself, leading to chaos. Vehicles entering the parking lot or coming out of it also obstruct the smooth movement of vehicles,” said Kamlesh Singh, a resident of village Shahpur Jat.

Motorists suggest that an underpass should be constructed near the Siri Fort auditorium and sports complex to ensure that vehicles going to these places do not obstruct the straight-moving traffic.

“

An underpass is need of the hour. I once visited Sirifort for my son’s annual day function and had to park my car at Ansal Plaza as I was unable to get find a space there,” said Kakoli Das, a resident of Vaishali.

Source-http://paper.hindustantimes.com/

According to the data maintained by Delhi Traffic Police, till July 15 this year, e-rickshaws had been involved in more than 36 accidents, which have caused two fatalities. The death of Dev — Tuesday’s victim — has pushed the death toll to three with clamour growing louder for the regularisation of the batterypowered vehicles.

Overloading, not following traffic signals and driving in the wrong direction are some of the offences that these battery operated rickshaws are often guilty of, the traf fic cops claimed.

Earlier in June, an announcement for regularising these threewheeler vehicles had come as relief for the traffic police officers who had to manage these unruly vehicles on the roads which seldom followed rules.

But the delay in execution of these regularisation laws by the corporation has only helped making matters worse.

“We have drafted all rules and regulations to be followed by the e-rickshaw drivers once they come under the corporation’s purview. Soon we will be able to control the accidents caused by these rickshaws,” said a senior official from NDMC.

Known for providing last-mile connectivity, these compact vehicles ply on narrow lanes of congested colonies and often create panic among pedestrians.

In Tuesday’s incident Dev’s mother was taking him for a walk to the nearby market when an an e-rickshaw is said to have come out of nowhere and hit the duo.

Traffic officers corroborated that not obeying traffic signals, carrying more passengers than the vehicle’s designated space and not switching on the headlights at night not only endangered the lives of the passengers in the rickshaws but also pedestrians and other drivers on the road.

Source-http://paper.hindustantimes.com/

Till June 2014, a total of 137 cases had been registered against e-rickshaw drivers for rash and negligent driving.

Raising serious concer n, the Delhi traffic police said the passengers of e-rickshaws are not insured for injury or death as these vehicles do not carry insurance. This effectively curbs the passengers of these battery-powered vehicles against claiming any compensation from insurance companies in case of a mishap.

The matter becomes complicated as the operation of e-rickshaws is not regulated under the Motor Vehicle Act, because of which the police are unable to prosecute them. The traffic police claimed the unregulated plying of these vehicles often caused traffic problems and were a cause of nuisance on the roads.

“A large number of e-rickshaws are operating all over Delhi without registration and are being driven by people without proper licences. The drivers are not subjected to any background verification which is mandatory for all other public service vehicles operating in the state,” the traffic police said in its affidavit.

The traffic police said the battery-operated rickshaws should be properly registered in accordance to the Motor Vehicles Act and there should be a zoning system and colour coding for streamlining their operation.

It quoted The Energy and Resources Institute study that conclusively established that the wattage and speed of the e-rickshaws qualify them to be a motor vehicle.

“Any further assembly or production of e-rickshaws should be strictly prohibited till a regulatory mechanism is put in place,” the traffic police said.

It added that they should not be allowed to operate on arterial roads as their speed did not match that of other vehicles. Their operation should be restricted to feeder service as a mean of ‘last-mile connectivity’, the traffic police said. The HC is likely to hear the traffic police suggestions on Thursday.

Source-http://paper.hindustantimes.com/

NEW DELHI: An arterial road that links trans-Yamuna region to the rest of the Capital, Vikas Marg is one of the lifelines of east Delhi.

With a traffic volume of nearly 90,000 vehicles every day, it is a motorists’ nightmare. Built at a time when trans-Yamuna was not really a preferred address for Delhiites, the growing population and congestion over the years in the areas surrounding it has resulted in the road bursting at the seams.

The road continues to be congested despite two major interventions in the recent past — the arrival of the Metro and construction of a parallel road covering a drain that directly leads to the new Geeta Colony flyover.

The arrival of the Metro that runs throughout the road, from Karkari More to ITO Chungi, has not made any difference to the massive road traffic that crawls beneath its elevated tracks.

The new road, known as the Disused Canal Road, was intended to take some load off Vikas Marg. The canal road remains packed with traffic throughout the day, but it has hardly achieved its intended purpose.

The worst-affected part of Vikas Marg is the 2.7-km stretch between the main Laxmi Nagar intersection and Karkari More. This stretch remains perennially congested with slow moving traffic even at nonpeak hours.

Traffic on the road before this stretch and after Karkari More is still smoother if not completely congestion free. Within this stretch, the most congested and commercialised part is the are a between the Laxmi Nagar and Nirman Vihar Metro stations.

The localities on either side of this stretch, Laxmi Nagar and Shakarpur, attract thousands of students and young working professionals because of the affordable rents and proximity to central Delhi. As a result, these areas are one of the most thickly populated in the city, which also puts pressure on the road network.

Also, over the years, residential buildings on this stretch have been turned into rows of shops and showrooms. The biggest effect of this commercialisation is the parking of scores of cars not only on the narrow service lanes next to the shops but also on the main road.

There is no regulation on the parking of vehicles on this stretch and the haphazardly parked vehicles reduce space for traffic movement.

“The chaos commuters have to endure on Vikas Marg is the result of poor planning. The road was built with scope for growth in traffic in the next five years, not more,” said Ganesh Singh Rautela, officer on special duty, Global Initiative for Restructuring Environment and Management (GIREM).

“The area along Vikas Marg was developed as a residential area but has now become completely commercialised. Shop owners have extended their establishments and there is absolutely no scope for road widening anymore,” he said.

Rautela said that while there was an apparent lack of enforcement when it came to illegal parking on the roads, people also lacked civic sense.

The traffic intersections and many internal roads that merge with this stretch also create bottlenecks. There are five major intersections from Laxmi Nagar to Karkari More, each with more than two minutes of waiting time.

The volume of traffic from other roads that meets the oncoming traffic on the Vikas Marg is also high. Lack of road discipline is another major problem as vehicles coming from internal roads cross the stop line and almost come right up to the middle of the main road, waiting for the traffic signal to turn green. As a result, the main traffic flow gets disrupted with vehicles trying to drive around them.

Grameen Sewa vehicles, a rather recent arrival on the roads, are also becoming a major problem thanks to their unruly ways. These vehicles ply on two major routes – from northeast Delhi to Preet Vihar and from Jheel, Shahdara to Laxmi Nagar District Centre on Patparganj Road.

The passenger tempos pick and drop passengers near the busy Preet Vihar Metro station while taking up half the road space at this point and changing lanes at will.

They create an even bigger bottleneck at the Patparganj Road and Vikas Marg intersection, where they simply wait for passengers right on the road.

Then there are the slow-moving cycle rickshaws that ply on this busy road while not only affecting traffic flow but also putting at risk the lives of their passengers.

The battery operated e-rickshaws have only added to the melee.

Source-hindustantimes.com