Focus on technology as Centre moots plan to decongest Capital
A high power committee under the Union ministry of urban Development (MoUD) has submitted a list of recommendations to decongest the traffic in the city.
Delhi might soon turn into a city where you do not have to haggle for parking space nor wait at every traffic signal along a stretch or be stuck in incessant traffic snarls.
A high power committee under the Union ministry of urban Development (MoUD) has submitted a list of recommendations to decongest the traffic in the city.
The committee passed the recommendations after HT carried two series, one in 2014 and the other in 2016, highlighting the congestion problem in the city .
The strategy proposed by the ministry has laid emphasis on road safety and traffic management through extensive use of intelligent traffic management system (ITMS). The plan also focuses on reorienting road networks to give priority to pedestrians and cyclists.
“Intelligent Transport System is suggested to be adopted for surveillance, automatic vehicle location, public information boards, red light cameras and stop line violation detection,” the report read.
Delhi Traffic Police has already started adopting technology to improve traffic management. Automatic number plate recognition cameras have already been installed in 20 traffic heavy junctions around southwest Delhi. The department had also announced that by the end of 2016, intelligent signaling, which will enable syncronised functioning of traffic lights along a stretch, will be introduced.
Plans for installing cameras on traffic junctions and stop line detection lasers are also in the pipeline.
The report submitted by the ministry states that the city has seen a steep rise in the per capita trip rate mainly because of the exponential growth in the number of private vehicles between 1981 and 2011. The number of trips has shot up from 45 lakh to over 150 lakh trips, in the period.
Special commissioner of police (traffic), Sandeep Goel, said that the department has been emphasising on the need for IT based policing for several years now.
“If all the stakeholders join hands then we will be able to produce better results. Effective use of technology will not only help in reducing the number of traffic jams reported from across the city but will also control the number of accidents and the resultant fatalities,” Goel said.
Delhi Traffic Police data also shows that around 60% of the road accident fatalities involve pedestrians and cyclists.
A list of 44 chokepoints from around the city has also been released with suggestions to decongest each of these intersections also being listed.
Apart from these, the existing condition of road infrastructure will also be improved. The report has suggested that segregation of long and short haul traffic, construction of roundabouts and removal of choke points will be the primary focus for decongestion.
