6-month study to find solutions to traffic challenges in G’gram

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has commissioned a six-month study of city roads to find out what’s wrong with them that leads to poor traffic conditions. It has roped in the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi, to gain a better understanding of the traffic conditions in the city. An agreement between the GMDA and the SPA was signed on June 26 this year, and the report is expected to be ready by December.

“A Comprehensive Mobility Plan will be the first step in preparing a mobility management plan for the city, which is legally required under the GMDA Act. To solve an issue we need to know what is actually wrong? Is it bad engineering or bad traffic management that has made the city roads a nightmare? This won’t be a regular localised study but a Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP). It will be the most authoritative study of traffic challenges of Gurugram since 2009 when a similar exercise was last conducted,” says V Umashankar, chief executive officer, GMDA.

According to the authorities, 11 surveys will be conducted to assess parameters such as rise in unorganised parking, lack of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, absence of mass transit systems such as buses and trains, inflow and outflow of traffic through bypasses such as trucks and other commercial vehicles, and clogging of high volume junctions such as Shankar Chowk, IFFCO Chowk, Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk and others. The data of these surveys will then be compiled to prepare the CMP. Based on it the authorities plan to identify mobility challenges and recommend short-term (5 years), mid-term (10 years) and long-term (15 years) solutions.

According to the data of various agencies, the population of Gurugram is serviced by around 1,000-km network of primary roads. The city sees about 17 lakh people, the current population, make about 20 lakh trips each day, two-thirds of it within the city limits. (Sumedha Sharma)