Traffic control tower set up

August 28, 2014

Sophisticated electronic gadgets to be used

A traffic policeman monitoring movement of vehicles using the newly installed surveillance cameras at Anna statute in Dindigul on Wednesday.— PHOTO: G. KARTHIKEYAN

A traffic policeman monitoring movement of vehicles using the newly installed surveillance cameras at Anna statute in Dindigul on Wednesday.— PHOTO: G. KARTHIKEYAN

The district police set up a traffic control tower with all sophisticated electronic gadgets at Anna statue junction here on Wednesday not only to regulate traffic but also for effective surveillance.

Inaugurating the tower, Superintendent of Police T. Jayachandran said the tower had been installed at an estimated cost of Rs.4.5 lakh. The tower had a public address system and a speed dome camera that would cover four streets.

The police manning the tower would regulate traffic on Sub-Collector Office Road, Tiruchi Road and Chatram Street and a link road. The electronic equipment attached with the camera had the capacity to store data for one month, he added.

AC control tower

An air-conditioned traffic control tower would be set up at Periyar statue junction connecting AMC Road, Salai Road, Main Road, Tiruvallur Road and AMC Road. Fifteen CCTV cameras and five speed dome cameras would be fitted at this junction.

The total cost of the project was Rs.10 lakh and installation work was in progress. This work was being executed with the help of a Madurai-based advertising company. It would be opened shortly, the SP added.

The traffic police had set up a control room and installed surveillance cameras at Tiruchi Road-Palani Road junction last month.

 

Source:The Hindu

An open invitation to chaos

August 5, 2014

Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

HT Correspondent  

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 

Speed hunters to track over-speeding in Managlore

August 4, 2014

The Mangalore Traffic police will soon put in operation ‘Speed Hunter’, a new tripod mounted device, which will identify over-speeding on the city roads.

The Mangalore Traffic police will soon put in operation ‘Speed Hunter’, a new tripod mounted device, which will identify over-speeding on the city roads. These devices will be in addition to the traffic interceptors that Mangalore police have had for nearly three years.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Uday Nayak said the ‘Speed Hunter’ was an improvement over the camera used in a traffic interceptor. Unlike the interceptor, the ‘Speed Hunter’ detects speeding vehicles based on the speed limits set by the police. “It identifies on its own the number of vehicles that are over-speeding.” In interceptors, Mr. Nayak said, police had to manually ascertain the speed.

Mr. Nayak said the new device works on the Windows system. It also has the Global Positioning System facility. Like in the interceptor, the ‘Speed Hunter’ provides wireless connection to the printer used to print challans along with images of the speeding vehicle.

The Mangalore traffic police have been given two devices — one for the city and another for the newly opened Mangalore Traffic (North) police station in Surathkal. The police were being trained in the use of them. “These new devices will be in action in the next few days,” Mr. Nayak said.

Interceptors

The city traffic police have two traffic interceptors – one in the city and another in Panambur.

These interceptors have not been of much use for traffic enforcement. “There have been problems with the device and hence it has not been of much use,” Mr. Nayak said.

 

Source: The Hindu

To solve parking woes, CJI says pedal to work

July 31, 2014

New Delhi:

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

 

 `Lawyers With Offices Nearby Can Use Cycles’

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/

In Noida, sanction for more traffic cops remains on paper

July 31, 2014

Written by Siddhartha Gupta | Noida

A traffic jam in Noida.(Source: Express Archive)
A traffic jam in Noida. (Source: Express Archive)

 

SUMMARY

Officers said police had written to the state government several times in the past, requesting for more men, but to no avail.
Close to three months after the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet sanctioned a proposal to boost the Traffic police force of Gautam Buddh Nagar by adding around 500 men, things are still to see any change on the ground.

In fact, records obtained from the office of the senior superintendent of police show that Gautam Buddh Nagar has been allotted only 97 traffic constables to man traffic spread out across 1,440 square kilometres.

Officers said police had written to the state government several times in the past, requesting for more men, but to no avail.

“More than 10 letters have been sent in the last two years. This February, the UP Cabinet finally sanctioned our request for around 500 men. But nothing has changed on the ground so far. I have been here for over three years, and in my tenure, the strength of the traffic police force has hardly ever crossed 100. It was as low as 67 at one time. And I don’t think the situation will see a change unless people are recruited in large numbers,” an officer said.

The traffic movement in Noida and Greater Noida is more than 30 lakh per day, with vehicles passing through nearly 300 busy intersection. Police officers said the busiest intersections in Noida are the ones at Model Town, Kalindi Kunj, Chilla, Sector-37, Rajnigandha factory, Sector-71 and Sector-60.

According to official records for the last three years, an average of 900 accidents have taken place in Gautam Buddh Nagar per year, which have resulted in approximately 400 casualties and left 650 injured.

Alok Sharma, IG (Meerut Zone), however, said that 100 personnel was a sufficient number to man the traffic in Gautam Buddh Nagar. He said recruitment to the traffic police force was underway but it would take another year for fresh recruits to be trained and deployed on the ground.
“Sanctioning of proposals by the Cabinet is meaningless unless new people are brought in. Manpower crunch is a problem in the entire state. But nothing can be done before another year. It will take a year for the recruitment process to conclude and fresh recruits to be trained,” Sharma said.

An officer said the number of CCTV cameras in Gautam Buddh Nagar was also not sufficient.

“We also need more CCTV cameras. There are around 140 cameras installed in 40 locations. It is not a sufficient number,” the officer said, adding that proposals had been sent to Noida Authority to augment the infrastructure required to boost traffic management.

Source:The Hindu

HALF FLYOVER SAVITRI – Nightmare on Outer Ring Rd

July 31, 2014

 

Neha Lalchandani & Somreet Bhattacharya
TNN

Delhi has seven half flyovers while another will come up at Dhaula Kuan. PWD is reviewing them because of worsening jams. A TOI campaign led to a solution for RTR. In a series, we take a look at other troublespots

 

The half flyover at Savitri Cinema on Outer Ring Road came up around 1999. It was part of a larger project to make Outer Ring Road signal-free. That is yet to be achieved, but the spot has become a nightmare, especially during peak traffic hours.Over the years, traffic has grown. Traffic Police officials say that more than 10 lakh vehicles pass through this stretch daily. As this huge stream from the four-lane Chirag Dilli flyover gushes towards this half flyover, the width of the road gets reduced to virtually three lanes because of a gas cylinder depot jutting out into the road. That creates a knot which takes time to unravel and knocks out traffic over a long distance.As the vehicles slowly emerge from this bottleneck, there are barely two lanes each available for the straight moving (headed for Nehru Place) and right-turning (going towards GK-II) traffic. Since the volume of vehicles going towards Nehru Place is quite huge, it effectively means four lanes of vehicles being squeezed into two lanes.Public Works Department has never tired of saying that a half flyover is a technically sound idea for T-points, which is what the Savitri crossing was. However, to implement such a project, a realistic estimate of traffic flows and sufficient road width are needed.

 

“We feel it has worked well and the problems are a result of traffic mismanagement,“ said a senior PWD official.Traffic Police and road users don’t agree at all. When the traffic going towards Nehru Place piles up, it often blocks the way for the right turning traffic, creating a cascading effect. Adding to the chaos now is the work being carried out by Delhi Metro right next to the flyover.On the other carriageway which gives access to the half flyover to traffic going towards Chirag Dilli, the road next to the flyover ends in a compulsory left turn towards GK-II. “ At the start of the flyover near Chittaranjan Park, there is very little convergence space for vehicles. As traffic descends, the road curves sharply towards the Chirag Delhi flyover which results in slowing down of traffic,“ said a traffic official. A divider constructed on the last lane of the carriageway for buses also forces vehicles to drift towards the right, leading to a bottleneck.“It take me more than 15 minutes to cross the 500-metre stretch between C R Park and Chirag Dill daily and it’s worse if a vehicle breaks down on the flyover,“ said Amrita Roy , who works in Gurgaon.The bad news is that there is little relief t in sight. “With a Metro station coming up in the area, additional road space will be . required to accommodate feeders like autos and e-rickshaws. Either the road will have to be widened or a parallel flyover construct ed,“ said a PWD official. “With land acquisition rates having gone up, it has now become cheaper constructing a flyover rather than acquiring land which will anyway be difficult. On the other side of the road, towards GK-II, there is not land available.“

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

Once a quiet road, now a nightmare

July 31, 2014

KHEL GAON MARG Over the years, this lazy stretch linking South Ex with Outer Ring Road has become one of south Delhi’s busiest roads plagued with the usual traffic problems

NEW DELHI: It was one of the internal roads motorists would often take to avoid miles-long traffic snarls on Aurobindo Marg or on Josip Broz Tito Marg that houses the controversial bus rapid transit (BRT)corridor.

 

Over the last few years, August Kranti Marg or Khel Gaon Marg has transformed into a major arterial road with a large number of motorists living in south Delhi taking this road every day. Result: long queues of vehicles at traffic signals and frequent jams during rush hours.The drive on this five-kilometre stretch — from Outer Ring Road to South Extension — is just about 10 minutes during lean hours. The journey turns into a nightmare when people go back home after a gruelling day at work.And for people with houses on the main road – in places such as Uday Park, Niti Bagh, Anand Lok, Gulmohar Park and Mayfair Garden — the charm of living in tree-sequined lazy avenue is now lost amid the din of vehicles. Constant honking of vehicles and pollution has replaced the cool breeze and chirping of birds the residents enjoyed till a few years ago.

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/

Police need more teeth to regulate errant e-vehicles

July 31, 2014

Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Soumya Pillai  

E-RICKSHAWS OFTEN DISOBEY RULES, JUMP TRAFFIC SIGNALS AND DRIVE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF ROAD, RISKING THE LIVES OF COMMUTERS

NEW DELHI: The wait for the regularisation process of e-rickshaws has led to another death in the capital.A two-and-a-half-year-old boy was flung from his mother’s lap into a pot of boiling sugar syrup in east Delhi’s Trilokpuri on Tuesday, after an errant e-rickshaw hit the woman carrying the baby.The incident, traffic cops claimed, was not an isolated one.

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/

E-rickshaws involved in 36 accidents this year, traffic cops tell Delhi HC

July 31, 2014

 Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Soibam Rocky Singh  

 

NEW DELHI: Seeking to rein in and regulate e-rickshaws plying in the city, the Delhi Traffic Police on Wednesday informed the high court that the battery-powered vehicles had been involved in more than 36 accidents this year alone. Two passengers had lost their lives.

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/

Life in slow lane on Vikas Marg

July 30, 2014

 Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Sidhartha Roy  

CLOGGED ALWAYS One of east Delhi’s main arterial roads, commuting is no less than a nightmare for drivers and pedestrians as traffic rules are openly violated here

 

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

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