The Times of India 16.11.2010
A roadmap for the future
GURGAON: In the post-liberalisation era, the city has witnessed unexpected growth pushing transport and traffic demand whereas the necessary infrastructure has not got adequately upgraded. Urban planners feel Gurgaon can still fix its issues, but the plans and measures have to be in place and these must become a priority of the government and local administration.
Separate Corridors: There are three types of traffic movements through Gurgaon inter-state, inter-city and intra-city. In the absence of alternative roads, these three categories of traffic spill over to the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, which forms a part of NH-8 connecting Delhi to Mumbai. These three types of traffic have to be segregated by creating separate road network for each category of vehicles. The Expressway should take care of the inter-state traffic. The idea is to construct good and wide service roads along the Expressway for local traffic movement. They must not end up on the spinal cord crowding the stretch, says urban transport planner N Ranganathan.
Though the Expressway is also largely used for inter-state traffic, there is a need to have more such corridors for easy clearance of traffic movement within the cities of NCR. Gurgaons transport and traffic planning also needs to be synchronised with the overall planning of Delhi and other constituent cities of NCR. Moreover, access to properties along the main roads needs to be regulated. Minimising accesses from the main roads would help decongest the arterial corridors.
Mass-Transit and Rail Network: Though Gurgaon has to fix its immediate transport and traffic mess, it also needs to have a futuristic planning considering the fact that the city will grow beyond Manesar and Sohna Road in the next decade or so. Roads have a limited capacity. Construction of any number of flyovers and widening of the existing roads wont take traffic load beyond a point. Well need to shift people to the railway and Metro from roads. Well need to look for less capital-intensive solutions than always focussing on elevated Metro corridors and other mass transport networks, says H R Suri, former president of the Institute for Town Planners in India (ITPI). The mass transport and rail system should be supplemented by a smart and reliable feeder bus system.
Institutional Reform: Gurgaon needs to have a dedicated institution for transport planning and traffic management. The future growth has to be transport led. Development of new sectors, industrial and commercial zones must be done after addressing the future demand of these particular localities and its impact on the city as a whole. A transport and traffic master plan should be prepared with the input from all stakeholders and this should be implemented in a time-bound manner.
Separate Corridors: There are three types of traffic movements through Gurgaon inter-state, inter-city and intra-city. In the absence of alternative roads, these three categories of traffic spill over to the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, which forms a part of NH-8 connecting Delhi to Mumbai. These three types of traffic have to be segregated by creating separate road network for each category of vehicles. The Expressway should take care of the inter-state traffic. The idea is to construct good and wide service roads along the Expressway for local traffic movement. They must not end up on the spinal cord crowding the stretch, says urban transport planner N Ranganathan.
Though the Expressway is also largely used for inter-state traffic, there is a need to have more such corridors for easy clearance of traffic movement within the cities of NCR. Gurgaons transport and traffic planning also needs to be synchronised with the overall planning of Delhi and other constituent cities of NCR. Moreover, access to properties along the main roads needs to be regulated. Minimising accesses from the main roads would help decongest the arterial corridors.
Mass-Transit and Rail Network: Though Gurgaon has to fix its immediate transport and traffic mess, it also needs to have a futuristic planning considering the fact that the city will grow beyond Manesar and Sohna Road in the next decade or so. Roads have a limited capacity. Construction of any number of flyovers and widening of the existing roads wont take traffic load beyond a point. Well need to shift people to the railway and Metro from roads. Well need to look for less capital-intensive solutions than always focussing on elevated Metro corridors and other mass transport networks, says H R Suri, former president of the Institute for Town Planners in India (ITPI). The mass transport and rail system should be supplemented by a smart and reliable feeder bus system.
Institutional Reform: Gurgaon needs to have a dedicated institution for transport planning and traffic management. The future growth has to be transport led. Development of new sectors, industrial and commercial zones must be done after addressing the future demand of these particular localities and its impact on the city as a whole. A transport and traffic master plan should be prepared with the input from all stakeholders and this should be implemented in a time-bound manner.
