Transit project stuck : Mess to remain on city roads in Chandigarh

CHANDIGARH: With two ambitious city transport projects - Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) and Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) - being perennially delayed, the existing chaos on Chandigarh roads is not likely to improve any time soon. 



Though the UT administration has simultaneously started work on BRTS and MRTS projects, both Punjab and Haryana governments have been reluctant in carrying it forward citing shortage of finances as a problem.

The much-publicized Metro rail project was conceptualized by former UT administrator General (retd) SF Rodrigues five years ago. He had approached the urban development ministry and brought the project on track before handing over charge of the city. The Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES), while preparing the draft plan of Metro under the MRTS, had also insisted on BRTS, rail corridors, underpasses and pathways for pedestrians. To streamline the traffic system in the city, RITES had suggested that both Metro and BRTS should be developed at the same time and work in tandem.

However, the UT claimed that Metro should be the priority and there is no pressing need for an integrated bus transit system. According to a senior official, "At present, we are focusing only on the Metro. Developing the BRTS requires extensive planning and will consume extra resources and space because it cannot run on one or two corridors but has to spread across the city."

Expressing concern over the slow progress of work on support provisions for BRTS like underpasses and cycle tracks, an official of the engineering department said, "After making an estimate of the travel requirements of the public, RITES had recommended a multi-level network. This meant that the modes of transport should be planned in such a way that they integrate with the Metro. But, the lack of finance to start the work is creating hindrances for us."

The UT administration had decided to set up a modern city bus service for providing seamless connectivity in the Chandigarh Urban Complex and also operate on the seven corridors suggested for MRTS network. The routes had to be modified after the commencement of Metro.

While taking a dig at the lack of interest by the UT administration planners, former principal of Chandigarh College of Architecture, SS Bhatti, said, "Ten years ago, I had suggested to the administration that they should restrict the number of vehicles per family but they did not listen. Now, when the UT has earned the status of being number one in per capita vehicles in the country, they are thinking of that move. But, it's too late."

Bhatti, however, offered another solution to arrest the increasing traffic problems on busy city roads and junctions. "The city?s urban development planners should immediately conduct a study on the waiting period at traffic lights. They must first know how many vehicles can cross the lights in the minimum time and adjust it according to the rush. Till then, there is very little hope of arresting the traffic chaos in the city," he said.
Read more: Transit projects stuck: Mess to stay on roads - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Transit-projects-stuck-Mess-to-stay-on-roads/articleshow/7207577.cms#ixzz19xqBpheD