Management of vehicular traffic in Guwahati – scope for some environment friendly measures

Management of vehicular traffic in Guwahati city – scope for some environment friendly measures

Pradip Pujari

Guwahati city is not only the largest city in the North East but it has become the hub of all business activities of the entire  North East.

All the travelers from other North Eastern states have to travel to other parts of the country through Guwahati.

After the national games and the SAF  games Guwahati developed also as a sports hub and because of establishment of  a  number of good educational institutions it has shined in the field of education. At the same time  the establishment of a good  number of quality  hospitals and Nursing Homes have attracted people from the entire North East to come to Guwahati for undergoing treatment for various ailments.

The city has developed as a tourist destination also and a good number of hotels and resorts have come up during the last 10/15 years which can Cater to the needs of tourists visiting North East.

The above developments on the other hand have contributed towards increasing the number of vehicular traffic  plying  to Guwahati city. As per conservative estimates in addition to the vehicles registered in kamrup metro another around one lakh vehicles of different type commute to or through the city every day and this has been increasing gradually as the registration of vehicles has been increasing in all the districts and also in the neighbouring states.

As per the statistics there is an increase of 14% in registration of vehicles in Guwahati Metro in 2021 over the previous year. According to DTO’s  office sources total vehicles in Guwahati Metro is presently around 12  lakhs(2021). The figure is almost one vehicle per person in a population of approximately 13,.76,000

On road motor vehicles in 2020-21

 Motorcycle and scooters 677211

 Motorcar 338946

 Moped 1573

 Agriculture trailer1047

 Crane  mounted vehicle 881

 Other non transport vehicle 334

 Goods career 92084

 Three wheeler goods 24984

 Motor cab 19628

 Three wheeler passenger 16833

 Bus 11287

 Mexicab 3450

 Excavator commercial 2134

 Dumper 1567

 Electric rickshaw 1170

Aambulance 1352

 Other transport vehicle 9552

Total 1204 793

Way back in 2008, there was  an assessment as regards steps  need to be taken for streamlining vehicular traffic in Guwahati city and a number of suggestions was forwarded some of which got implemented during the last 10 years. The suggestions were mainly Centered  around the following points

(a) removing of traffic bottlenecks

(b) widening of the existing roads

(c) development of some arterial roads so  that traffic can be diverted when needed

(d) construction of flyover at certain points

(e) Automatic traffic signaling system

(f)Streamlining the parking system

(g) streamlineing the operation of city buses etc

.Most of the issues were  addressed  over the years and traffic in Guwahati city eased considerably in spite of the large increase in vehicular population  during the last 15 years .we worked   Guwahati traffic police(2008-10) when except  in Ulubari, Chandmari and Athgaon there was no flyover in Guwahati city.

During  that  period there  was  discussion about construction of a ring road around the city to ease  traffic in the heart of the city.

There was also discussion about probable implementation of Bus Rapid Transit System(BRTS) .These projects are actually required for a city like Guwahati if we consider the likely  traffic scenario  after 25 years. Provision of automatic Traffic Signaling System was then much talked about which got implemented at a later stage that too  partly.

Similarly there was also talk about centralised traffic control from two different locations of the city and also about installation of CCTV camera etc. Over the years some of the above discussed measures have been implemented partially and the traffic problem has eased  to a great extent particularly  after construction of a number of flyovers and widening of the existing roads.

In the  emerging scenario of Guwahati traffic  taking the following measures would perhaps ease traffic in the city to some  extent.

Streamlining plying of city buses

Although  the roads inside the city have been widened  a lot  still the size of the existing City buses do not conform  to the present width  of the road. Probably City buses of a smaller size(20/25seater) would be more convenient for maneuvering in the  existing roads  of the city.

Again all the city buses should be controlled centrally( may be from Khanapara and Jalukbari) through the use of GPS and central command centre located in these two places so that the movement of each and every bus, their stoppage/timing etc can be monitored and Kept under surveillance for convenience of the passengers.

The Indore City Bus service model may  perhaps be  followed  and some officers maybe sent for for an on the spot  training to Indore to learn about the operation of the buses. Again an assessment can be made as regards adequate number of buses required in a particular route and that number should only be allowed to ply in the route.

A major cause of traffic congestion is the use of large number of private vehicles. If Public transport improves people will  start using city buses instead of private car or taxis which will in the long run reduce the number of private vehicles on the road and thereby ease  traffic congestion to large extent. Easing of traffic inside the city depends a lot therefore on the efficiency of the services of the city buses. Again instead  of allowing

Other modes of public transport like share taxi etc the number of city buses may be increased  adequately to carry passengers.

Provision of bicycle renting/hiring/bicycle

 Another healthy way of fighting traffic congestion is use of bicycle as an alternative mode of transport. Bicycles can be made available for rent at certain points and provision should be made in such a way so that the user can deposit the bicycle at his nearest operating station after commuting the journey.

These operating stations may be located near bus station, Railway station, Steamer Ghat, tourist spot etc where the bicycles will be available both for rent and also for depositing after use.This will be a great way to reduce pollution and encourage cycle lovers to use the bicycles whenever needed for a nominal price. Smart card system can be used for locking and renting of the bicycle and to prevent theft or misuse by someone.

To make effective use of bicycles provision of cycle track should be made on all the main roads and also on all the bridges including all the new bridges being constructed over . Brahmaputra.

 Observation of No traffic Day

An initiative may be taken for observing no traffic day twice in a month(2nd and 4th saturday)by abstaining from using motor vehicle for 24 hours.During this period private vehicle use should be totally prohibited but people can use bicycle and only vehicle used for emergency duties may be allowed.

These two days of the month can also be observed as ‘Green Day’ by taking other green initiatives like planting of trees etc.Public transport with green fuel only may be allowed during this period. This will go a long way to deplete pollution level in the city and at the same time prompt people to adopt a healthy way of life and also reduce consumption of fuel and thereby saving money.

Converting some busy area/street into pedestrian zone

For example, the Stretch of the HB Road from Pan Bazar PS( church point) to Sikh Temple covering SS Road towards the river can be converted fully to a pedestrian zone in the pattern  of MG Road of Gangtok. one must have noticed that this stretch of the HB  road  is mostly used for parking and has a one way traffic which can be bypassed by the road passing by Hari Sabha and Phulgali on the eastern side and by SCRB Road  on the western side.

People coming to the zone can park their vehicle  near text book production centre office( near panbazar flyover) on the eastern side and the  multistoried  near  MMC( near erstwhile YMCA) On the  north.

Parking in front of MMC can be allowed as usual for people coming to the zone from Eastern side. since the new foot over bridge has come up near SS Road Junction on MG Road, the pedestrians can cross over to the Brahmaputra river side via  SS Road and vice versa from the pedestrian zone. The existing parking system at the  proposed pedestrian zone has to be totally removed.

For the shopkeepers of the zone, to facilitate the  transportation of their commodity meant for the shops, a timing may be fixed in the morning and evening hours before opening and after the closing of the area for the Pedestrians.

This is important that the area has to be beautified by landscaping, rebuilding of pavements etc.  and the entire area need to be remodelled by putting up fountains, making sitting arrangements, illuminating the area and planting of trees .

Necessary arrangement will have to be made for elderly people , children and PWD also to make it more attractive in the line of MG Road of Gangtok. Since the riverside  beautification  project is going on , this project may be implemented as an extension of the same as it will connect the riverside. This zone  is likely to fulfill the need of a walking zone  in the City and would prove very beneficial for the elderly as well as tourists visiting the city.

 This needs to be mentioned that it’s  only one probable  area which can be converted to a pedestrian zone. similar other feasible area may  perhaps be identified in the City for developing accordingly.

Images from different sources

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