12 traffic bottlenecks identified

Vadodara: In 2017, a Barodian died in road accident on the city roads every second day.
Wary of the ever-increasing traffic menace, the police have drawn up an elaborate plan. The cops carried out a detailed study over last four months in the areas facing traffic jams and have prepared a list of 12 different crossroads and roundabouts in the city and on the highway.

“We will focus on these spots that are more prone to traffic jams and accidents. We have prepared a plan to divert vehicles, deploy more traffic cops, and close down dividers. The idea is to ease the traffic flow and avoid accidents in these corridors,” said Manoj Sashidhar, city police commissioner. Of the 12 corridors identified by the police, four are on the highway and the rest in different areas of the city.

“L&T circle witnesses heavy traffic in peak hours so there is a proposal to reduce the size of the roundabout. A city bus stand near the circle can be shifted and the roadside food stalls there should be removed. We have also proposed to change the road design around Amitnagar Circle for safer traffic movement,” said Amita Vanani, ACP (traffic).

The cops plan to broaden the service roads under the bridges at Golden Chowkdi, Waghodia Bridge, Ajwa Bridge and Kapurai Bridge on national highway 8. These roads leading to these bridges lead to several accidents due to over-speeding and wrong side driving. Route diversion for heavy vehicles and ST buses has also been planned to avoid the Amitnagar Circle route that has several schools.

To ensure smooth and consistent flow of vehicles, the work has begun to synchronize traffic signals on busy roads like Narhari Circle, Kalaghoda Circle, Jail Road, Maharani Shantadevi Nursing Home crossroad and Rajmahal Road. The cops in coordination with the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) have painted zebra crossing and stop line on 29 traffic junctions in the city. Also, an awareness drive will be carried out on the roads where commuters drive on wrong side. And, the traffic department will ensure that the cops posted at junctions get drinking water supply.

City needs 527 new cops

The police have divided the city into three categories according to traffic rush. A-63 has heavy rush, B-56 has medium vehicle flow and C-20 has lean traffic. From a total of 139 traffic points in the city, 103 have presence of traffic cops. Proposal has been made to have cops at the remaining 36 points. Nearly 527 new cops are required to man the new areas in the city.