One­way, diversion part of plan to free up choked Delhi roads

At least 20 traffic heavy stretches across Delhi may soon get “location-specific” decongestion plans to reduce traffic jams and facilitate smooth vehicular movement, officials from Delhi Traffic Police said.

As a pilot project, Delhi Traffic Police has already implemented decongestion plans at two locations —Teen Murti roundabout and Shanti Van-ISBT Kashmere Gate stretch near Yamuna Bazaar area on Ring Road.

The plan to tweak traffic movement includes allowing one-way traffic during specific hours on certain stretches, enforcing diversions, and closing or opening particular sections of roads.

Traffic police officials said the decongestion plans have already started yielding results at both the locations. Preliminary estimates show that on the Teen Murti roundabout, there was a 50-60% reduction in waiting time since the decongestion plan was implemented, while on the Shanti Van-ISBT Kashmere Gate stretch there was a 40% reduction in hold-up period, officials said.

“We have started new traffic plans at two stretches and are in the process of identifying other areas. Dedicated plans are being made for each of these areas based on a study pertaining to the traffic volume, kind of traffic, and need of the commuters,” said joint commissioner of police (traffic) Alok Kumar.

Traffic police have closed traffic on Kushak Road moving towards the Teen Murti roundabout during the peak traffic hours in the evening (5pm to 9pm). Officials said traffic is diverted to adjacent roads of Teen Murti Marg and South Avenue. This has reduced bunching of vehicles at the roundabout, officials said. This plan, which started from August 23, is operational during weekdays.

The second plan targets the Shanti Van-ISBT Kashmere Gate stretch. It was first put in place on a trial basis on September 25 and will be implemented on Tuesdays and Saturdays between 5pm and 9pm, when the devotee rush at the Hanuman Temple increases snarls along the stretch. No traffic will be allowed on Ring Road from Shantivan Chowk towards Hanuman Setu on both days.

Traffic from Red Fort and Chandni Chowk on Nishad Raj Marg heading towards Kashmere Gate ISBT would not be allowed to take a left on Ring Road. Vehicles will have to go straight on Raja Ram Kohli Marg and take a left on the Ring Road (Salimgarh) bypass for Kashmere Gate ISBT.

Meanwhile, traffic on Ring Road from Rajghat, heading towards Kashmere Gate, will have to take a right on Raja Ram Kohli Marg. From there, vehicles can take a left to cover the journey on Ring Road bypass.

Similar plans are being studied for other traffic heavy stretches, officials said. In fact, the traffic department had earlier this year released a list of 137 traffic prone spots in the city, which have remained clogged for over a decade. Delhi Gate intersection, Kalkaji Mandir crossing (Outer Ring Road), Khajoori Chowk, Loni Road crossing, Lajpat Nagar intersection (Ring Road below the flyover), Majnu Ka Tila, Moti Bagh intersection (Ring Road below the flyover), Punjabi Bagh Chowk, and Uttam Nagar metro station crossing, were a few traffic heavy stretches identified in the list. “Our focus will be to ease these points. Even if all of these do not require a change of circulation plan, we will find alternatives such as additional deployment or installing traffic signals to find solutions,” Kumar said.

First Published: Sep 30, 2018 08:10 IST