A report by the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) suggests that 60% of Jaipur population will have a public transport facility within 500 metres of walkable distance in the next five years.

“Public transport share of the city will go up by 20% from the existing 10% to have a sustainable urban transportation that is safe, affordable and reliable for efficient movement of the residents,” the report added.

The Comprehensive Traffic and Transport Study (CTT) was carried out by the Jaipur Development Authority to formulate a long-term transport strategy for Jaipur region and identify a practical and effective investment plan for 20 years.

The study addresses immediate and future transportation problems of the city by formulation of short term, medium term and long term transport strategies.

JP Singhal, an additional chief engineer with the Jaipur Development Authority, said that final draft of the study is ready and awaits approval of other stakeholders of urban planning such as the Jaipur Municipal Corporation, regional transport office and traffic police.

Officials said that since the city roads have “very less” scope of widening, the public transport system should be improved in order to cater to the increasing traffic in the city in the next 20 years.

The report mentions that private vehicles in Jaipur city are growing at 12% per annum, whereas other categories of vehicles are going up at 10% per annum.

The report highlights several existing issues with the public transport such as unorganised mini buses competing with the Jaipur City Transport Services Limited (JCTSL) buses and inadequate depot infrastructure.

The report mentions that 80% of the roads lack footpath facility, lack of exclusive pedestrian signal phase at major intersections and mid-blocks are observed at locations such as Jaipur railway station, Sindhi Camp and Chomu Pulia. On-street parking was observed at 62% of the roads, states the report.

Other public transportation issues in the study includes disintegration of existing city bus operations with Jaipur, Gandhi Nagar and Durgapura railway stations and major traffic generators, 64% of the roads lack road sign and 73% of the roads lack signboards, lack of adequate capacity for storm water drainage.

The mid-term and long-term improvement of the urban planning suggested by the report includes 44 junction improvements including 33 independent junctions and 11 part of the corridor improvements, which includes areas such as Trimurti Circle, Jaipur Development Authority Circle and OTS Circle, corridor improvement for a 36-km-long stretch, which includes Tonk Road (18 km), MI Road (3 km) and Kalawar Road (3 km), 11 level crossing improvements, three bus terminal and four railway terminals in the city.

First Published: Mar 04, 2019 11:30 IST