Answer to traffic woes from investors' meet experiment?

Cops engage pvt firm to study impact of  5-day vehicle ban

Having experimented with several measures, including one-ways, to reduce traffic congestion in the City, the traffic police are now studying the impact of the recent five-day ban that was imposed on private buses and goods vehicles during the Invest Karnataka event.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M A Saleem told Deccan Herald that the department had engaged a private consultant to study the impact of this ban.

“We are expecting a detailed report next week. This study would help us work on the future course of action, particularly to reduce traffic congestion,” he said, and added that the study would also look at the extent of air pollution.

Restricting small trucks?
Asked if this meant there would be curbs on the entry of small trucks during peak hours into the City like it is being done for heavy goods vehicles, Transport Commissioner Rame Gowda said, “There are no plans to restrict the entry of light motor vehicles to the City. It needs greater consultations and the State government’s nod.”

Gowda said a ban on the entry of heavy goods vehicles, excluding those carrying essential commodities, is already in place during peak hours. Of the over 55 lakh vehicles in the City, there are about 80,000 registered heavy goods vehicles and about 11 lakh light motor vehicles of which 25,000 are small trucks.

Urban expert V Ravichander felt that restricting the entry of small trucks into the City during peak hours would be a better solution for traffic congestion than banning private buses.

“By banning the entry of private buses, passengers were put to a lot of hardships. However, restricting the entry of small vehicles is quite feasible, if finding night workers to unload goods is possible,” he said and hastened to add that it was not a permanent solution. “The State government should develop enough infrastructure to encourage use of public transport,” he said.

President of the Federation of Karnataka Lorry Owners’ and Agents’ Association G N Shanmugappa said they suffered a loss of Rs 300 crore due to the ban of goods vehicles in the City. “It’s not democratic. We face a shortage of labour in the night to unload goods. Even shops are closed. Who will buy our commodities? This will ultimately result in an increase in prices.”

Traffic engineering expert Sreehari M N feels the solution for reducing traffic congestion is simple. “Why can’t the State government ban roadside parking? The capacity of the road is reduced by 60 per cent due to parking on both sides. While every building is planned with parking space, it is being used for other purposes. The rule should be: Road for vehicles and footpath for pedestrians,” says Sreehari.