Editor’s note, Ahmedabad, 14 May, 2014

What happens when traffic on particular road crosses its limit? Well, first they create a circle to regulate and slow the traffic. When traffic grows even further, then they put signals and deploy cops there. If situation not solved, they plan flyover.

So, a flyover was planned on Ahmedabad’s Drive-In road connecting Vijay Char rasta and Gurukul areas due to heavy traffic. Later the plan was dropped as this stretch was declared a route for proposed Metro rail. But we don’t know when actually the Metro project will kick off and complete! So, meanwhile the traffic problem continued to grow on this road.

As a solution, the police commissioner has this week issued a permanent notification of traffic diversion on Helmet cross road. Vehicles which come from Thaltej and Gurukul must not turn right towards ‘Andhjan Mandal/IIM’ on 132 ft ring-road and vehicles that come from Vijay char rasta must not turn right towards AEC circle on the ring road during 8.30 am to 1.00 pm and 5.30 to 9.30 pm. This will give relief to commuters on Vijay Char rasta-Gurukul stretch on both sides. The side-effect is: the ‘right-turn’ traffic will divert to other roads.

The city may see more such notifications in future if number of cars and other vehicles continue to increase, migration to city continues to march ahead, population continues to go up, and unplanned development is not restricted. Regarding this unplanned development factor, well suppose you permit new residential schemes of several 100 units in Bopal area, stay assured that traffic on entire Satellite road will increase as a result. Good that the authority planned BRTS route connecting Bopal to city as a solution, but BRTS is mostly used by lower middle class, middle class women and students. Contrary to Metro which moves over pillars and in tunnels, BRTS occupies good size of surface of road.

Then there are unplanned campuses. The Gujarat High Court is located on SG Highway, but bungalows of Judges are built in Vastrapur and Law Garden. So dozens of Judges have to travel every day and occupy the roads. How nice if quarters of Judges and staff were built within the campus or nearby! This is just an example.

There’s Chandla Ol area near Manek chowk in wall city Ahmedabad where shops are located on ground floor and shop-owners live on first floor. When new passport office was built in Ahmedabad, they built staff quarters in same campus, just next to the office. Such planning is important.

In recent years, the AMC has widened some of the main stretches in important parts of city, but there’s not much possibility of further widening. And then you expand the road and you find market on footpath or hawkers on road side next morning. Those visiting them park their cars and vehicles on road and create further nuisance.

In recent years we are seeing more flyovers, more public transport(BRTS is there, next Metro) initiatives, but with that, we are now also seeing ‘no right turn’ restriction. Wish you best driving experience on Helmet cross roads next time.