By Col Sugandh Sharma (Retd)
The recent development of highways leading to Dehradun as well as the near completion of elevated road into the city will only increase the influx of traffic into the town which is already grappling with its own traffic congestion.
So, are there no solutions? Well, if we the citizens and the government, predominantly the local government, decide to do something about it, solutions very much exist, some immediate and some which may take some time.
Very small cars and two wheelers need to be encouraged
Our town is basically designed to carry the traffic of small cars and two wheelers. To encourage this, the government needs to offer free parking inside commercial areas within town limits for very small cars and two wheelers. Further, the taxation on very small cars and two wheelers needs to be reduced and maybe hiked on big cars. Not only this, even the interest rate on loans for very small cars and two wheelers may be reduced and perhaps increased for big cars.
Improving the functionality of roads
As far as possible the junctions with traffic lights require to be replaced with fully functional roundabouts which do not have a traffic light or a police man controlling the traffic, thereby, there is no dead stop of traffic hence the traffic does not congest.
Of course, illegal encroachments, on roads as well as walking paths, have to be removed.
The area covered by automatic number plate recognition must be increased which will reduce traffic violations hence will ease the congestion of traffic.
A very simple thing like keeping the left turn free, too, will prevent congestion
The traffic lights on the junctions need to be algorithm based so that the duration of red or green increases or decreases as per the flow of traffic.
The roads which are wide enough need to have dividers installed to alleviate the flow of traffic.
As per the capacity of the road to take on a particular size of vehicle, gate bollards need to be installed, particularly on roads entering the residential areas.
On roads which are wider than 30 feet or so, in addition to the walking path, permanent parking needs to be identified on only one side of the road which can be suitably marked. These can be given on annual lease to the residents to park their cars. One or two parkings may be allotted free to the owner of the house or establishment, depending on its size, along which these parkings lie. From the annual income, a small percentage of profit can also be given to the owner of the establishment to encourage the practice.
Encourage cyclists, pedestrians and public transport
This is very easy since we are a town blessed with moderate climate.
The town needs to be bike and pedestrian friendly to reduce other vehicular traffic. This can easily be done by creating bike lanes and walking paths on roads wider than 20 feet or so without disrupting the two-way traffic. This is particularly important for all roads that lead to schools and colleges considering the large student population.
On busy roads, speed breakers before the zebra crossings are essential, as well as under passes to cross the road.
There has to be a very good public transport system to motivate people to use that, rather than their private transport. An existing example are the few electric AC buses which are running in the town. These need to be increased exponentially. Thereafter, a low cost quarterly or annual pass purchase system needs to be introduced so that the citizens are emboldened to use this.
To facilitate people in using public transport, electric rickshaws need to ply from residential areas till main roads without entering the main roads.
The school bus system needs to be incentivised to persuade parents as well as students to use school buses or to walk or cycle to school instead of parents transporting their wards to the schools.
Staggering timings, days, routes and areas
All of these can ease traffic.
We can stagger the timings of the schools and possibly even offices and markets. Not only this, the different markets within the town need to be identified region wise and the closing day of the markets need to be rotated throughout the week and enforced.
There is also requirement, particularly on weekends and in tourist season, to designate one-way roads to approach and exit Mussoorie and other tourist spots. On such one-way roads, mechanical enforcers need to be installed.
Incentives need to be given to commercial establishments, schools, hospitals and institutes which establish themselves outside the town limits.
Enforce and cooperate with strict prophylactic checks
If done correctly for vehicle documents, drivers documents and alcohol, it will reduce the number of vehicles on the road since the illegal ones will hesitate to ply.
Elevated roads within the town
Lastly, it is interesting to note that the old raos or seasonal rivers of Dehradun drain in the direction of the slope of the land which also tends to follow the entry and exit routes of the town. Therefore, we need elevated roads on the seasonal rivers such as Bindal, Rispana, etc., to improve the flow of traffic within the town. Some preliminary study has been done on this, but it needs to be implemented at the earliest.
(Col Sugandh Sharma (Retd) was born and brought up in Dehradun. He served the country for over three decades including at the international level. Doon, particularly its history and environs, are very close to his heart.)
