Construction boom and traffic congestion strain Pune’s infra: What needs to be done

Thus the situation in Pune has been progressively deteriorating from bad to worse and the receding year 2024 has not been any exception. So what needs to be done to remedy the situation?

Regulation of construction

With much higher FSI (floor-space index) being granted, high-rise residential buildings, commercial complexes etc. are mushrooming in various parts of the city, even on narrow roads and in already congested areas. Higher FSI is also available for Metro corridors, ostensibly for densifying the corridors to improve ridership. PMC seems to be viewing the construction boom as a lucrative source of revenue to generate additional funds through development charges, sale of TDR, premium FSI, property tax etc. The fact being overlooked is that if such growth continues unabated, it will spell doom for the city.

The minimum consideration that is required before allowing construction in any area is to check and ensure the adequacy of its capacity and infrastructure:

(a) Whether the area would be able to sustain the increased population density and commercial activity with the huge influx of people and vehicles in the area.

(b) Whether the existing infrastructure for public utility services and roads would be adequate for the steeply increased needs after the massive development with higher FSI.

(c) If not, whether timely augmentation of infrastructure is practically possible considering various constraints such as land, funds as well as all other necessary resources.

Traffic-congestion solution

There can be no doubt that augmentation of road infrastructure would be needed as the city grows. It is, however, necessary that all possible measures for more efficient use of existing transportation infrastructure be implemented first before major expansion or construction of new facilities is considered.

The real issue here is PMC’s mistaken belief that the traffic congestion problem will get easily resolved simply by increasing the road capacity. Hence, the focus of PMC has always been only on implementing measures such as road widening, building new roads, flyovers etc. However, time and again it has been proved that such solutions are never adequate as vehicle growth keeps on happening at a much faster rate. Moreover, availability of added road capacity inevitably leads to traffic levels going up. Thus, despite such measures being consistently taken by PMC for several years, the traffic situation in the city is deteriorating fast day by day.

The fact is that the lack of adequate, efficient, and reliable public transport system and safe non-motorised transport facilities is pushing people towards using their own cars and two-wheelers. The only proven sustainable solution to the traffic congestion problem is providing a good quality public transport system — network of buses, BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), Metro with feeder bus service, and multi-modal terminals for convenient interchange. Adequate vehicle parking facility is needed at the terminals and intermediate stations. Safe, adequate, and usable facilities for pedestrians and cyclists is a must all over the city — footpaths, road crossings, cycle tracks. Pedestrianisation should also be implemented in the core city areas. The focus should necessarily be on mobility of people and not vehicles.

PMC had prepared a ‘Comprehensive Mobility Plan’ in the year 2008. Subsequently, PMC has also adopted ‘Pedestrian Policy’ and ‘Urban Street Design Guidelines’ in the year 2016 and ‘Cycle Plan’ in the year 2017. Unfortunately, all these excellent policies, plans and guidelines have largely remained only on paper. It is imperative that these should be implemented throughout the city without further delay.

It is important that the above mentioned actions must not be treated in isolation but an integrated systems approach should be adopted. All such measures will make it possible for people to commute conveniently without using their own vehicles. Thus the number of vehicles on roads would progressively reduce and the traffic congestion as well as pollution problem would get resolved gradually.

Road infrastructure issues

Road construction has to be of a good quality with sufficient life span as per norms. However, this is not the case in Pune and premature deterioration is seen, for example potholes appear on tar roads and cracks develop on concrete roads within less than a year of construction. It is seen that with only a few days of rain, the roads in Pune are in tatters. Another issue is of city roads being dug up for various reasons and not restored to their original condition over an unduly long period.

Regular and timely maintenance of road infrastructure (road surface, road dividers, speed breakers, footpaths, road markings, signage, signals, street lighting etc.) is a must, but not being done by PMC.

This year there was heavy flooding in the city during the rainy season and even the roads became rivers. It is evident that the entire storm water drain system on the city roads is in shambles — ill-designed, misaligned, inadequate, and poorly maintained. A detailed investigation by an expert agency and total overhaul is absolutely necessary to avoid such hazardous situations in future.

All such issues do not just cause inconvenience to the public, but also result in various safety hazards for road-users and fatal accidents. What is needed is a proper policy for road construction and maintenance.

About eight years back the PMC Commissioner had constituted a ‘Road Development and Road Maintenance Committee’ to study the issues faced and give recommendations. The committee submitted its exhaustive report with recommendations in the year 2016. However, it has not been implemented by the PMC. It is necessary that the recommendations of the expert committee be implemented to resolve the problem of defective roads in Pune.

Road safety

It is also a fact that faulty road infrastructure in the city is a major cause for unsafe road conditions and accidents. The basic problem is that most roads and junctions in Pune have not been designed at all, but seem to have just evolved in a haphazard manner. PMC should strictly follow its own ‘Urban Street Design Guidelines’ and IRC norms in this matter.

Another issue is vehicles travelling at high speeds causing an unsafe environment on the roads. I had proposed a ‘Traffic calming policy with guidelines’ to the PMC in the year 2021. However, there has not been any response from PMC in the matter. It is necessary that appropriate traffic calming measures to restrict vehicle speeds to desired lower level should be incorporated in the city road infrastructure.

Conclusion

With the kind of insane growth that Pune is experiencing, the existing infrastructure is under immense strain and crumbling fast. Things are really getting out of hand and Pune is now staring at a massive infrastructure crisis. This is a wake-up call for all to urgently take stock of the critical situation and implement sensible remedial measures before it is too late.

Prashant Inamdar is a civic and transport expert and convenor, Pedestrians FIRST