Heavy bylane traffic a headache

All these efforts have done little to help the locals,who say venturing out of home is now fraught with risks.

Mandakini Salunke,a banker staying near Eklavya Polytechnic for the past 15 years,said,“Walking on this road used to be a pleasure when we had shifted here. But ever since they began laying concrete surface on Paud Road around five years ago,people started using this lane to connect to Paud Road at Pooja Park square. Since then,there has been no respite.”

Vinit Bahulkar,a father of two,fears allowing his sons,2-year-old Prathamesh and nine-year-old Aditya,to ride their bicycles on the streets outside their home.

“Except in the afternoon when traffic is thinner,I do not allow them to ride their bicycles in this lane,” he said.

Until a couple of years ago,four-wheelers were allowed in this particular lane. “Tempos carrying goods to the nearby shops,cars,even water-tankers used this lane. It was only after the road was banned for four-wheelers that this heavy traffic stopped,” said Priya,Bahulkar’s wife.

The story in no different in about a dozen-odd bylanes that connect Kothrud to Paud road from Ideal colony and nearby areas.

Vasanti Memane,a senior citizen at Ideal colony,speaking for her six other friends,said they have stopped going out for a walk in the evenings because of heavy traffic in the bylanes. “We now go out only in the early mornings,” she said.

There are a couple of bylanes banned for four-wheelers or have been made a one-way for traffic from Paud Road but the residents of along these streets say they have no hope of getting back peace again. “Traffic will keep increasing,we might get some respite if the main Paud Road is made commuter-friendly.”

Even today,there is a a subway construction work going on near Kinara hotel square because of which people try to avoid that patch during peak hours,resulting in traffic spilling on to the bylanes through the colonies along the road.