New direction: 5 roads one-way now

On Jangli Maharaj Road,Fergusson College Road,traffic jams used to be the order of the day. “Initially,there was some opposition from various quarters but after turning these roads into one-way,traffic jams have become a thing of the past and carriage width of the roads has gone up,” said Patil.

He admitted though that things such as trees in the middle of the road and medians in some places are problem areas. “The congestion at Tilak Road was eased by making it one-way. But Jedhe Chowk continues to be a problem as the State Transport terminal is located there,” he said,adding that a solution is being worked out.

While appreciating the traffic police’s initiatives to ensure smooth traffic,Prashant Inamdar,convenor,Pedestrians First,said the aim of one-way traffic should be to increase people’s movement,not movement of vehicles.

Patil said in addition to making the five main roads one-way,the traffic police department also reset all the signal timings. “Signals were synchronised on Karve Road,Senapati Bapat Road,Shanipar to Seva Sadan Chowk and the road from airport to Raj Bhawan,” Patil said. He said the cops have started using India Blackberrys to keep record of traffic offences. Also,wearing of seat belts is now compulsory as is badges for rickshaw drivers.

The year 2010 may see cameras tracking traffic offenders,all zebra crossings painted,compulsory uniforms for autorickshaw drivers,and awareness drives on helmets,said Patil.