Will grade separators upgrade the city?

Grade separators are an example.

The budget presented by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) standing committee chairman Baburao Chandere has earmarked Rs 26.80 crores for the construction of nine flyovers and grade separators,a majority of which will centre around Baner. Four of these grade separators are to be constructed on Baner Road itself.

While Chandere had stoutly defended the need for grade separators,claiming that they are essential for solving the problem of traffic congestion,not everyone is convinced. From past experience,people in the city feel they might pose more problems for commuters. The grade separators at Sancheti Chowk and Pimpri Chinchwad are already inviting much criticism for the inconvenience they are causing to pedestrians. Now,this idea of five more grade separators has raised the hackles of many in the city.

Chandere,while speaking on the need for grade separators,maintained that they are necessary given the traffic snarls that pose problems on Baner Road almost every evening.

“Due to the large number of offices in Baner,lot many people come here every day. During the morning and evening hours,massive traffic snarls are caused which could be dealt with through these grade separators,” he said.

However,local residents and road safety experts point out that these grade separators have not done much to facilitate commuting in the city,particularly at Sancheti Chowk,where it created more problems than solving them.

Some senior officers of PMC do admit that this was not a well-though out plan. No special feasibility study was undertaken before constructing the grade separator and these were not part of the original Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) of the city either. In fact,the five proposed grade separators were most certainly not part of the CMP.

According to Traffic and Transport experts from the Institute of Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP),both the Pimpri and Sancheti Chowk grade separators have made life for pedestrians more difficult than easy.

ITDP road and traffic expert Pranjali Deshpande says that during peak hours,the Ganeshkhind Road near the Sancheti Chowk has become almost impossible to navigate. “True the average speed of cars has increased along that road,but minor accidents have also become the order of the day along this stretch,” she said. Deshpande pointed out that grade separators allow vehicles to move faster than usual which puts the life and limbs of pedestrians as well as motorists at risk.

Talking about the proposed grade separators on Baner Road,she said the road already has provisions for a Bus Rapid Transit Route (BRT). “A good BRT with frequent buses would be the call of the hour for that road. It will enable people to avail public transport instead of their private vehicles,” she said.

Speaking to Newsline,some senior officials of PMC said that no feasibility study has been commissioned yet for the construction of the grade separators. In fact,grade separators were also not part of the budget presented by the municipal commissioner Mahesh Pathak. “No detailed study was done for the grade separators at Sancheti Chowk either,” pointed out the officer,who preferred to remain anonymous.

Harshad Abhyankar of Janwani feels this was one more sign of the piecemeal approach towards proper implementation of the CMP. “Ad hoc-ism,which has become rampant in terms of development projects in the city is really worrisome,” he said. He also asserted that instead of creating grade separators,the authorities should concentrate on improving public transport.