DMP report on traffic jam: Underground, surface rail, elevated expressway suggested

Police has suggested a series of steps including contraction of underground and over-ground railway and elevated expressways alongside efficient public transport systems as Dhaka’s notorious traffic jam exceeds its own records in recent period.
“Hundreds of meetings and discussions were held to reduce traffic congestion yielding little results . . . expansion of road networks and construction of other required infrastructures is crucially important,” said a Dhaka Metropolitan Police report on the city’s traffic situation.
“Otherwise, the traffic policemen could reduce the traffic jam by as high as 10 percent through their hard labour, but a permanent solution to the problem will not be possible,” an official added.
The report identified 35 reasons of traffic congestion and suggested 17 different ways, several being urgent ones, for the solution as it was prepared in the backdrop of a situation, which nearly exposed the city of nearly 14 million population to an inhabitable place.
It said the DMP has already undertaken a series of steps including motivational campaign to stop “traffic harassment” on its part to ease the situation while it suggested imposition of some restrictions on vehicles to limit their numbers and making rooms for parking.
The report suggested franchising of bus routes to introduce a modern public transport system saying the unhealthy competition among the city’s 150 bus companies was one of the major reasons for the traffic congestion.
“To draw more passengers, they keep the vehicles transversely at different crossings and stoppages causing severe traffic jams,” the report observed and suggested that all companies be merged in one or two enterprises for disciplined and smooth movements franchising the routes.
But the report, however, stressed launching of underground train and monorail system, elevated expressway alongside immediate steps to de-ricksawfy the major roads as part of immediate to long term plans.
The other suggestions included construction of flyovers and underpasses at every major city intersections and railway crossings, introduction of ultra modern traffic engineering systems and immediate steps for changing or amending the outdated traffic laws.
The report found the imbalance between the number of vehicles and existing road infrastructures as the prime factor for the traffic congestions saying in 2007-2008 fiscal alone, 87,500 mechanised vehicles were made on-road while in the subsequent year the figure crossed one lakh.
“As a matter of fact, on the other hand, only one kilometer road was constructed during the past three years,” the report added.
It said while city was already filled with regulated and unregulated transports of different types including 80,000 licensed and over four lakh unlicensed rickshaws and rickshaw vans, hawkers occupy most of the footpaths or sideways making it difficult for people to walk down the streets.
The report also acknowledged lack of coordination among organisations like police and City Corporation as a major obstacle in tackling the problem.
The 400-year old Dhaka has earned a bad name for its notorious traffic jam years ago while the situation in recent time aggravated largely affecting the public life, businesses and even emergency services.
Many residents complain that they need to spend six hours on the street for routine movements while several economists and financial analysts already expressed their concern that the situation of the capital Dhaka, also the heart of the country’s businesses, exposed to economic activities to danger.

Courtesy of BSS, Dhaka