We need a 180 degree change in our traffic management

The traffice management in our country is going from bad to worse. Let me take you through the scenario of what has happened to me. You have parked your car outside your house gate but you cannot go where you want to go. Why? Because, somebody has parked his car right behind your car and you are stuck. You run around and find the owner of the car. When you suggest to him that he shouldn’t have parked his car behind your car, he gets abusive and tells you that the road does belong your father. Anyway, he removes the car and you start your journey. On the way to your destination you find traffic jams everywhere. Travel time is increasing day by day. In any case, you have trouble of another kind when you reach your destination. Parking is not available. Finally, you find parking space. You park your car and are afraid to leave because at the back of your mind there is a fear that someone may park his car behind your car.

Let us just list some of the problems associated with the mismanagement or rather no management of the traffic system. These are:

1. Loss of productivity
2. Increased use of fuel and maintenance cost for the people. The nation also loses foreign exchange.
3. Increased pollution levels
4. Road rage. People have lost lives because of road rage and fights over parking space.

Parking problem is expected to become gigantic. I always say, forget about roads, where is the parking space for all the cars.

I believe that the resolution of this problem is as follows:

1. A traffic management department should be established which will be responsible for parking and traffic management. Its revenues will come from road tax (some proportion), parking and traffic/parking challans.

2. Traffic laws will be strictly implemented. I believe that till there is financial pain, our current standards of ethics will not allow us to obey traffic and parking rules. Of course, the plan would be to slowly and steadily increase fines so that the people are given enough time to change.

3. I actually believe that probably there is enough parking space but we do not know where to park and we do not know the right way to park. Parking problems arise because people park wherever they want and even behind other people’s cars as well as in front of people’s gates. One of the responsibility of this department would be to identify where vehicles can be parked and on which side of the road. Not only this, there is need to identify at what angle the vehicle needs to be parked.

4. Also, all multi-storey and other office buildings will compulsorily have to build underground parking space that not only meets their own parking requirements but also some additional parking space for the general public. Today, if you go to Gurgaon, you will find cars parked all around the Multistorey buildings as enough parking has not been provided. In US, you can’t build anything unless it has enough parking space. All residential projects will have enough parking space including the visitors.

5. Why do traffic jans happen? There are a number of reasons as follow:

(a) We do not maintain a line. At a stop sign you will find that people keep coming from the back and park them on the side of other vehicles, thus blocking the way leading to traffic jams.
(b) We all know the hell we have to go through when traffic lights are not working. We need traffic police to be available to direct traffic in such cases but usually no one is available. Or we need to have steady supply of power.
(c) Traffic slows down because of potholes or because of water logging.

I think (a) and (c) above can be solved but (b) is more serious problem for which we will discuss another time.

6. We need a more efficient public transport system. Fortunately Delhi has found it in the Metro. I believe that if we want to solve our traffic and pollution problems, we have to go either over or below the ground and metro is the answer. If we can spread the metro all over Delhi and NCR which is happening, our problems to a great extent can be solved. BRT is not the solution.

Now you must be thinking this guy is crazy. How can all this happen? Well, I have said that the only way that we can make this happen is to bring about a 180 degree change by GETTING INSIDE. Good honest people need to contest elections. I can guarantee you that you cannot change the system by shouting from outside.

I have not included everything that I have in mind for implementing this. I will keep blogging on the subject. In addition, I will also need your ideas to improve upon my thoughts.

So let me have your suggestions.

If elected, I intend to pursue this subject as best that I can.

Avinash Narula