A recent study on traffic undertaken by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) exposed a dismal state of affairs and suggested measures to improve road transport.
The GMDA had commissioned Consulting Engineering Services to conduct the study.
Of an average 441 casualties a year, 118 people were found to have been killed, constituting 26.8 per cent, while 323 were injured, making up 73.2 per cent of the total casualties in a year, the survey pointed out. It pegged the average number of accidents at 318 per year, including 113 fatal and 205 non-fatal cases, constituting 35.6 per cent and 64.4 per cent of the total accidents respectively.
The study detected several loopholes in the transport system such as lack of adequate road network, lack of access control on main arteries and inadequate weaving length of roundabouts. Inadequate parking space, pedestrian facilities and intra-city public transport and absence of organised terminals for movement of passengers and freight are some of the others factors highlighted in the survey.
The report suggested some short-term and long-term measures to improve the situation.
Traffic management schemes, circulation plans for priority areas, detailed junction design, and planning of pedestrian terminals and parking facilities are some of the short-term measures, to be carried out in a phased manner.
The proposed long-term measures cover alternative network options, identification of major movement corridors, planning for freight movement, including provision for bypasses, development of the public transport system, terminal development policy, parking policy and the preparation of a road safety policy. It put forward a traffic plan that included constructing new roads and grade separators like flyovers or underpasses, dividing existing roads and installing signals at accident-prone intersections.
The basic objective of the study was to take stock of the existing system in terms of capacity constraints and potential, assess the prevailing level of service and identify bottlenecks and limitations.
The study revealed that the increase in the number of two-wheelers on city roads between 2000 and 2004 was 10 per cent, compared to a 7.8 per cent increase in light medium vehicles, 5 per cent in buses and 7.3 per cent in trucks. The combined growth rate of vehicles in the city was 9.1 per cent. It also pointed out that the number of vehicles registered in Guwahati was 2,40,869 in 2004, compared to 1,70,125 in 2000, putting tremendous pressure on a grossly inadequate road network.
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