Road safety: Still a long way to go for Chandigarh tricity

RITES, that is working on a comprehensive mobility plan to resolve the burgeoning traffic woes in the Chandigarh tricity, has found Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula equally lacking in the road safety parameter

Much needs to be done in terms of road design, infrastructure and traffic management when it comes to road safety in the tricity, states RITES in its interim report.

Chandigarh is ahead of Mohali and Panchkula in terms of non-motorised transport facilities, as per RITES’ findings. (HT Photo)

The ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) prescribes “service level benchmarks” to analyse the performance of cities in terms of various urban transport sectors. Four levels of service (LOS) are specified, with 1 being the highest and 4 the lowest.

RITES, that is working on a comprehensive mobility plan to resolve the burgeoning traffic woes in the tricity, has listed nine such LOS for Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula, and found them equally lacking in the road safety parameter.

The RITES report highlights that even though Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula are planned cities, there is faint coherence between their city structure and public transport systems. (HT)

They also fare equally on parameters concerning pollution levels and integrated land use transport, but Chandigarh is better placed in terms of facilities for public transport, non-motorised transport, pedestrians and parking. However, the flow of traffic and its speed is better in Mohali and Panchkula than Chandigarh.

In Mohali and Panchkula, with an LOS of 4, the public transport is considered very poor, with no proper organised system. Both cities have yet to fully develop a local public transport system.

While Chandigarh has an LOS of 2 in public transport, it still needs considerable improvements in terms of supply of buses, coverage and frequency, as many parts of the city are still not served.

RITES’ report states that around 88% people are willing to switch from their existing private transport mode if a better public transport system is available.

Currently, only 16% of Chandigarh’s population is using buses, the only local public transport option available in the tricity. But this needs to be increased to 70% to tackle the traffic chaos, states the RITES report.

RITES surveyed whether people were ready to pay for an improved public transport system and found that more than 80% were willing to pay extra fare if provided better public transport options like mass rapid transit system.

Its report highlights that even though Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula are planned cities, there is faint coherence between their city structure and public transport systems.

While the pedestrian traffic infrastructure in Chandigarh is relatively comfortable and sustainable, both Mohali and Panchkula lack in it.

Mohali and Panchkula primarily have free-flowing movement at average travel speeds, but in Chandigarh, small increase in traffic causes substantial increase in approach delay and hence, decrease in arterial speed.