Traffic gridlock looms

In the city that is set to become ‘smart’, growing traffic and inadequate infrastructure pose a challenge to the police and GVMC officials

January 30, 2015 09:51 am | Updated 09:51 am IST - VISAKHAPATNAM:

Traffic at the busy Satyam Junction in Visakhapatnam. -  Photo: K.R. Deepak

Traffic at the busy Satyam Junction in Visakhapatnam. - Photo: K.R. Deepak

The City of Destiny is poised to become a smart city. But one issue appears to worry both the Police Department and senior officers of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) — the growing traffic.

The number of vehicles is growing at a rapid pace. It is estimated that in five years the city roads will not be able to accommodate the flow.

If not checked, this may result in traffic snarls like the ones being witnessed in Hyderabad, Kolkata, or Bengaluru.

According to ACP (Traffic) K. Prabhakar, the number of vehicles as on date in the city is about 7 lakh. In Anakapalle, it is about 2.09 lakh. “In 1970, the number of vehicles on the city roads was barely 30,000. The growth is substantial, but infrastructure, including widening of roads, has not been commensurate with it,” says Mr. Prabhakar.

And this is worrying the officials. Essentially, there seems to be a lack of coordination between the Police Department and the GVMC.

According to Mr. Prabhakar, the critical aspect is the parking issue. About 50 per cent of major roads such as Dabagardens, One Town, Asilmetta, and Dwarakanagar are occupied by parked vehicles on both the sides.

“This is mainly because of lack of parking space. The GVMC gives permission to commercial complexes and malls without ensuring enough parking space. The Asilmetta road has over three major schools and colleges and over 10 shopping malls within a stretch of 1-km,” says a senior traffic inspector.

Countering his viewpoint, Chief City Planner D. Venkata Ratnam says that approval for malls and commercial complexes are given only after the requisite parking norms are fulfilled. But people tend to park on the road to save on parking fee or to avoid the trouble of getting into the cellar.

According to Mr. Venkata Ratnam, the norm for a mall is to provide 60 per cent as parking place, commercial complex 35 per cent, and apartment 20 per cent.

Multi-level parking

However, a senior officer from the engineering section of the GVMC points out that proposals for multi-level parking at APSRTC, Dabagardens, and Jagadamba Junction, which is the need of the hour, has been gathering dust for long.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.