Redesigned traffic and the mega project

Shahiduzzaman KhanbrWith the beginning of Muslim holy month of fasting - Ramadan - severe traffic congestion has gripped the capital city. As usual, this is the common scenario at every Ramadan. Dhaka, one of the most ill-planned cities in the world, has witnessed a robust growth in population over the last one and a half decades, but the most basic infrastructure requirements needed to accommodate that ever-soaring population are yet to be met. brTravelling by local bus is like fighting a battle where one never wins and always ends up exhausted. Commuting in Dhaka during Ramadan is also hazardous -- drivers of a large number of motor vehicles, also having fake licences in many cases, drive recklessly. Not only is precious time wasted just waiting in hellish traffic; the waiting also eats at our spirit and sense of well-being; after making a single journey one often ends up with a sagging spirit. It's almost impossible to quantify either in terms of time or money the citizenry have to lose due to traffic jam. brTraffic sergeants entrusted with the task to ensure smooth traffic movement, are often accused of compounding the commuters' woes. They usually stop a bus right in the middle of the street and start scrutinising the licence and necessary papers, causing time loss and more suffering for the passengers who are crammed inside the bus. They keep the bus waiting with the excuse that the licence is fake or the bus does not have a fitness certificate while their real intention is to allegedly get some money out of the drivers. After they get that, they, as is said by many let the bus go.brThere are reasons to believe the main cause behind commuters' plight in Dhaka is the city's unplanned and unbridled growth. Commercial complexes have been built indiscriminately in residential areas. Dhanmandi alone is home to around 40 educational institutions including schools, colleges and universities as well as around a dozen shopping malls. The same is the case with Banani and Gulshan. The result is impenetrable traffic jam. brNow the government has launched this week a redesigned traffic network in the capital by reducing the 138 crisscrossing city routes to 40 for running buses and minibuses under collective management to reduce traffic jams. It is to be seen how this traffic network works. The city police boss directed the transport owners to restrain their drivers from stopping vehicles indiscriminately on the streets. The government warned that stern legal actions would be taken against vehicles or persons, if they create traffic jams by making artificial obstruction through stopping buses or minibuses indiscriminately on the streets. brSide by side, the government also announced its plan to launch a long-term mega project to establish an integrated environment-friendly traffic management system in greater Dhaka to relieve people of the nagging traffic congestion. The 20-year Strategic Transport Plan (STP) includes 17,400 square km of water and surface ways in Dhaka and neighbouring Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Munshiganj, Gazipur and Manikganj districts. brMetro train services, elevated motorways, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), construction of roads connecting the east of the capital to the west, flyovers, footbridges and new roads, and repair of damaged thoroughfares are the main features of the plan. It is aimed at a safe, reliable and affordable transport system in the city with pedestrians getting the highest priority. The total expenditure is estimated at $5.52 billion excluding the cost of land acquisition.brIt is expected that the implementation of the plan would provide city dwellers safety and alleviate traffic congestion. The STP has been designed to be implemented in three phases. Six roads would be built to connect the east of the capital to the west and link the city to Dhaka bypass in the first phase. The planning, designing, financing and other preparatory work for the three motorways were done and it now awaits implementation in the first and second phases.brConstruction of 12 roads to have major advancement in the city's infrastructure and completion of three elevated motorways will be done in the second phase. Final design and finance plans for the first Metro Line will be completed in this phase. The third phase, which has two parts, includes the designing and construction of 16 roads aimed at opening up the eastern and western fringe areas. brThe opponents of the Plan say the 20-year STP for Dhaka city, if implemented, will intensify traffic congestion and increase travel cost in the city as the Plan has given importance to long-distance traveling ignoring the short trips. They said the STP has to be corrected putting emphasis on short trips as because 76 per cent of the people in Dhaka city travels in short distance either on foot or by rickshaws. brThe decision to relocate the Kamalapur Railway Station to Joydevpur -- from the downtown to a remote place -- does not make sense as because thousands of people who reach Joydevpur, must come to Dhaka by buses or other modes of transports, which will add to traffic jams and air pollution. Besides, the recommendations of elevated expressway or flyovers will be another blow to traffic management of the city, they said. Keeping more footpaths for pedestrians, space for bicycles and rickshaws for a better transport management should be a wise decision, which the STP did not prioritise in its 11 policy options.brThere is no denying that there were some mistakes in formulating the STP. Other than quarrelling over the plan, it is expected that the planners should correct such mistakes and make it a citizen-friendly plan. Although the plan was endorsed in 2006, the previous government did not do anything for its implementation. It is time to make the capital city habitable by cleansing it of environment pollution and traffic jam.brThe present interim government approved the project early this year against the backdrop of commuters' abject suffering for outmoded transport system of the capital, compounded with nagging traffic congestion that causes waste of valuable time in this high-speed age. It also took a bold decision to implement it immediately.brszkhan@thefinancialexpress-bd.combr