Which gear for out of gear traffic?

ALLAHABAD: Even as the menace of congestion of city roads and lack of parking space is assuming alarming proportions, the month-long drive of traffic department authorities which concluded a fortnight back was unable to address the issue in the right earnest. However, traffic department personnel cannot be blamed for the state of affairs - courtesy the established system with little or no planning of road dividers and traffic islands.
Commuters on the GT Road near the Allahabad High Court and on the Lukerganj over bridge have to face untold miseries everyday owing to frequent traffic jams. The situation gets particularly worse around 10 am, 2 pm and 4 pm when there is a heavy rush of lawyers and litigants on the streets. The traffic police are yet to put an effective mechanism in place to check the menace.
Incidentally, the department does not even have the requisite funds for maintaining traffic signals which are lying defunct at all major road intersections of the city. It is actually the responsibility of Allahabad Municipal Corporation authorities as they sanction funds for maintenance of traffic signals.
On the other hand, commercial establishment owners too are at their wits end in trying to evade the punitive action on part of district authorities which is carried out from time to time for checking incorrectly parked vehicles.
If the white demarcation lines along the road side on the Mahatama Gandhi Marg and Sardar Patel Marg are perceived to be earmarked for parking of vehicles, then it would be needless to mention that the space is highly insufficient for the purpose, even during the off-peak hours not to mention the rush during the peak hours.
An ambitious proposal put forth by the Allahabad Development Authority for construction of basement parking at the PD Tandon park too stands rejected as the park presently is undergoing beautification.
District authorities on their part are simply following high court directives upon a public interest litigation (PIL) filed for keeping the city free of encroachments and restoration of its glorious past, the drive would perhaps be appreciated if a more rationale approach is adopted so that the balances are not tilted heavily on either of the sides.
Pointedly, around 4000 four-wheelers and 12,000 two-wheelers are added on to the existing fleet of vehicles in Allahabad every year. The Civil Lines market remains the main retail shopping area which also houses several government and semi-government offices besides being the favourite place for shopping/outing during afternoon and evenings. The MG Marg, Sardar Patel Marg, Nawab Yusuf Road, Sarojini Naidu Marg, P D Tandon Road and Kanpur Road are the busiest roads.
Suggestions: If all roads parallel to the MG Marg including Elgin Road, Edmonston Road, TB Sapru Road and Nawab Yusuf Road are converted into parking areas, the pressure on the main roads could be eased out to a great extent. Similarly, the bylanes parallel to SP Marg including Stratchey Road, Clive Road can be used as parking areas.
In the scheme, the NY Road remains a major component as there is no commercial opening for large stretches on south side of this road. A senior citizen residing in Civil Lines opined if traffic on the NY road is made one-way from the fire station crossing upto the Kanpur Road and south lane of the entire stretch of the road is allowed for parking then there could be a radical change in the situation. Further, the encroachments along the entire stretch of the road needed to be removed for smooth flow of traffic, especially in view of the upcoming roadways bus stand in the vicinity.
Official Speak: SP traffic, Uday Shankar Jaiswal said that following a proposal put forth by the traffic department, dividers on the MG Marg and SP Marg would not have any intersections to ensure unhindered flow of traffic along the entire route. According to him, intersections near the Palace Theatre and Axis Bank Crossing on the SP Marg and two intersections on the MG Marg are the primary cause of traffic jams in Civil Lines. The work for closing the intersections by extending the dividers is already underway and is expected to be completed within a fortnight, he added.