Going concrete: Environmental activists slam CDA’s road widening plan
Say authority needs to come up with other plans to smooth traffic flow
Say authority needs to come up with other plans to smooth traffic flow. PHOTO: EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD:
The Capital Development Authority’s plans to widen roads to eliminate traffic logjams in G-6/4 have met with criticism from environmental activists in the capital.
Capital Development Authority (CDA) is planning to widen Ataturk Avenue and Embassy Road. The project is part of the authority’s plans to upgrade major thoroughfares in Islamabad by turning existing roads into dual carriageways or by constructing underpasses and flyovers at key intersections to end congestion.
However, Green Force, a non-profit trust formed by citizens of Islamabad and working for the preservation of the capital’s environment, blamed CDA’s mismanagement for the traffic woes. One of the organisation’s immediate aims is to preserve the flora and fauna of the Margalla Hills, Islamabad’s parks, greenbelts and nullahs. The Attaturk Avenue leads from the Kashmir highway to the foot of Margala hills.
“City’s administrators and civic authorities must think of how to handle the growing traffic problems [in the city] with smart management techniques instead of widening roads by cutting trees and greenbelts,” Green Force member Dr Duska Sayid told The Express Tribune.
She said Serena Chowk and Rawal Chowk were the two main hotspots for traffic jams during peak hours. She suggested constructing underpasses or slipways at these points to resolve the traffic issue.
Sayid added that Embassy Road and Service Road East, which run parallel to one another, must be turned into one-way routes.
The environmental activist added that due to permanent barricades constructed by the administration on Service Road East at the juncture of Fazal-e-Haq Road, traffic was diverted onto Embassy Road. She cited this as a major reason for traffic jams in the area and demanded the removal of these blockades.
The Ataturk Embassy Road, or Service Road West, starts from Shahrah-e-Suharwardy in G-6/4 to Khayaban-e- Margalla in F-6/3.
“The main objective of the proposed project is to enhance existing infrastructural facilities as envisaged in the city’s master plan to provide quick access to the federal government ministries and organisations located in Sector F-5 and G-5,” CDA Public Relations Department Deputy Director Malik Saleem Akhtar told The Express Tribune.
According to an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, the road would be converted into a 33 feet wide dual carriageway. It will add two lanes and shoulders to the existing road, causing the greenbelt of Ataturk to be shortened by at least 33 feet. The total cost of the project is estimated at over Rs571 million, as per CDA’s approved PC-1.
“Green belts have been earmarked in the master plan of the city, specifically for future developments such as widening vital roads,” CDA Planning Member Asad Mehboob Kayani explained to
The Express Tribune.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 4th, 2016.
The Capital Development Authority’s plans to widen roads to eliminate traffic logjams in G-6/4 have met with criticism from environmental activists in the capital.
Capital Development Authority (CDA) is planning to widen Ataturk Avenue and Embassy Road. The project is part of the authority’s plans to upgrade major thoroughfares in Islamabad by turning existing roads into dual carriageways or by constructing underpasses and flyovers at key intersections to end congestion.
However, Green Force, a non-profit trust formed by citizens of Islamabad and working for the preservation of the capital’s environment, blamed CDA’s mismanagement for the traffic woes. One of the organisation’s immediate aims is to preserve the flora and fauna of the Margalla Hills, Islamabad’s parks, greenbelts and nullahs. The Attaturk Avenue leads from the Kashmir highway to the foot of Margala hills.
“City’s administrators and civic authorities must think of how to handle the growing traffic problems [in the city] with smart management techniques instead of widening roads by cutting trees and greenbelts,” Green Force member Dr Duska Sayid told The Express Tribune.
She said Serena Chowk and Rawal Chowk were the two main hotspots for traffic jams during peak hours. She suggested constructing underpasses or slipways at these points to resolve the traffic issue.
Sayid added that Embassy Road and Service Road East, which run parallel to one another, must be turned into one-way routes.
The environmental activist added that due to permanent barricades constructed by the administration on Service Road East at the juncture of Fazal-e-Haq Road, traffic was diverted onto Embassy Road. She cited this as a major reason for traffic jams in the area and demanded the removal of these blockades.
The Ataturk Embassy Road, or Service Road West, starts from Shahrah-e-Suharwardy in G-6/4 to Khayaban-e- Margalla in F-6/3.
“The main objective of the proposed project is to enhance existing infrastructural facilities as envisaged in the city’s master plan to provide quick access to the federal government ministries and organisations located in Sector F-5 and G-5,” CDA Public Relations Department Deputy Director Malik Saleem Akhtar told The Express Tribune.
According to an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, the road would be converted into a 33 feet wide dual carriageway. It will add two lanes and shoulders to the existing road, causing the greenbelt of Ataturk to be shortened by at least 33 feet. The total cost of the project is estimated at over Rs571 million, as per CDA’s approved PC-1.
“Green belts have been earmarked in the master plan of the city, specifically for future developments such as widening vital roads,” CDA Planning Member Asad Mehboob Kayani explained to
The Express Tribune.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 4th, 2016.