Unclogging traffic

In a refreshing way Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has begun to look at some of the most complex issues faced by the dizzying megalopolis of Karachi and appears ready to make a few hard decisions. His attempt to clear the city’s heavily clogged arteries and force developers to freeze all commercial activities in building basements may not be entirely successful in the end but at least the chief executive of the province is prepared to change the city for the better. By ordering the traffic police to mount an operation against those using the basements of commercial buildings for commercial purposes rather than parking, the chief minister is displaying the kind of resolve needed to ease traffic congestion in the city. The ultimate aim is to enforce building layout plans and restrict the parking of vehicles on major roads — an issue that escaped the attention of successive chief ministers for decades.

Murad Ali Shah wants to bring about drastic changes in the traffic management system, mirroring the hopes and expectations of millions of motorists in the city. He has spotted the link between chronic traffic jams and the existence of commercial plazas on Tariq Road, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Aisha Manzil, Clifton and Sharea Faisal, where shops and godowns have taken the place of parking lots. This violation of the law has gone unnoticed for years on end. Reclamation of these spaces is thus important for all concerned.

The provincial home minister, the Karachi commissioner and the traffic deputy inspector general have their work cut out for them. It will be a huge challenge considering the sheer size of the city and its vast road network which is spread over 10,000 kilometres. The fact that 1,186 vehicles are added to the city’s roads every day makes the task more difficult. Some ingenuous solutions will also have to be found to rid Karachi of the perpetual threat of gridlock.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 9^th, 2017.

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