Poor management: Closure of MA Jinnah Road leads to traffic mess

Commuters going to central business district suffer as diversion plans misfired

KARACHI: Traffic was in a mess on roads  leading to MA Jinnah Road for the past two days after the closure of one of its track for the construction of an underpass at the Numaish intersection. It is now a nightmare for commuters to drive amid traffic jams on the diversions meant to take the load of main artery.



It is all because a track of MA Jinnah Road from Capri cinema to Numaish Chowrangi was closed due to the development work on the second phase of the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project while the second track from Numaish Chowrangi to Capri cinema will be closed after a month, according to Karachi Infrastructure Development Limited's (KIDCL) chief financial officer, Zubair Channa. KIDCL is responsible for the construction of Green Line BRT.

Diversions

According to the traffic plan, Mansfield Street and Garden Road will be used for traffic coming from Saddar and Tower while traffic going from Gurumandir towards Saddar and Tower will be diverted to New MA Jinnah Road, Peoples Chowrangi and Preedy Street. The traffic from other city areas to Saddar and Tower will go through Preedy Street and Peoples Chowrangi.

Just short of Capri Cinema, at Rizvi Shaheed intersection hurdles are placed and the traffic is either diverted towards Saddar or Garden area, to reach Gurumandir through Soldier Bazaar, which itself is extremely congested.

According to Sonia Shehzad, who was going home after work through the MA Jinnah Road, there wasn't any traffic police official at Soldier Bazaar and Garden to regulate traffic. "The roads were broken at certain points and two-way traffic was in a state of mess," she said adding that authorities should have at least carpeted the roads before making it such an important diversion.



A resident of the Numaish area, Nazahat Khan, told The Express Tribune that they might have to relocate for a few months, as the authorities have come up with a miserable alternative route.

Meanwhile, KIDCL official Channa claimed that the diversions have been cleared of encroachments through the relevant deputy commissioner offices and roads have also been carpeted to ensure smooth flow of traffic.

However, when The Express Tribune visited the alternative routes, there wasn't an inch of space to walk. The motorbikes were driven on footpaths, passengers of public buses, stuck in traffic jam, had to disembark to reach their destination by walking on footpaths.

Huge line of cars was formed, while few traffic police officials present there seemed helpless. The fruit hawkers were forcibly removed from the roads and sidewalks to make space for traffic pedestrians.

Violation of EIA

The construction of underpass, however, is not the only reason for the traffic mess. It is also the violation of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report.



According to the EIA submitted by the KIDCL to the Sindh Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), the proposed BRT corridors will be constructed on existing traffic routes. "Construction activities along these routes are likely to cause hindrance in traffic flow if not mitigated properly. A temporary traffic management plan will be developed and submitted by the contractor at least one month before commencement of construction. The main objectives of the plan shall be to maximize the safety of the workforce and the travelling public. The main secondary objective will be to traffic flowing as freely as possible," it reads.

The report further mentioned the mitigation measures such as lane availability and minimization of traffic flows past the work site, acceptability of diversion routes where necessary and any closure of the roads and deviations proposed should be informed to the riders through standard signs and displays.

Ironically, none of these measures were followed properly. There wasn't any diversion map placed at the site or arrows drawn to inform commuters of the alternative routes.

Businesses affected 

There's a petrol pump and Capri cinema where excess to vehicular traffic have been barred. According to the manager of Capri cinema, Muhammad Aziz, they were not informed about the road closure earlier. "Capri cinema is our heritage and we don't mind any construction activity, but at least we should be taken on board prior the construction," he said adding that for now they have made arrangements through a small street behind the cinema for traffic.

The manager of the petrol pump adjacent to Capri said that they wouldn't have any work for another few months now as no vehicle could reach their pump. "We have more than 24,000 litres of fuel with us," he said adding that had the authorities informed them earlier they would have made arrangements.

Road's significance

Numaish is one of the busiest intersections in the city. It not only connects other parts of the city with the central business district area and Saddar but is also a major route for all religious processions that take place in the city during Muharram and Rabiul Awwal.

Major hospitals such as Civil Hospital, Karachi, Taj Medical Complex, the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, Dow Medical College, Holy Family Hospital and National Medical Institute can be reached through this intersection. Main commercial hubs such as Empress Market, Boulton Market, Soldier Bazaar, Bohri Bazaar and Zainab Market can all be reached after crossing Numaish, especially for those coming from Central, East and Malir districts.

Educational centres such as DJ Sindh Government Science College, Adamjee Government Science College, SM Law College and NED University's city campus are also reached by crossing Numaish. Saint Lawrence School, Saint Patricks High School and Mama Parsi Girl Secondary School are also in the vicinity. Saint Lawrence Church, Saint Patricks Church and the Aga Khani Jamaat Khana are also in the adjoining areas.

The underpass

At the construction site, a two-floor deep excavation is being carried out as the underground bus station is the first-of-its-kind in South Asia with a mezzanine floor for the operation of the mass transit system.

There will be two floors of the underpasses at Numaish, where five BRT lines are supposed to be integrated. On the middle mezzanine floor there will be space for passengers to sit, rest and shop, while bus operations will be carried out on the lower floor.

According to Channa after the piling work they would place the garters [roof] and the traffic would be allowed to move through the Numaish. "The excavation meanwhile would be further carried out underground," he said.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2018.