Proposed mass transit project fails to take traffic into account
As Red Line BRT moves to construction phase, no one has bothered to even assess its usefulness
Greenline BRT project. PHOTO: EXPRESS
KARACHI:
The proposed Red Line Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) may face a similar or even worse fate than that of the Green Line BRTS, as the government seems to have no plan for traffic management during the construction work, which may take years to complete.
At a public hearing, held by the Sindh Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) for the Red Line BRT on Tuesday morning, it emerged that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report prepared by Mott MacDonald Pakistan (MMP), along with Mott MacDonald Ltd. (MML), offers no substantial traffic plan for the duration of the construction work on University Road.
Sindh Governor orders timely completion of development projects
Several casualties were reported, just last year, when the University Road was being renovated. The public hearing also took notice of the sheer violations of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report during the construction of the Green Line BRT, while the Sepa seemed to have turned a blind eye.
Red Line BRT
Third-generation BRT technology is being introduced in Karachi for the Red Line BRT, for which 10 bus routes will be integrated through the special Red Line corridor. According to the plan, the government will provide a subsidy to transporters for the purchase of new buses. The project's cost has been estimated at $220million and will be funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
There are three consultants for the Red Line project. The operational design is being drafted by Exponent Engineering PVT Ltd, while the detail design is being devised by the MMP. The institutional development and capacity building is being undertaken by the National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) and Integrated Transport Planning Limited.
According to the conceptual plan, the length of the BRT will be approximately 29 kilometres, extending from Malir city in the northeast to Mazar-e-Quaid and Jinnah Avenue in the southwest at Numaish, where it will intersect with the Green Line corridor, currently under construction. The route passes through 13 major intersections and will provide entry and exit points at the 24 bus stops located along the route. There will be 24 bus stations, 10 overheads and seven underpasses in total.
The route will start from Model Colony and end at Numaish all the way through Malir Halt, Malir Cantonment Gate No 6, Safoora Chowrangi and University Road.
The corridor will be primarily constructed on the ground level. There will be elevated structures at five locations and an underpass near Mosamiyat Chowrangi so that the BRT does not obstruct the flow of regular traffic. Elevated U-turns will be constructed near Malir Cantt, Safoora Chowrangi and Karachi University.
Traffic management?
One of the participants, AA Chandani - a retired engineer of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board's (KWSB) - pointed out that the lives of students of NED University, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology and University of Karachi - which has an entrance facing University Road - would be at risk during the construction. "There's no mention of a traffic plan in the EIA report," he remarked. Meanwhile, another participant recalled that a number of accidents were reported during the rehabilitation of University Road. The participant asked for the details of traffic diversions in the EIA report.
Green Line BRT project gets 6th extension
Raza Gardezi, the general secretary of Citizens for Environment, pointed out that paragraph 427 on page number 174 of the EIA states that, "Data is not available to estimate how traffic might change with the introduction of the Red Line BRT. Less road space will be available for mixed traffic, and travel will be pushed to the periphery of the right-of-way (BRT runs in the median), causing more noise and congestion along the edge of the road. Still, numbers of vehicles could be less in comparison with a (modeled) base case. On the other hand, mixed traffic could increase to fill the space vacated by BRT riders."
This exercise, Gardezi pointed out, should have been done beforehand, to determine as to how BRT would benefit the flow of traffic and reduce congestion. "Some model should have been prepared and run to ascertain which component of regular traffic BRT would replace," he said. The Sepa DG Waqar Hussain Phulpoto agreed.
Gardezi continued that in Delhi, a BRT project was initiated in 2008 and was later scrapped in 2016 for lack of enforcement of traffic laws which had an adverse effect on other traffic. He underscored that it was imperative that a study be conducted on the usefulness of the BRT system for Karachi before undertaking such a costly venture.
Tree transplantation
For the construction of Green Line BRT, 800 trees were promised to be transplanted, none of which, however, survived. For the Red Line BRT, the EIA mentions nothing about tree transplantation. MMP's environmental specialist, Mohammad Ali Shishmahal, maintained that there are 23,000 trees in the alignment of the Red Line and 2,000 in the area where depots are supposed to be constructed.
For every one tree that would be chopped down, he said that five trees would be planted with the consent of the Sindh Forest Department. The trees, he said, would be planted at the banks of the Malir River, Lyari River and Hill Park.
Historical sites
One important cultural site, which Gardezi pointed out, is the Quaid's Mausoleum, which according to the EIA exists nearby, outside the construction zone, at a distance from the alignment of the BRT. "The mausoleum structure is some 130 metres from the right-of-way. There is no other site in the vicinity," the EIA report states.
Gardezi said that it is not just the mausoleum that is a protected site, the entire surrounding park all the way to the boundary is a protected heritage site. This protection extends to 200 feet beyond the boundary limits within which no construction can take place as per the Heritage Act and the Antiquity Act.
Besides the Quaid's mausoleum, he pointed out that there were a couple of heritage buildings on Dadabhoy Nauroji Road and New MA Jinnah Road. "Masonry-built historical and archeological sites can be affected by excess ground vibrations, and must be sufficiently accounted for to avoid damage due to vibrations," he said.
Utility relocations
For the utility relocation, one of the participants said that the main bulk water line is passing through Safoora, which would be difficult to handle. He also asked about the procedure for the removal of K-Electric's pylons.
To this, Exponent Engineering PVT Ltd's Ashar Lodhi immediately replied that they had already deliberated with the utility providers and the 48 to 60 diameter main waterlines that goes towards Safari Park from University Road.
For the high tension wires, which go towards Pehlwan Goth from Mosamyat, he explained that the mixed traffic would go underground and the BRT would be at ground level.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 17th, 2018.
The proposed Red Line Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) may face a similar or even worse fate than that of the Green Line BRTS, as the government seems to have no plan for traffic management during the construction work, which may take years to complete.
At a public hearing, held by the Sindh Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) for the Red Line BRT on Tuesday morning, it emerged that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report prepared by Mott MacDonald Pakistan (MMP), along with Mott MacDonald Ltd. (MML), offers no substantial traffic plan for the duration of the construction work on University Road.
Sindh Governor orders timely completion of development projects
Several casualties were reported, just last year, when the University Road was being renovated. The public hearing also took notice of the sheer violations of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report during the construction of the Green Line BRT, while the Sepa seemed to have turned a blind eye.
Red Line BRT
Third-generation BRT technology is being introduced in Karachi for the Red Line BRT, for which 10 bus routes will be integrated through the special Red Line corridor. According to the plan, the government will provide a subsidy to transporters for the purchase of new buses. The project's cost has been estimated at $220million and will be funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
There are three consultants for the Red Line project. The operational design is being drafted by Exponent Engineering PVT Ltd, while the detail design is being devised by the MMP. The institutional development and capacity building is being undertaken by the National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) and Integrated Transport Planning Limited.
According to the conceptual plan, the length of the BRT will be approximately 29 kilometres, extending from Malir city in the northeast to Mazar-e-Quaid and Jinnah Avenue in the southwest at Numaish, where it will intersect with the Green Line corridor, currently under construction. The route passes through 13 major intersections and will provide entry and exit points at the 24 bus stops located along the route. There will be 24 bus stations, 10 overheads and seven underpasses in total.
The route will start from Model Colony and end at Numaish all the way through Malir Halt, Malir Cantonment Gate No 6, Safoora Chowrangi and University Road.
The corridor will be primarily constructed on the ground level. There will be elevated structures at five locations and an underpass near Mosamiyat Chowrangi so that the BRT does not obstruct the flow of regular traffic. Elevated U-turns will be constructed near Malir Cantt, Safoora Chowrangi and Karachi University.
Traffic management?
One of the participants, AA Chandani - a retired engineer of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board's (KWSB) - pointed out that the lives of students of NED University, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology and University of Karachi - which has an entrance facing University Road - would be at risk during the construction. "There's no mention of a traffic plan in the EIA report," he remarked. Meanwhile, another participant recalled that a number of accidents were reported during the rehabilitation of University Road. The participant asked for the details of traffic diversions in the EIA report.
Green Line BRT project gets 6th extension
Raza Gardezi, the general secretary of Citizens for Environment, pointed out that paragraph 427 on page number 174 of the EIA states that, "Data is not available to estimate how traffic might change with the introduction of the Red Line BRT. Less road space will be available for mixed traffic, and travel will be pushed to the periphery of the right-of-way (BRT runs in the median), causing more noise and congestion along the edge of the road. Still, numbers of vehicles could be less in comparison with a (modeled) base case. On the other hand, mixed traffic could increase to fill the space vacated by BRT riders."
This exercise, Gardezi pointed out, should have been done beforehand, to determine as to how BRT would benefit the flow of traffic and reduce congestion. "Some model should have been prepared and run to ascertain which component of regular traffic BRT would replace," he said. The Sepa DG Waqar Hussain Phulpoto agreed.
Gardezi continued that in Delhi, a BRT project was initiated in 2008 and was later scrapped in 2016 for lack of enforcement of traffic laws which had an adverse effect on other traffic. He underscored that it was imperative that a study be conducted on the usefulness of the BRT system for Karachi before undertaking such a costly venture.
Tree transplantation
For the construction of Green Line BRT, 800 trees were promised to be transplanted, none of which, however, survived. For the Red Line BRT, the EIA mentions nothing about tree transplantation. MMP's environmental specialist, Mohammad Ali Shishmahal, maintained that there are 23,000 trees in the alignment of the Red Line and 2,000 in the area where depots are supposed to be constructed.
For every one tree that would be chopped down, he said that five trees would be planted with the consent of the Sindh Forest Department. The trees, he said, would be planted at the banks of the Malir River, Lyari River and Hill Park.
Historical sites
One important cultural site, which Gardezi pointed out, is the Quaid's Mausoleum, which according to the EIA exists nearby, outside the construction zone, at a distance from the alignment of the BRT. "The mausoleum structure is some 130 metres from the right-of-way. There is no other site in the vicinity," the EIA report states.
Gardezi said that it is not just the mausoleum that is a protected site, the entire surrounding park all the way to the boundary is a protected heritage site. This protection extends to 200 feet beyond the boundary limits within which no construction can take place as per the Heritage Act and the Antiquity Act.
Besides the Quaid's mausoleum, he pointed out that there were a couple of heritage buildings on Dadabhoy Nauroji Road and New MA Jinnah Road. "Masonry-built historical and archeological sites can be affected by excess ground vibrations, and must be sufficiently accounted for to avoid damage due to vibrations," he said.
Utility relocations
For the utility relocation, one of the participants said that the main bulk water line is passing through Safoora, which would be difficult to handle. He also asked about the procedure for the removal of K-Electric's pylons.
To this, Exponent Engineering PVT Ltd's Ashar Lodhi immediately replied that they had already deliberated with the utility providers and the 48 to 60 diameter main waterlines that goes towards Safari Park from University Road.
For the high tension wires, which go towards Pehlwan Goth from Mosamyat, he explained that the mixed traffic would go underground and the BRT would be at ground level.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 17th, 2018.