New global traffic index shows Lahore is improving

Previously, metropolis ranked 31st but jumped <br /> to 82nd in one year’s time

LAHORE: The traffic situation in the provincial capital has always been marked by chaos. Long queues of vehicles, stacked on the busiest roads of the metropolis, not only waste residents’ time but also makes routes unnecessarily long. The chaotic traffic of urban area, however, did not last forever.

According to the World Traffic Index 2019 report, there is a clear decrease in travelling time, increase in traffic rules compliance, an improvement in road safety awareness  among citizens and reduction of head injury cases during traffic accidents in the city.

Today, Lahore is one of the safest cities in the country in terms of traffic management. According to an international survey, the provincial capital ranked 82nd among 208 countries in the list of fastest commuters during June 2019.

10 killed in 827 traffic accidents across province

Previously, the metropolis was ranked 31st but jumped to 82nd in a year’s time due to improvements in various areas. Some of these areas of improvement include institutional reforms, efficient patrolling system, monitoring, checking with the help of safe city modern cameras, effective action against encroachment which caused obstacles in traffic flow, adoption of a zero tolerance policy over one way traffic and wrong parking, license system, transparency on challaning system and strict adoption of the accountability process.

According to the index report, the city has not only reduced head injuries by 83% but also improved traffic flow by constantly taking action over encroachments and wrong parking, strict implementation of traffic rules and raising road safety awareness.

Lahore Chief Traffic Officer Captain (retd) Liaquat Ali Malik said that the traffic flow in the city has improved significantly over the last year.  “The citizens welcomed the helmet campaign and obeyed traffic laws. We are thankful to the media for ensuring awareness of road safety and traffic rules.”

Three dead in Islamabad traffic mishap

He further said that without the cooperation of the citizens, no city’s traffic can be improved. “Inappropriate road infrastructure, lack of parking plazas, encroachments, unannounced public rallies, careless driving and wrong parking by the citizens regardless of their own and others' lives are the reasons for issues in traffic.”

According to the survey report, in terms of traffic management, the Sri Lankan city of Colombo ranks first, Dhaka ranks second, Kolkata is third, American city Los Angeles ranks fourth , Istanbul ranks 12th, Moscow ranks 21st, Shanghai is at 36th, Toronto at 42nd, Sydney is 43rd, Karachi ranks at 63rd, London ranks 65th and Lahore ranks at 82nd. Some of the cities of Switzerland, Austria, Sweden and Germany are leading cities in terms of the best traffic management.

The results of the survey report regarding Lahore city can be seen on the website of the World Traffic Index.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 29^th, 2019.