Traffic plan: Buses rerouted to make way for pedestrian zone

KARACHI:

According to project director Muhammad Athar, the Saddar revival project is being completed with the permission of the Regional Transport Authority.

“There are 46 different routes that are being changed and the transporters association has also agreed that Saddar should become a pedestrian zone.”

Athar explained that the project will be completed in three phases. “In the first phase, we will prepare a comprehensive master plan, reroute public transport and redesign six intersections,” he said.

The map above shows the old and new bus routes in Saddar.

With effect from April 8, most public transportation in Saddar will have new routes. While most buses are following the new routes, some of them are openly violating the rules and entering the pedestrian zone. KMC transport and communication director Muhammad Athar said they have written to the traffic police to cancel the permits of the violators.

Athar told The Express Tribune that failures in the ongoing anti-encroachment drive are having a negative impact on Saddar’s revival plan. “Officials must take strict action against the encroachers, establish permanent camps and deploy law enforcers in the neighbourhood,” he suggested.

KMC anti-encroachment taskforce’s senior director, Bilal Manzar, admitted their drive has not been very successful. “We have established camps at Empress Market and we take action whenever we see that the number of pushcarts has increased,” he said, adding that they have removed almost 50 per cent of the encroachments.

KMC administrator Rauf Farooqui said the drive will continue until all encroachments are removed.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2014.