Honk honk: The silver bullet to Peshawar’s traffic gridlock

SP traffic formulates long-term plan for the region’s largest metropolitan.

PESHAWAR:

Over the past decade, rapid demographic and infrastructural changes have turned the city into the most vital metropolitan of the region. Traffic congestion is one of Peshawar’s perennial issues and in a bid to solve the problem, SP traffic Wahid Mehmood has chalked out a new traffic plan for the provincial capital.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Mehmood said he has submitted a detailed proposal to Peshawar CCPO and discussed its minutes with provincial and regional transport authorities.



Mehmood said the city’s population has doubled twice over the past 15 years. A dearth of planning and foresight has resulted in major problems of urbanisation. He termed inadequate road infrastructure, encroachment and security measures among the various factors contributing to the city’s traffic woes. “14 years ago there was not a single check post in Peshawar. Today the city has 116 check posts and over 20 roads are off-limits,” he said.

Haphazard parking is another menace. “Unfortunately, the city does not have a single parking plaza,” said Mehmood. The city’s business hubs and busy squares including Hashtnagri Chowk, Suri Pull, Bacha Khan Chowk, Board Bazaar, Qissa Khwani Bazaar and University Road are mostly clogged during rush hour due to improper parking along roadsides.

The sprawling metropolitan

The SP said according to the urban planning unit, the walled city’s population in 2001 was 2,165,480 as compared to the current estimate of 6,872,318. While elaborating on the demographic changes, he said over 4.5 million displaced persons reside in the city.

He also underscored the increase in the volume of traffic and said the number of vehicles in 2001 was 115,789 while the current figure stands at 353,490. Mehmood said 15 years back the city comprised of four bus stands and today the number has jumped to 20, excluding the countless unwarranted Qingqui rickshaw stands.

The city’s road infrastructure comprises of four flyovers namely Malik Saad flyover, Pir Zakoori flyover, Sikandar Khan flyover and the under-construction Mufti Mehmood flyover. He said the completion of work on Ring Road and Mufti Mehmood flyover will only resolve 20% of the city’s traffic congestion issues. The SP said around 9,000 buses, 5,700 minibuses, 9,396 wagons and flying coaches and at least 40,000 rickshaws ply the roads of Peshawar every day.

Proposed solutions

The report identified five locations where construction of underpasses is a need of the hour, namely Sifwat Ghayyur Chowk, Aabdarra Chowk, Aman Chowk, Michni/Warsak Road and Bala Hisar. Mehmood said elevated U-turns can also be constructed in place of the underpasses, as he already highlighted in a meeting with DG Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) and secretary local government last month. The proposal further suggests widening the road from Defence Colony to Aman Chowk and cutting down on the verge from 20ft to 3ft.

Mehmood, however, said the proposed Peshawar Mass Transit System (PMTS) will only bear fruit once new routes are carpeted throughout the city.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2015.