Puzzle of Srinagar’s Traffic Catastrophe

Over time, a lot has changed in towns across Kashmir; a lot has witnessed an increase, a lot has witnessed a decrease, while a lot, at the same time, has remained what it was a few decades ago. The travelling pattern of people has changed over time; they no longer sit ducks in one single place, rather, they keep on moving, for work or any other urgency. With that, the traffic flow has increased, and more and more private vehicles are seen plying on roads, however, the roads have largely remained the same due to which the smooth plying of the traffic has become arduous.

A few years ago, areas with light to moderate traffic rush now have a different appearance. They continue to be congested, resulting in a complete blockage of the roads and demonstrating the complete breakdown of traffic management and control. In such a situation, even the traffic department surrenders because the policy decisions which would have guided the designing and structure of the cities and towns—especially concerning their roadways, both internal and external—in such a way that it would have automatically ensured seamless traffic movement across length and breadth of Srinagar city as well as other towns of Kashmir.

But sadly, such steps were never taken; the administration might have had a full-fledged plan for the city and other towns concerning the traffic movement by making the roads smarter, but the same is for sure not futuristic: it has now become clear that the plan if the administration had one, lacks vision in toto because they might be eyeing to make the city smarter, but the foundations for that are not really there. The issue of traffic chaos in the city cannot be resolved by evicting roadside vendors and removing encroachments. Instead, wise action must be taken by utilising technology and utilizing the services of skilled town planners who can make the most of the existing resources.

As per the ground situation across Srinagar city, the role of small flyovers and grid separators at bottlenecks—which give headaches to the commuters–could play the most important role in streamlining the traffic control system of and would ensure a smooth passage of the huge traffic which the city witnesses throughout the day. These flyovers and grid separators would save a lot of priceless time for people which otherwise gets wasted due to maddening traffic congestion. At the same time, these changes, if made, can also help reduce pollution which sees an uptick during the traffic jams witnessed in Srinagar every 500 meters. The fact that the flyovers reduce the likelihood of accidents is more crucial, and they also significantly improve the aesthetics of the city, making it a win-win situation to include structural alterations to city roads. The decision-makers must break out of their stupor and act intelligently since that is what is required to solve the puzzle of Srinagar’s traffic catastrophe.