Traffic chaos to continue in Winter Capital city
Assistance being sought under Central Govt schemes
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, June 3: Traffic chaos will continue to persist on the roads of the Winter Capital as lack of funds has created roadblock in the development of parking lots proposed by a high-level committee. Now, assistance is being sought under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes for at least two or three public parking projects.
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Vide Order No.1541-JK(GAD) dated August 20, 2024, Government constituted a committee a officers to identify suitable and encumbrance-free sites for developing parking facilities in Jammu city. The committee was also tasked with ensuring compliance with Government guidelines and coordinating with relevant departments and agencies.
In its recommendations submitted to the Housing and Urban Development Department, the committee proposed nearly two dozen roadside and multi-level parking facilities to address the growing issue of traffic congestion caused by illegal and unregulated parking of vehicles.
“However, shortage of funds has emerged as a significant obstacle”, official sources told EXCELSIOR, adding “the Housing and Urban Development Department has expressed its inability to allocate resources for these projects under Capex Budget”.
They further said, “now financial assistance is being sought under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes particularly Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF) for development of at least two or three parking lots so as to minimize the chaos on the roads of Jammu city up to certain extent”, adding “UIDF is a Government of India initiative to support urban infrastructure development in smaller cities and towns. Specifically, it focuses on Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, aiming to bridge infrastructure gaps and improve living conditions”.
“Moreover, efforts will be made to develop some multi-tier parking lots under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. However, the feasibility and timeline of such initiatives remain uncertain at this stage”, sources said and emphasized: “Robust planning and immediate action are imperative. Given the continuous increase in number of vehicles each year, the situation will become unmanageable unless these proposed parking infrastructure projects are implemented without further delay”.
It is pertinent to mention here that while making recommendations/suggestions, the committee of officers has also kept in mind City Mobility Plan, which was prepared in January 2020 and proposed multilevel parking in Phase-I near DC office, Prem Nagar opposite Maharaja Hari Singh Park currently having surface parking operated by Jammu Development Authority and in Phase-II at Jabah near Bikram Chowk etc.
Moreover, several areas have been identified for road-side parking particularly near the commercial areas which witness high degree of traffic congestion and stress has been laid on efficient use of existing off-street parking spaces as short term parking solution.
“Further, no attention has so far been paid towards augmenting the capacity of existing junctions, which is another important aspect of the City Mobility Plan”, sources said.
In the City Mobility Plan, total 10 junctions were identified for geometric improvement in Phase I and two critical junctions for grade separation in Phase II. The improvement of these junctions was proposed based on the available data and site visits. However, it was stressed that more detailed plans should be worked out during the detailed study of these locations and additional modifications could be suggested at that stage.
The junctions proposed under Phase-I were Medical Chowk, Panama Chowk, Railway Station Chowk, Indira Chowk, Gole Market Chowk, Amphala Chowk, K C Chowk, Jewel Chowk, Canal Head Chowk and Vivekananda Chowk.
In the City Mobility Plan, establishment of Traffic Engineering Cells within Jammu Municipal Corporation, Jammu Development Authority & Traffic Police with qualified and adequate staff such as Traffic Engineers was proposed in order to ensure that traffic schemes are properly implemented with better results and fine-tuned later, if necessary.
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