Traffic-clogged Mumbai means big business for beggars and eunuchs. From Harry
Potter books to mineral water bottles and from flowers to newspapers, it does
mean brisk business for an array of commodities. However, a traffic jam in
Mumbai means a nightmare for the commuter.
The unofficial vendors, however, may lose business soon, what with the Mumbai
Traffic Police’ plans to launch Area Traffic Control (ATC) project. The
project is aimed at streamlining traffic in the city, which boasts of a daily
flow of more than 10 lakh vehicles every day. The Mumbai metropolitan regional
development department is pumping money into the project to be launched in March
2002.
Another Rs 65 crore will come from the World Bank once the project is
approved. Test runs will be conducted in the initial year and a half of the
project.
K T Phadtare, project in charge and superintending engineer informs that it
took a year for the project to take the present shape. "The aim of the
project is to smoothen traffic, reduce delays and identify loopholes in the
traffic system" he explains.
To be covered in three phases, the first phase would connect 55 junctions
with optic fibers and at around 15 junctions CCTV cameras would be installed to
provide visual aid to the centrally located monitoring system at the
headquarters. Should the authorities get favorable results, the project will be
extended to the next 250 junctions to be funded by the World Bank.
Phadtare admits that the present traffic signals are not able to recognize
the density of traffic and tend to function uniformly irrespective of the
traffic volume. This happens as the traffic signals are manually programmed
based on old traffic data, thereby resulting in delay and congestion. At
present, the waiting time at junctions varies from 20 to 60 seconds depending on
the traffic. The ATC project would result in a 15-20% cut in the waiting time
thus enhancing the speed of the vehicle and reducing delays.
The ATC project promises to usher in advance technology using optic fibers
and the latest light signals based on state of the art technology. These
advanced technique signals will be similar to the present signals except for
technical differences. These are said to identify traffic volumes and act
accordingly. Phadtare explains, "Sensors would be fitted in each lane on
the road, which will detect the volume of traffic and thus automatically
determine the time of the green signal. The optic fibers would provide
connectivity to help the flow of information of traffic data from the junctions.’’
"Tenders will be floated in the market for global players within the
next few months," adds Phadtare.
The project is being implemented in co-ordination with the municipality and
the public works department in Mumbai so that the reconstruction of the roads
can be done wherever needed.
If project ATC takes off, it will be the first of its kind in India, and a
traffic model worth following.
Rashida Bakait/CNS in Mumbai