Redesign traffic roundels to ease traffic flow : Far sighted vision needed
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 22 2018 -

Far sighted vision needed. Try and see what situation will be like 20/30 years down the line.

This is what is called town planning.

And it is under this mantra that the plans to redesign the traffic roundels at Imphal should be taken up.

It will also help if the State Government can rope in the service of experts from outside the State and study their inputs and suggestions and see how much can be incorporated.

A look at the reality should more than say that the traffic snarls and chaos that one sees all over Imphal on a daily basis has much more to do with lack of planning and traffic sense of the people behind the wheels than the actual number of vehicles on the road.

If any stretch of road is to be widened to ease traffic flow, then be sure to check what situation could be like 20/30 years down the line.

When licenses are given to taxis, study whether the existing roads can actually absorb the growing traffic volume.

Also adopt a scientific approach to study when the private taxis may be allowed to enter Imphal and accordingly work out the daily time table of when they can enter, when they should leave and most importantly where they should park.

Remodelling traffic roundels should only be a part of the approach to ease traffic congestions for there are other aspects that should be studied.

On the other hand, crack down hard on all those who violate traffic rules and norms with impunity.

When signalled to stop at any traffic island all vehicles should stop, before going past the zebra crossing.

And in case any vehicle is found passing the zebra crossing and inching forward to obstruct the free flow of vehicles coming from the other side, the vehicle should be impounded and the driver heavily fined in the Court.

Coming back to the need to have a far sighted vision, redesign the traffic roundels with an eye on the next two or three decades.

This is where The Sangai Express would like to repeat a point already mentioned more than once here.

The location of the ISBT plum in the heart of Imphal bears all the characteristics of the Government picking on the spot without studying what the situation could be like after 5/10 years.

Perhaps it is only in Imphal that one can see the ISBT located plum in the heart of the capital city.

A lesson should be drawn from this and such a mistake should not be repeated.

Apart from this, the Government should also seriously study the possibility of expanding Imphal horizontally.

For this start developing markets at the periphery of Imphal. Why should everything be at Thangal Keithel, Paona Keithel, BT Road ?

Why should all roads lead toward these commercial centres, say to shop for a bucket to buying a refrigerator or a television ?

Why not expand the markets so that not all need to come to these busy commercial areas to buy everything, from a needle to a TV set ?

Why not study the feasibility of relocating some of the offices located in the commercial centres of Imphal, such as banks ?

How about schools located in the busy market places ?

Shouldn’t the school authorities be contacted and urged to shift somewhere else ?

These are all posers at the moment, but important questions that need to go along with the plan to redesign or modify the traffic roundels to ease traffic congestion.