As many as 17 major roads in the Capital city of Panjim will be dedicated one-way streets from September 1 on a trial basis. The Corporation of the City of Panjim(CCP), in collaboration with the traffic cell has taken this crucial decision in a bid to decongest the ever-congested city and further streamline traffic flow. Traffic personnel will monitor traffic flow and, after studying the situation, necessary changes would be made to the plan as required.
Four of the main arterial roads of the city, namely M G road, Dada Vaidya road, 18th June road, and Menezes Braganza road will be strictly reserved for one-way traffic from Tuesday. As Panjim was recently announced as a city to be developed under the Smart City Mission, the free movement of traffic through a one way road plan will definitely play a key role in the mission with the major issue being an efficient transport system and its proper management.
“The entire concept is in a trial phase. Its effective implementation will give us a broad picture on the entire traffic management. During the trial phase, no challan will be issued to people, but once it is notified, violators would be booked,” deputy superintendent (traffic) Dharmesh Angle said.
He noted that as per requirement, temporary flexi boards will be erected on all the streets to alert citizens about one-way roads. He said that during the trial stage, necessary police personnel will be deployed at major intersections.
As reported by HERALD last week, the 18th June road will continue to remain a one way towards Panjim Church while the MG road will now be a one way road and the traffic flow will be towards Taj Vivanta. The Swami Vivekananda Road will be an exit road from the city to the main road that is the Dayanand Bandodkar Road and Dr Atmaram Borkar Road will lead towards St. Inez. The Dr Dada Vaidya Road will move towards Panjim.
The proposal to decongest the city and regularize traffic movement is part of the larger smart cities mission plan and may also include the introduction of hop-on-hop-off buses at a later stage. It can be recalled that former city Mayor, Surendra Furtado had proposed a similar concept of one-way traffic and introduction of hop-on-hop-off buses. The project was supposed to be funded under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
