25 Jul 11: Institute of Urban Transport (India), in a presentation ‘Traffic and Transport Problems and Prospects of Hyderabad Metropolitan Area’, has said that the current road network in the city is very much inadequate to meet the rising demands of the traffic. All the major corridors in the city are already saturated and cannot accommodate new vehicles.
The land area for transportation and communication in the city is just about 8 to 10 percent, whereas, as per the international standards, it should be 25 to 30 percent. Generally, 85 to 90 percent of the commuting on the roads is done for office or educational purposes, but the existing road infrastructure present in the city does not cater to these purposes.
The city has many problems such as lack of road network, absence of mass rapid transport system, inappropriate usage of sidewalks, rash driving by the drivers on the roads, no correct and adequate parking spaces, etc. Apart from the above drawbacks, the city transport system least cared about the pedestrians and this is the reason why the number of accidents is on rise.
In the past few years, the number of private vehicles increased rapidly, while the percentage of non-motorized means of transport such as cycles has come down from 33 percent to 5 percent.
The institute has suggested that there should be awareness about the road discipline and order on the road usage front. The education on these aspects has to be given right from the schooling. As the students by the time they start using roads will have sufficient knowledge on road safety and discipline.
Source: The Hindu