By IANS,
New Delhi : With only two days left for the formal inauguration of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor between Ambedkar Nagar and Moolchand in south Delhi, the traffic pile ups on the lane meant for cars continued Monday, notwithstanding the government’s efforts to smoothen traffic flow.
“The lane meant for cars and bikes gets choked during peak hours,” Neha Attre, a resident of Vasant Kunj, told IANS. She travelled Monday along the corridor and found the car lane getting choked along Moolchand and Sheikh Sarai. But she said the corridor was showing signs of improvement.
“Overall there is improvement, but still the corridor has miles to go. The Chirag Dilli point where the traffic enters the corridor needs to be widened,” she said.
Sanjay Jha, a resident of Pushp Vihar, agreed. He said the bus ride on the corridor was all right, but the “executing agencies must chip in with more corrective measures to streamline the functioning of the traffic lights and proper management of the vehicular flow in all lanes”.
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said efforts to make the ride smooth all along the corridor would continue, and her government would take more measures if needed.
“The corridor is being closely monitored,” Dikshit told reporters after a routine cabinet meeting.
The BRT corridor, to be inaugurated May 1, consists of four lanes on each side – meant for buses, scooters and cars, cyclists and pedestrians. The width of the bus lane is 3.5 meters, while that for scooters-cars is 7 meters. Cyclists and pedestrians each have two meter-wide lanes.
The implementing agency said the loopholes were being plugged.
“Wherever necessary, corrective measures are being taken. More traffic marshals are being deployed to ensure discipline on the corridor, but we cannot increase the speed of vehicular movement if cars and bikes overcrowd the lane,” BRT senior manager M.R. Minhans said.
The government Saturday decided not to scrap the 5.6-km BRT corridor between Ambedkar Nagar and Moolchand saying that the “feedback about the corridor from cyclists, pedestrians and bus commuters is satisfactory”.
After the meeting, Dikshit had admitted that car owners were not fully satisfied and promised more efforts to streamline the system.
“The yardstick to access the effectiveness and success of the BRT corridor depends on different users’ perspectives. The bus commuters, cyclists and pedestrians have expressed full satisfaction,” Dikshit had said.