Seeking an end to traffic chaos in their area, residents of Baner-Pashan Link Road have urged the Pune Municipal Corporation to widen the two-way stretch of the road connecting their locality to Aundh, Baner, Hinjewadi and the expressway .
Local corporator Baburao Chandere along with residents of the area on Monday visited the traffic signal near Hotel Mahabaleshwar where frequent traffic jams take place, especially during the morning and evening peak hours.
Residents said traffic jams and long-winding vehicle queues are common here every day . The volume of vehicles using the stretch is much more than the capacity of the road.
Kishore Mahajan, president of Baner-Pashan Link Road Vikas Samiti, said, “The road is too narrow for the thousands of vehicles coming from Pashan, Sus Road and Link Road areas as motorists from these areas use the junc tion to get onto the main Baner Road. More over, the short duration of the traffic signal results in a big bu ild-up of vehicles, especially during peak hours. As a result, motorists start driving down the wrong side of the ro ad to get ahead. This blocks the way of the vehicles turning onto it from the other side. Traffic blockade thus builds up within minu tes.“ Mahajan has sent a letter to the municipal commissioner requesting him to look into the matter.
Chandere said, “ As per the Development Plan, the road was to be 18 metres wide, allowing smooth flow of vehicles, especially for those taking the free left-turn. However, due to an encroachment by a private company , which is adjacent to the crossing, the width of the road has been reduced by six metres.“ “We will take up the matter with the people concerned,“ he added.
Mukund Shinde, junior engineer, building permissions department, PMC, said, “We will have to verify the site demarcation and the alignment of Ramnadi, which flows parallel to the road. If there is an encroachment, notices will be issued to the companies and architects concerned.“
However, road-widening will involve breaking the newly built footpath and shifting the electricity feeder boxes installed by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited.
Source : TOI
