Dwarka Forum charts remedies for three main choke points

Dwarka Forum, a resident body comprising RWAs and social organisations, has been continually raising its voice to improve the city’s deteriorating traffic situation. It has been doing so through mails, meetings and discussions with the concerned agencies, such as the traffic police, DDA and PWD.

Sudha Aiyer, Dwarka Forum joint secretary and a resident of Sector 6, said, "We have written to the authorities about choke points in and around Dwarka, and also listed a few possible solutions. They only require a few low-cost, basic modifications, that’s it."

General secretary of Dwarka Forum, Sanjeev Goel, also a resident of Shivam Apartments in Sector 12, mentioned three major traffic points that required attention — Raja Puri Crossing, the T-Point on Ulaanbatar Marg and the T-Point for turning to Pushpanjali (towards Samalkha T-Point from the Sector 21 underpass).

Goel added, "Raja Puri crossing on Road No 201 [between sectors 4 and 5] always has jams. There are wide roads on three sides of this crossing, and one side has an entry to Raja Puri market. The entry point is extremely narrow. Also, congestion in the market slows down traffic. Generally, the traffic getting into the market moves slowly, blocking the path of vehicles that are waiting for the way to clear, so they can move ahead as the light turns green. The situation gets worse during evenings and festivals.”

The solution: Shift the entry point 100 m towards the Palam side. Goel explained, “There’s already a path for vehicles to enter the market there. So the chaos can be controlled by blocking the entry to the market at the crossing — or widening the entry point.”

Similarly, while crossing Ulaanbatar Marg from the Palam side to touch NH 8, there’s a T-Point from where vehicles take a right turn towards Gurgaon. "There’s an Airport Metro Express pillar at this T-Point, which severely reduces the road width. And it is not located to the extreme left but covers almost one-third of the road. This has reduced traffic to a slow crawl. By opening up the left side of the road, the situation can be brought under control — this blocked portion is wide enough for a single-car lane," said Goel.

Thirdly, while heading towards Samalkha T-Point from Dwarka via the Bijwasan railway underpass, there’s a red light after the crossing underpass. This signal comes after Tivoli Farm for turning right towards Bijwasan Village. This, too, is one major choke point for the city.

The solution: One lane in this three-lane road can be reserved for traffic heading straight, and be made signal-free. Also, there’s a cut in the main road to enter the service road on the left after this signal. By repositioning this cut before the red light, vehicles can turn to the service lane, and will not be forced to wait at the red light.