Back'One minute traffic light plan' to cut travel time in Shimla from 1 hour to 15 min
Shimla police has come up with ‘One-minute traffic plan’ to reduce the city's traffic woes by setting up traffic lights at 10 bottlenecks
PremiumTo ease the traffic woes during the tourist season in Shimla, police will set up traffic lights at 10 bottlenecks of the city as per its ‘One Minute Traffic Light Plan’.
Implementation of the plan will not only make the state capital jam-free but will also reduce travel time by more than half. The new system will reduce the time taken by a vehicle driver to cross the city during peak hours from 60-90 minutes to 15-25 minutes, reported PTI.
Long traffic jam is a common problem for the city which is a major tourist attraction and a crucial location during the apple harvest season. The city experiences a lot of traffic during the winter tourist season.
Shimla's traffic woes
As per the police data, around 9.92 lakh vehicles entered and exited Shimla in April alone this year. Around 50 vehicles come to the Victory Tunnel from all three sides in a minute, revealing the analysis done for the formulation of the plan. But only 20 of them can cross the tunnel at that time.
Additional 30 vehicles are the reason behind traffic congestion in the city. SP Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi said that vehicles entering from Shoghi (coming from Chandigarh), Chhabra (entering from upper Shimla/Kinnaur) and Heeranagar (coming from Mandi, Kangra, and Hamirpur districts) would be halted for 5-10 minutes depending on the traffic flow at entry points.
How does the ‘One-minute traffic light plan’ work?
Under the proposed system, traffic would be released every minute in the ratio of 40:20 and 30:30 seconds. This means vehicles would be stopped for 40 seconds and released for 20 seconds every minute during peak hours. During normal times, they will be halted and released for 30 seconds. The system is based on time, number, and space. The minimum halting distance under the new traffic system will be 500 metres.
The system will help to relieve traffic congestion at 16 major bottlenecks in Shimla. A proposal to install traffic lights has been sent to the transport department, SP Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi told the PTI on Friday.
Locations where traffic lights will be set up in Shimla
After the approval of the new plan, traffic lights will be installed at Tara Devi near Shoghi, Heeranagar, Chhabra, St Bede's College, IGMC on Sanjauli-Lakkar Bazaar stretch, between Fagli and Khalani on Shimla- Malyana Bypass, and Willows Bank on Vidhan Sabha-Advanced Studies road. Other than these spots, traffic lights will be installed at three more places, which are kept reserved for now in the wake of tourist and apple season.
Before proposing the plan, authorities had carried out experimentation on the road for the last two months. Under the trial of all bottlenecks with vehicular inflow and outflow, vehicles were halted for 5-10 minutes at all three entry points.
The police aim to make the city jam-free and give uninterrupted access to hospitals and emergency services. Streamlined traffic flow will also help in prioritise the commute time of school children in the morning and afternoon and ease workers' rush during 9-11 am and 5-7 pm.
Other than this a master control room will be set up to monitor traffic, and special training will be given to traffic police.
(With inputs from PTI)
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