Half of Chandigarh’s daily traffic originates outside the city: RITES report

A major contributor to Chandigarh’s worsening traffic woes is the transit traffic entering it from the neighbouring cities.

Nearly 50% of total traffic in Chandigarh is in transit and originates from outside the city, say the latest findings of the Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES).

Around 46% of this traffic arrives in Chandigarh daily to either reach a destination in the city or pass through it to reach other locations in the wider tricity area.

“About 29% of the passenger trips from outside are within 25 km, which shows strong interaction of the city with its surrounding areas. Most of the transit traffic originates from the tricity and its peripheral areas,” said a UT official.

Most people travelling to the city from neighbouring cities and peripheral areas are doing it for work, followed by business. Tourism, education and social (entertainment) are among other reasons bringing traffic from outside to Chandigarh.

“The city is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. While the government offices of these states are located in Chandigarh, most of these employees live in Mohali and Panchkula. The tricity and peripheral areas also host lots of new emerging industries, services and trading establishments, and a large population traverses through Chandigarh to reach different destinations in the tricity,” said the official.

RITES is working on a comprehensive mobility plan to resolve the burgeoning traffic woes in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali.

It has been tasked with updating the data of its 2009 report and preparing the plan as per the latest guidelines of the Union ministry of road, transport and highways (MoRTH). It is conducting scenario analysis of mobility options in different sectors to suggest the best-suited mass rapid transport system (MRTS) for the tricity.

RITES will also offer options to integrate mobility plan with land use plan and determine the optimal mix of multi-modal public transport network.

Based on the primary surveys and data analysis, junction improvement plans have been proposed at 15 major junctions across the tricity, of which nine in Chandigarh should have vehicular underpasses to improve traffic circulation, says the interim report by RITES, submitted in June this year.

Apart from vehicular underpasses, RITES has also proposed short-term parking management measures with focus on policy interventions and enforcement, along with non-motorised transport and pedestrian infrastructure.

With a population of over 12 lakh and 15 lakh registered vehicles, Chandigarh has the highest density of vehicles per household in the country, leading to acute traffic problems. In addition to these, over 2 lakh vehicles moving on interstate routes cross the city daily.

“For the transit traffic, the key is to have an outer ring road connecting the three states – Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh around Chandigarh, so that most of the long-distance traffic doesn’t enter the city. The issue came up at the recent North Zone Council meeting, where both Punjab and Haryana were directed to speed up the work on the outer ring road. Both are also working on connecting roads between Panchkula and Mohali that bypass Chandigarh,” said the official.