Intelligent Traffic Management System: Long road ahead for smart traffic lights at city junctions

The project to install smart traffic lights at a cost of around 9.86 crore at as many as 42 intersections in various parts of the city was finally approved by the municipal corporation’s finance and contract committee in January this year

Despite traffic snarls becoming a part and parcel of city residents’ daily lives, progress of the Intelligent Traffic Management System, tipped as a remedy for the congestion, continues to drag.

The e-challan system introduced by the traffic police at four busy intersections to curb the violations are also lying defunct. (Manish/HT)

The project to install smart traffic lights at a cost of around 9.86 crore at as many as 42 intersections in various parts of the city was finally approved by the municipal corporation’s (MC) finance and contract committee (F&CC) in January this year. The project, which has remained in the pipeline for over seven years, however, is yet to enter the tendering stage.

Under the adaptive traffic control system, the duration of the traffic lights is adjusted based on the volume of traffic. The traffic lights will be monitored through the Integrated Command Control Room at the MC’s Zone D office. The new traffic lights, meanwhile, will have extra brightness to increase visibility.

The 42 proposed traffic intersections include the traffic points which currently witness most traffic jams due to ongoing construction work for various projects — Bharat Nagar Chowk, deputy commissioner’s (DC) office, Bhai Bala Chowk, ESI Hospital and Dugri Urban Estate Phase -1.

Along with smart traffic lights, as many as 250 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras were to be installed to keep a check on traffic violators and maintain surveillance, a civic body official said. Cameras will be based on radar and will be effective even during the foggy weather.

Notably, the e-challan system introduced by the traffic police at four busy intersections to curb the violations are also lying defunct.

Narrating the daily ordeal for residents, Pankaj Verma, a resident of Model Town said, “While the traffic jams due to prolonged construction projects have rendered the traffic lights of little use, the traffic lights at intersections including Hero Bakery Chowk remain non-functional.”

He added that the population spurt has resulted in a number of new traffic bottlenecks at various important roads including Rahon road, and Chandigarh road, which need urgent attention. The authorities should expedite the process to give commuters a respite.

MC officials, meanwhile, said the project has been approved at the civic body level and is undergoing technical vetting at the state level.

Superintending engineer Sanjay Kanwar said analysis of the technical requirements and expertise is underway and is expected to be completed within a week, following which tenders will be invited.

An MC official said the execution of the project will take over three months and will depend on whether the private companies will show interest in the bidding procedure.