Smart signal system leaves very less time for pedestrian crossing: Activist
Harshad Abhyankar, director, Save Pune Traffic Movement, has challenged the civic officials to cross the road as per the pedestrian signal time
The smart signal system installed across the city under the Smart City Mission by Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited (PSCDCL) with support from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has come under fire by non-governmental organisation (NGO) Save Pune Traffic Movement. The NGO said that the advanced traffic system leaves very less time for pedestrian signal.
Harshad Abhyankar, director, Save Pune Traffic Movement, has challenged the civic officials to cross the road as per the pedestrian signal time.
Abhyankar said, “The pedestrian signal time at many locations is 3-8 seconds. According to the Indian Road Congress (IRC) recommendations, pedestrian signal time should be 15-20 seconds as per the road width. The pedestrian signal time at Hutatma Rajguru Chowk on Karve Road is 3-8 seconds. It is 7 seconds at Bhandarkar Chowk on Law College Road.”
Shrinivas Kandul, head, PMC electric department, said, “The new signals under Adaptive Traffic Management System or ATMS is getting installed by the Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited and our department is just the coordinating agency. We have received public feedback about short pedestrian signal time. I will call a meeting of Smart City officers and activists working in this field next week to address the issue.”
Dinesh Virkar, official, Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited, said, “We are yet to receive any complaint on pedestrian signal time. We had fixed the duration of pedestrian signal after discussions with the traffic police. We will check the issue and address it.”
Pune municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar had recently said that 85 of the 125 planned traffic signals have been installed and the remaining will be placed after the rainy season. The ATMS system uses sensors to automatically adjust the timing of traffic signals based on the number of vehicles on roads.