E-Paper
Roundabout signals add to road chaos
Commuters and road experts are irked over the installation of traffic signals at various roundabouts in the city. They claim vehicles pile up and cause jams due to ill-timed and poorly managed signals.
Commuters and road experts are irked over the installation of traffic signals at various roundabouts in the city. They claim vehicles pile up and cause jams due to ill-timed and poorly managed signals.
The major bottlenecks are at Z-Chowk roundabout near Hotel Park Plaza, DLF Phase-1 and Sector 55/56 and two on the Golf Course Road.
Experts believe congestion at roundabouts can be solved with the help of new technology and proper traffic study.
“In Gurgaon, the roundabouts are small in size and can easily be managed by signals with automatic sensors, which the city lacks at present,” said Amandeep Singh Bedi from the Institute of Road Traffic Education.
Amit Kumar, an executive with a private firm who crosses the Z-Chowk roundabout frequently, said, “The traffic lights are not helping much and have failed to ease the situation here.”
Admitting that manual or timed signals were going obsolete around the world, Gurgaon joint police commissioner Alok Mittal said, “We grossly lack road engineering and civic agencies have failed to provide crossover facilities. Flyovers and interchanges like the one at AIIMS and Dhaula Kuan in Delhi do not require signals or traffic policemen. In Gurgaon, the police is not capable of managing traffic on roundabouts, so we have introduced signals. Ultimately, roundabouts and signals have to go,” he added.
“If commuters follow the right of way concept and let vehicles on their right pass on roundabouts, signals are not required. Unfortunately, this does not happen,” said a traffic policeman.
