Dividers placed recently on Film City road obstruct traffic

The 50-metre long road divider near the Dalit Prerna Sthal on the Film City road placed about a fortnight ago to separate traffic coming from Greater Noida and Sector

The 50-metre long road divider near the Dalit Prerna Sthal on the Film City road placed about a fortnight ago to separate traffic coming from Greater Noida and Sector 18 has seemed to cause more harm than good.

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The Noida authority said it placed the divider near the Film City flyover loop to avert accidents caused by merging traffic. However, this divider leads to traffic jam in peak hours, commuters said.

Many commuters have reported having a harrowing time crossing the stretch and alleged that the spillover effect of the congestion extends up to over two kilometres beyond the stretch.

The three-lane traffic coming from Noida Sector 18 and GIP Mall and going towards Sector 14A and Mayur Vihar take the Film City flyover and descend near Dalit Prerna Sthal. People coming from Greater Noida and going towards Noida and Mayur Vihar also take the route and the traffic coming from both directions merge near the divider.

The authority placed the divider along the loop occupying around one and a half lane, narrowing down the stretch. Only lanes are left for the free for movement of vehicles coming from the Greater Noida.

“The divider slows down the traffic movement on the Film City road and also on the flyover. There is tailback jam along the stretch during morning and evening peak hours,” Abhishek Kumar, a commuter, said. Movement of traffic is also hit as the authority is working on replacing the temporary median on the road from Dalit Prerna Sthal to Sector 14A with a permanent one.

Sometimes the traffic jam extends up to the Mahamaya flyover and residents returning from offices complain that they are stuck in a jam for over an hour. The traffic movement is extremely slow during the weekend when a large number of people go for shopping in malls and Sector 18 market in their vehicles.

Pradeep Garg, Noida traffic cell in-charge, said installing the divider was a calculated move to ensure smooth traffic. “Traffic moves in three lanes on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. Traffic also comes from Sector 18 to the Film City flyway in three lanes. The traffic coming from both sides merge on the spot. Earlier, commuters struggled to navigate through choking the spot. Police personnel were stationed to manage the traffic. Now, we have reserved one lane to ensure the vehicles do not hit each other. The traffic is slow but always moving even in peak hours,” he said.

Ravindra Vashisht, Noida traffic inspector, said the move was aimed at averting accidents on the two loops. “There have been instances when the vehicles descending from the loops went on to the main stretch and created problems for the traffic coming from the Film City road on both sides. Now, the vehicles are relatively safe from hitting each other,” he said.

Garg said Noida authority is closely observing the movement of traffic on the stretch. “We are planning to reduce the length of the divider near the Film City flyover. We may also shift the dividers a little to the left to provide more space for traffic coming from Greater Noida if required,” he said.

Dividers had also been placed for commuters descending from the DND flyway loop on the Noida-Greater Noida side. Two lanes have been reserved on this stretch and the vehicular movement appears smooth here. Garg said that the road on the DND Flyway loop, on the opposite side of Dalit Prerna Sthal is relatively wide. “We have reserved two lanes while three lanes are free on that side,” he said.