Road transportation being one of the backbones of the industrialization, road traffic is one of the major issues of the modern world where cities are always developing. According to the traffic reports produce by the world’s major countries, India is more populated than other country. Due to the rising population in urban areas, freight vehicles as well as travellers have to spend a large amount of time in traffic. However, there is no exact solution to this problem. Engineers, designers, planners, builders and road transport experts present their opinion, which produces a practical strategy when combined. The following ways may help solve the urban transport problems.
- Construction of Additional Roads – One of the most common method to resolve vehicular traffic in small and medium towns and districts is construction of new roads and bypasses to divert the traffic. In the mid-twentieth century, the engineers build new highways as an acceptable transportation solution to reduce vehicular congestion on the road.
However, construction of road network requires a large area of land that may demand for demolition of forests and properties. By the 1970s, the planners and builders came to a conclusion that development of new highways to decrease motor traffic is not the most effective solution to the surface transport issues.
- Altering Traffic Management System – Road traffic can be temporary or partially reduced by reorganizing the traffic management system. Introducing new traffic flows and directions without making any major structural change to the existing roads may provide temporary relief. Extending of the one-way systems, varying the duration of traffic lights and restrictions of vehicle parking on main roads are the most widely used techniques.
Traffic management measures have been significantly applied in many areas, where there is excessive noise, pollution and accident risks. Controlling the number of vehicles, speed control devices and parking restrictions can lead to safe and secure atmosphere on the road.
- Parking Restrictions on the Road – Parking for long duration in the central areas of the town must be restricted by banning all-day parking or charging extravagant parking fees. In some towns, the fines are so low that being caught twice or thrice turns out cheaper than paying parking fees.
On the other side, separate parking arrangements should be made for short-term visitors and local residents by building reserved parking areas. Overall, parking management is simple to achieve, flexible to apply and easy to be understood by the travelers.
- Encouraging Public Transport – People may use cycles or walk down to cover short distances, but to cover longer distances, it requires an efficient public road transport system to make sure the city can function better. For that, fares should be as low as possible so everyone can afford it, there must be sufficient availability of transport vehicles, speeding up the buses, connecting major as well as smaller locations and such other measures might be useful.
Thus, the urban surface transport management is an unending process which should be adopted both in developed and developing countries in order to deal with the increasing problems of the road transport.
