Pune: Traffic Woes Escalate In Pune Amid Poor Road Conditions
Pune: Traffic Woes Escalate In Pune Amid Poor Road Conditions
Commuters and former corporators are calling for increased deployment of traffic wardens to tackle growing congestion in the city, exacerbated by monsoon rains and ongoing Metro construction. Former corporator Amol Balwadkar, who recently assessed traffic in Baner and Balewadi, noted the severe shortage of wardens. “With the Metro works disrupting traffic, we need at least 200 wardens in these areas,” Balwadkar stated.
Balwadkar had recently taken up the traffic woes caused by Metro work with the Metro officials and demanded additional traffic wardens at the spots where the work is ongoing.
Commuters have reported worsening traffic, especially during evening hours. A resident of Nagar Road complained of an additional 30-minute travel time from Deccan Gymkhana to Kharadi over the past week. He called for better management of traffic flow and stricter enforcement against wrong-side driving. A resident of Undri complained that many times it takes more than 1.45 hours to reach home from Kharadi to Undri. There are bottlenecks at Mundhwa signal, Amanora signal, Sasane nagar, Kalepadal and even at Nyati Chowk in Mohamadwadi. It’s troublesome to travel. With no direct connectivity from Undri to Kharadi, many are opting for private vehicles and hence more vehicular traffic is increasing.
In response, civic authorities and traffic police have increased the presence of wardens at key intersections during heavy rain. Poor road conditions and potholes are contributing to the delays. They advise motorists to avoid double parking on congested roads such as JM Road, Bajirao Road, FC Road, Shivaji Road, and Karve Road. Fringe areas too are suffering badly because of lack of coordination between various authorities as there is no road repair that has taken place.
The situation remains challenging as the city navigates through the monsoon season and ongoing infrastructure developments.
