asj's blog

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/covid-19-india-whats-under-hood-adhiraj-joglekar

[Forked off from BMTC thread.

[Moved out of the Karnataka Roads PPP post] Without legislation that stops ribbon development, every new highway and bypass road (meant to by pass the townships) will be engulfed with surrounding development.

Even Mumbai-Pune expressway has not been spared from the above and towards the Pune end, we have numerous junctions sprouting and malls along highway which have driveways opening straight on to the highway!! Wakad in Pune has a Shoppers Stop and several more Corporates on the highway.

If you look at Western stats - country roads are most dangerous and Freeways / Motorways are most safe - because they are free of cycles, pedestrians and junctions. But in India, a highway can have have everything on it - from pedestrians, bullock carts, cycles, rickshaws and multitude of junctions - lots of elements trying to go across and perpendicualr to faster vehicles on the main carriage way. All this = 80% fatalities on Highway as reported above.

I am not doing a summary here of the IRC codes for road markings. I ordered a copy and got it yesterday and flipped through it. The norms / guidelines cover the basics well. Significantly, there is clear guideline on GIVE WAY - markings.

In my arguments with regards BRTS, I often bring up the key but neglected and forgotten matter of cost-effectiveness of a given solution to our transportation problems. It should come as no surprise to most who are acquainted with my stance that I hate the idea of spending money without a clear crsip rationale and long term plan.  And the Metro falls under this category as far as I am concerned.

MMRDA officials have in the past replied in agreement to my suggestion that Mumbai Metro will not solve its problems at all. Given the fact that 10000 daily migrants to Mumbai will swell it to a city 30 million plus by 2030, it will be fair to say that whether Mumbai gets sea links or Metro rail, people will still be travelling in quasi or near stampede like situations and roads will always remain clogged.

Freeways are Freeways and City Roads are City Roads, there is no confusion about that.

By definition a Freeway is - FREE - of pedestrians / cyclists and T or cross junctions. Our planners have never either understood this or did not care or had ulterior motives.

In Pune, currently we have a phase where the DCP is keen on removing / banning right turns to improve flow of traffic.

My views on BRT have been known for a while on Praja.

I am not anti or pro any model. I believe a place has a thing and a thing has a place. First we must be able to justify BRTS on basis of need, then it should be implementable on given corridor (just being able to implement without demonstrated need is no good).

Here is an algorithm which I would use -