The traffic woes of Sinhagad Road residents are not seeming to end anytime soon. A week after the road saw a 6-km traffic jam which led to delays of at least 4 hours, the road is seeing a logjam from Dhayari Phata to Veer Baji Pasalkar Chowk every day, which has frustrated commuters, with signals being shut and just one traffic personnel on the spot in the scorching heat on Wednesday.
Even after the opening of the much-anticipated stretch of the Sinhagad Road flyover, traffic on the road is not easing.
On the very second day after its opening, the Sinhagad Road flyover witnessed traffic snarls. This led to a huge uproar on social media, prompting Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Patil to visit the site on Saturday. He listed a few bottlenecks on the road that need to be addressed to reduce traffic jams.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, NCP-AP leader Rupali Chakankar, who resides in Dhayari, along with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Mahesh Pokale and several other local leaders, met Additional Police Commissioner Manoj Patil, Aniruddha Pawaskar from the Road Department of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) at the Sinhagad Road to review the traffic situation and discuss a remedial plan.
Mahesh Pokale, Dhayari Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, said, "The Veer Baji Pasalkar Chowk, which is 400 meters ahead of Funtime, is the major concern. The bridge has no faults; it's actually reducing the time. Earlier, it would take 20 minutes from Vithalwadi to Funtime Theatre. But the main traffic issue now is occurring at Veer Baji Pasalkar Chowk as it is encroached by the fruit and vegetable sellers and auto waits there, due to which that area has become a bottleneck. The authorities visited the site on May 3 and now they are removing the cycle track to widen the road by a few inches. We have suggested changing the signal timings to reduce traffic."
Speed breaker removed
Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, a speed breaker near Funtime Theatre on Sinhagad Road, was identified and removed by the PMC. Additionally, the Corporation initiated the work at Veer Baji Pasalkar Chowk to manage and improve traffic flow on Sinhagad Road, which included removing vehicles from the traffic post, reclaiming the occupied space and removing cylce track, informed PMC official.
“The traffic police chowky situated below the Wadgaon bridge will be removed soon. We are also planning to provide a substitute route for commuters on that stretch to help ease congestion,” Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Patil told The Free Press Journal.
Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Patil had visited Sinhagad Road on Saturday to assess the ongoing traffic issues that continue despite the opening of the new flyover. He had given instructions to increase the signal timing at the road leading to Dhayari junction at Veer Baji Pasalkar Chowk and to remove roadside encroachments near the Wadgaon Bridge. He also directed officials to shut down illegal parking spots that are contributing to congestion. Patil noted that the traffic outpost under the bridge is blocking one lane and instructed that the issue be addressed. Four to five key bottlenecks were identified during the visit and reported to the municipal administration. He also instructed traffic police to increase manpower during peak hours and to revise signal timings to improve the flow of traffic. The PMC acted on these suggestions on Tuesday and Wednesday.
