The trifecta of poor traffic management, lack of parking and dearth of proper public transportation continues to haunt most of Goa, and the capital city - considered ahead of other towns - is no different. What's more, according to the Masterplan for Holistic Development of Panaji prepared by LKS consultants, nearly one lakh vehicles enter the city everyday. In this scenario, is it any wonder chaos reigns supreme?
For starters, the city of Panaji is not equipped to handle such large volumes of vehicular traffic. But what is the alternative? With an extremely poor network of public transport, one is left with little choice but to use one's own vehicle to commute. This brings one to problem number two in the trifecta: parking. With city infrastructure sadly lacking, haphazard and double parking is the order of the day. Even the multi-level car park near the Santa Monica jetty that was thrown open to the public with much expectation last year has failed to yield the desired results. This despite the fact that parking here is free of charge. The reason? There is no machinery for getting from the car park to the city.
With a burgeoning urban population and growing aspirations, the number of cars on the roads are only going to increase. Our cities, however, have limited capacity to expand. The only way out in this scenario is improving public transportation so that people would feel less of a need to drive their cars.
For starters, the city of Panaji is not equipped to handle such large volumes of vehicular traffic. But what is the alternative? With an extremely poor network of public transport, one is left with little choice but to use one's own vehicle to commute. This brings one to problem number two in the trifecta: parking. With city infrastructure sadly lacking, haphazard and double parking is the order of the day. Even the multi-level car park near the Santa Monica jetty that was thrown open to the public with much expectation last year has failed to yield the desired results. This despite the fact that parking here is free of charge. The reason? There is no machinery for getting from the car park to the city.
With a burgeoning urban population and growing aspirations, the number of cars on the roads are only going to increase. Our cities, however, have limited capacity to expand. The only way out in this scenario is improving public transportation so that people would feel less of a need to drive their cars.
