Traffic snarls were the order of the day across Goa on Monday even as heavy rains continued to lash the state inconveniencing motorists and office-goers alike. And while regular commuters across either of the Mandovi Bridges will attest to this being a frustratingly unvarying part of their day, testing their patience and forcing them to race against time, commuters across Goa are now realising that this is a problem that is getting consistently worse.
Why? Because there are simply too many vehicles (and bottlenecks) on the roads in question. A vast majority of people seeking to move during rush hours use private vehicles for two reasons. One is because our existing public transit cannot efficiently serve. A city bus from Panaji bus stand to say Miramar takes almost 25 minutes what with the long stops, especially at the Panaji market, and the slothful speeds at which they chug along.
The second is because privately-owned vehicles are more comfortable, faster, convenient, and more flexible for doing multiple tasks on one trip. As household incomes rise around the world, more and more people shift from slower, less expensive modes of movement to privately owned two and four-wheelers.
In fact, back in April, the Delhi government had asked corporates to make efforts to reduce traffic congestion by providing transport to their employees. With so many corporate and government employees traveling to the city everyday for work, this could be the key to solving half of the city's traffic problems.
Granted this part of town faces the worst snarls, but what about those faced by the rest of the state?
Lack of sufficient parking in Margao is something that every South Goan complains about. There is no place to park and absolutely nothing one can do about it, save circle the town square a couple of times, adding to the congestion and creating even more chaos.
Frustrating, yes. But some say that this is not a mark of social failure or misguided policies. In fact, traffic congestion often results from economic prosperity and other types of successes.
So what can we do? For now, the only relief for traffic-plagued commuters is a comfortable, air-conditioned vehicle with a stereo system, a hands-free telephone, and a daily commute with someone one likes.
BOX
The fact is that too many people want to move at the same times each day. Why? Because efficient operation of both the economy and school systems requires that people work, go to school, and even run errands during the same hours so they can interact with each other. This basic requirement cannot be altered without crippling our economy and society.
QUOTES
I almost missed my meeting at the Secretariat yesterday due to congestion on the highway. It's actually not that big of an issue, just that it's managed poorly. One simple solution, according to me, is to issue traffic cops with time-based routing. Block traffic on one side and let that on the other side pass. Imagine if an ambulance, or a fire brigade, is stuck in the chaos. Jams like this demand car pool lanes and special lanes for emergency service vehicles.
Fritz D'Souza, Mapusa
I am not too sure what was the cause (could be the holiday rush), but most of the roads in Margao were choked on Monday. Even along the highway, traffic seemed unusually high, parking was a chore as usual, and surprisingly there were no cops at the Muncipal Building junction towards the Navelim over bridge. After 8 pm, everything returned to normal as the shops downed their shutters. One thing that can be done, although the green brigade might not agree is to reuse the Municipal Garden space and convert it in to a multi-level parking space. The Margao bypass should also help solve the problem to some extent by diverting traffic that is now forced to traverse through Margao.
Agnelo Ferrao, Verna
Mapusa and the Guirim highway were also affected by Monday's congestion. I was on my way to Panjim for an important meeting and after getting stuck for 45 minutes near Coqueiro circle in Porvorim, had to change my plans and turn around. It was absolute chaos everywhere and no traffic police in sighnt. Just an assembly of vehicles without proper lane driving. What's the use of signals if the people do not obey them? On crucial days like these where the number of vehicles on the road could me more due to the influx of tourists, closed circuit cameras and monitoring systems need to be set up. Traffic personnel are also a must.
Savio Roy Agnel D'Souza, Nachinola
Obviously our public transport is gone to the dogs. The need to have cheap transportation with meter system is much needed. Also the RTO has to be strict for traffic monitoring. There is an urgent need to widen the roads and put signals. Also organising the designated parking multilevel spaces is necessary.
Alison Morenas, Margao
