Plan for easing traffic in Jaipur

A plan to ease traffic congestion in Jaipur and increase the speed of vehicles by up to 30% has been drawn up by a team consisting of Bajrang Lal Swami, a professor in civil engineering from the Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), and Ritu Sharma and Hemant Sharma, both engineers from the Rajasthan Urban Infrastructure Project (RUIDP). The plan, which has been submitted to the central government’s Department of Science and Technology, aims to find a solution to traffic problems on roads which have a restricted right-of-way and cannot be widened. The plan especially focuses on roads with the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor so that the essence of BRT is maintained while at the same time not inconveniencing other motor vehicles. The plan has suggested reducing the BRTS corridor by about 75-100m at cross sections and to reduce the width of other lanes on roads from 3.5m to 3.15m. This would give space for bicycle lanes and for keeping a lane for vehicles turning right at traffic junctions. Another measure suggested is to introduce bus stops every 500m so that residents do not have to walk for long distances to avail a city bus.