It's hard to end traffic woes

Checking the ever increasing cars and freeing the streets and pavements from illegal occupation are crucial to easing the city's perennial traffic congestion, experts say.

Proper enforcement of traffic rules can solve much of the problem, they said while revealing the findings of a research at the Brac Centre in the capital yesterday.

The research done by the Brac Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) blamed the inefficiency of the traffic regulatory agencies and the lack of governance for the traffic woes of the city commuters.

The research titled -- “State of Cities 2016: Traffic Congestion in Dhaka City: Governance Perspective” -- was led by Dr Shanawez Hossain.   

It also identified effective enforcement of traffic laws, proper traffic management, prevention of illegal car parking and checking private cars on the streets as the foremost measures for solving the problem.

 Traffic crisis in the capital is getting deeper and deeper every day due to lack of regulatory efforts, said BIGD Executive Director Sultan Hafeez Rahman, who chaired the launching ceremony yesterday.

Many footpaths in the city are under illegal occupation, he said.    

Citing research findings, Rahman said every year, around Tk 1,825 crore is collected from street vendors who occupy the pavements illegally. The amount is nearly equal to the combined annual budget of the two city corporations, he added.

Prof Nazrul Islam, noted researcher and honorary chairman of research organisation Centre for Urban Studies, said proper transport management is the first precondition for a functional traffic system. “But nobody [here] cares for the traffic rules.”

Naim Ahmed, a former commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said reckless driving by some rowdy drivers is also to blame for traffic jams.

Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive director of Power and Participation Research Centre, said traffic congestion is slowing down the economic growth of Bangladesh at a time when it is dreaming to become a middle-income country.

Talking to The Daily Star about the limitations of traffic police, Nusrat Jahan Mukta, a senior assistant commissioner of DMP's traffic division, said they cannot enforce traffic rules properly mainly due to lack of manpower.

Police also lack wreckers for towing illegally parked vehicles, she said, adding that in many cases, they have nothing to do as the relevant authorities remain silent when the designated parking spaces near buildings are used for commercial purposes.

Moreover, the traffic signals in the city are maintained manually and it requires a huge number of traffic police personnel, making the job of the police quite difficult, she added.