Baner Pashan Link Roads’ Traffic Woes See No end

Pune: From long queues of vehicles to bumper-to-bumper traffic, from missing links to crater-like potholes, from obstructions caused by the Metro work to encroachments — commute on Baner Pashan Link Road is all about facing everything one doesn't want to.
Residents and people's representatives of the area have held meetings with authorities, sent letters to them, staged protests and shared solutionoriented suggestions with traffic police.However, nothing has changed on ground and there seems to be no end to the mess.
"Just the other day, a biker was speeding on a footpath and hit a senior citizen out for his evening walk. Instead of apologizing, he scolded the man for coming in his way. This is a regular ordeal for the residents," said Rajendra Chuttar, president of the Baner Pashan Link Road (BPLR) Welfare Trust. Not that the motorists are at peace, as the carriageway width of the road is shrinking with hundreds of vehicles parked haphazardly on both sides.
Recently, the residents were called for a meeting by the MLA of the area, Chandrakant Patil. At the meeting, presided over by Patil and Pune traffic police officers, the residents raised the traffic trauma they have to endure daily. Their concerns were not only limited to the poor commute infrastructure leading to the traffic chaos, but also issues like that of missing boards and the need for designated P1/P2 parking signage.
"At some spots along the stretch, the signs are mismatched. There's an urgent need to replace the old signage. We had approached Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to get these boards installed, but they are awaiting the traffic department's approval. In the current scenario, there is no space for pedestrians to walk on the footpaths," said Deepika Bhargava, executive member of BPLR Welfare Trust.
"The roads have been taken over by the speeding vehicles. In a cascading effect, the condition of the bylanes is becoming nightmarish. Wrong-side driving is also an issue that needs to be redressed, especially since the roads are narrow," she added.
Roads in this area are narrow for a plethora of reasons, the most prevalent being haphazard, double and parallel parking. The road outside Nano Space IT Park and Ven Business Square, all the way to Balaji Chowk, has become a commercial hub with all kinds of business operating here. Not only have the footpaths been encroached upon by the shops, two-wheelers force pedestrians onto the narrow roads.
"We have sent photographs of vehicles being parked on footpaths multiple times to traffic officers, and I don't think any action is taken. It is such a common occurrence that the residents can pinpoint the exact places where the issues are rampant. It has been two years since we have been coordinating with officials looking for solutions. But nothing happened," Chuttar told TOI.
Haphazard parking further narrows the carriageway width. During peak traffic hours, congestion in the area is a given. A new petrol pump coming up at Balaji Chowk will make matters worse as there's no space for vehicles, the residents said.
"When we brought this up with the officials, they assured us that they will ensure that there will be no congestion. At another meeting two months ago, we were assured that the traffic woes would be redressed. We continue to wait for any change on ground," Chuttar added.
In addition to these issues, the condition of some of the roads, especially the main Baner Road, is pathetic because of the ongoing Metro work. Some internal roads end up in missing links.
In July, the Bombay high court had directed the PMC commissioner to personally look into fixing the missing links on Baner Pashan Link Road. The delay in land acquisition is leading to the delay in the work and forcing commuters to take alternative routes, many of which pass through internal by lanes.
Quotes
The roads and footpaths in many areas of Baner, Pashan, Sus are encroached upon by garbage dumps, hawkers, electric DP boxes and cables. Parking on footpaths, double parking, violation of no parking, wrong-side driving are the norms here because there is zero police patrolling and zero action against violators. There should be signboards with traffic and parking rules displayed. These should have contact numbers of the traffic police and details of fines to increase awareness — Ravindra Sinha | RESIDENT, BANER PASHAN LINK ROAD
Multiple patches along BPLR need to be widened. Currently, with parking on both sides, the roads can barely manage single-lane traffic going in either direction. The area is growing with new constructions and businesses. It is safe to assume that the population of the area will go up as well, furthermore increasing the burden on the roads — Manoj Ramteke | IT PROFESSIONAL
Our biggest challenges currently are the ongoing Metro work and missing links. If the alternative routes are made operation, a lot of the traffic can be diverted there. At present, the roads are carrying double their capacity — Manoj Patil | ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONER OF POLICE (EAST)