Last month, Ravi Kumar, a resident of sector 4, Dwarka, got badly hurt while crossing the signal at sector 5/6 at Shakti Chowk for no fault of his own. He was standing in the right lane and was waiting for the signal to turn green. Little did he know that a biker would take advantage of a small opening in the service lane and drive from the wrong side to cross the signal.
“There is no way I could have seen him coming from that side. The service lane there has an opening just before the signal and the biker was trying to avoid taking a U-turn near the Sports Complex," said Kumar, who suffered leg injury in the accident. Dwarka News
It’s the same story everywhere. Unauthorised openings, cuts and turns in service lanes in almost all the sectors are not only causing traffic chaos but also leading to accidents.
The master plan Road Number 205 has a couple of such exits connecting it directly to the main road, making it dangerous for commuters. One such opening is in front of Sri Venkateshwar International School, Sector 18, and another in front of the petrol pump near DCP Office, Sector 19.
Both these exits create traffic chaos and promote wrong side driving. “The exit near the school has made it an unauthorised crossing without signal. The area turns highly accident prone in morning and afternoon with school buses and vans adding to the traffic,” said Sarita Yadav, a resident of Sector 18.
According to the residents, the situation is worse at the second exit near the DCP office in front of the petrol pump at Sector 10. “People going to or coming back from the petrol pump often jump the signal, causing accidents all the time,” explained Sunil Sareen, a resident of Bharat Vandna Apartments.
Meanwhile, explaining the fault in planning, experts say, any residential apartment, school or market should not have a direct entry or exit to the main road. Instead, they should always first connect to the service lane to avoid any accidents.
AK Sharma, an expert in traffic rules and a resident of Sector 12, Dwarka, said, “Service lanes are meant to give a safe passage to the main road and should open near signals meeting artillery roads. They should be designed to give commuters a safe access to main road from a residential society by taking a U turn and allowing right-side driving. But in Dwarka, these lanes are wrongly designed and managed. There are cuts and opening at all the wrong places leading to utter chaos and accidents."
The subject has been raised many times in police public meetings but nothing effective has come out. Speaking to City Spidey, Traffic Inspector of the area, Rajendra Singh, said that a joint survey will be conducted by the traffic department and DDA engineering department to fully understand the problem. “The survey will be carried out this week and all the steps will be taken to ensure smooth and safe traffic conditions in Dwarka.”
