Roads get a blue coat for Games traffic plan rollout

Starting next month, the traffic police is planning to start dry runs of the traffic management plan for Commonwealth Games. In phases, one lane of road space on all roads leading to Games venues, Commonwealth Games village, and the airport, will be blocked for normal traffic. The civic agencies have started marking out the lane in blue on several roads, and once the markings are complete, the dry runs will commence.

With the sole solution to Delhi’s traffic mess — the Intelligent Traffic Signals (ITS) project — missing the September deadline, the traffic police plans to hold trial runs of the traffic management plan which has been prepared for the Commonwealth Games. During the 12-day period starting October 3, normal traffic will not be allowed to use a pre-marked lane on selected roads. All cars, buses, etc, ferrying athletes, delegates, will use the dedicated lane, being called the Games lane. The traffic police plan to impose a heavy penalty on normal vehicles which trespass into this space.

Senior officials revealed the lanes will not be blocked off round the clock. But a schedule will be prepared and each time there is an event in the vicinity, or on days of the opening and closing ceremonies, the space will be reserved for Games traffic.

In order to sensitize Delhiites about the lane segregation, and also see its impact on movement of traffic in
the city, the cops are going to start enforcing segregation of Games lane on select roads starting next month. ‘‘Games lanes on all the roads are not going to be blocked at once. We plan to take up stretches and enforce lane discipline to see how it works and also sensitize drivers. The first dry runs will start in June and several rounds will be carried out in the next few months,’’ said Ajay Chadha, special commissioner of police (traffic).

To start with, the dry runs will be held on Sundays and holidays, when traffic is thin. But later, these will be tried out even on working days to see the impact of flow of traffic, as the volumes are very high on Delhi roads.

The Games lane will be marked using blue paint along with the Commonwealth Games logo on the affected roads. The process of marking has already begun and the cops are reportedly waiting for this process of physical marking to complete to start the trials.