Pune: The police plan a slew of changes in Aundh to ease the worsening traffic situation on key routes in the area, especially focusing on choke points caused by the presence of commercial establishments.If successful, this “Aundh Pattern” will be replicated across the city, additional commissioner of police Manoj Patil stated on Tuesday.Among planned measures, police will check if changing exit gates of Westend and Reliance malls, clearing encroachments at junctions, and installing a traffic signal at Medipoint Hospital Chowk will smoothen vehicular flow on Mahadji Shinde Road, New DP Road, and Nagras Road, Patil said.Patil was speaking on the issue of traffic and encroachments at a meeting of Aundh residents, police personnel, and officials from Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) at the Swargiya Gopinath Munde Sabhagruha in the area. Representatives of schools in the area and commercial establishments were also present at the gathering.The senior police officer also said similar studies will be conducted around all major commercial establishments contributing to traffic issues in the city. Furthermore, such establishments will be expected to provide a traffic warden to manage vehicles in their vicinity, who will be trained by the police, said Patil.Aundh residents have long highlighted the area’s worsening traffic situation. A Wireless Colony resident said, “We face daily traffic jams due to the presence of entry and exit gates of two malls on Mahadji Shinde Road. It turns into a complete gridlock on weekends. The congestion makes it hard for even ambulances to reach us. Autos and taxis meander for customers, reducing the already narrow carriageway width. Residents are frustrated.“Many who live here complained about encroachment and irregular parking on the road joining Ambedkar Chowk and Medipoint Chowk, leading to traffic jams. “The entire area has been taken over by hawkers. There are multiple T-junctions on different roads, and all these are choked during peak hours. Except for Parihar Chowk, there is no signal on any of the chowks, making it hard to navigate these spots,” said another resident.Local political activist Madhukar Musale, who organised the meeting, said there is a need to permanently solve the area’s encroachment issue. “Many roads are shown wider on the PMC development plan (DP) but are narrow in reality. This needs to be corrected. Secondly, some roads are extremely narrow and, considering the population growth, need to be widened urgently. Illegal hawkers must be removed. No-parking should be implemented in some places, while others should have the P1/P2 facility,” said Musale.Residents, including several women, highlighted the need for better police presence at Ambedkar Chowk, especially post-sunset. Patil agreed, saying, “I have asked the area traffic police inspector to conduct a feasibility study. We are most likely planning to change exits for both malls. In many places in the city, improper entry and exit points create traffic problems on roads. Establishments should not have exits on the main road. In the future, wherever we see a need, we will address it. Secondly, I want to suggest that establishments provide wardens to assist the police, because they contribute to traffic snarls. I have instructed the traffic DCP to assess this angle. We are not talking about small vendors or shops, but large establishments that attract thousands of people and vehicles. As they benefit from the city’s facilities, they should contribute to decongesting it.”Regarding the issue of school vehicles parked on roads causing bottlenecks, Patil said there can be no blanket rule to park these inside as the safety of students is paramount. “Wherever feasible, we request schools with large spaces to allow school buses to park inside. Sometimes, it’s not possible as if you have a small ground and all students exit through the same gate, parking vehicles inside can create an issue,” he said.The officer added that if wedding halls cause issues, they should also provide wardens. “Since they profit from their operations, they should contribute to civic solutions. If they disrupt traffic, they should help the police with traffic management and voluntarily come forward for this,” said Patil. He mentioned that the police can provide training and a badge to such wardens from commercial establishments. Pune: The police plan a slew of changes in Aundh to ease the worsening traffic situation on key routes in the area, especially focusing on choke points caused by the presence of commercial establishments.If successful, this “Aundh Pattern” will be replicated across the city, additional commissioner of police Manoj Patil stated on Tuesday.Among planned measures, police will check if changing exit gates of Westend and Reliance malls, clearing encroachments at junctions, and installing a traffic signal at Medipoint Hospital Chowk will smoothen vehicular flow on Mahadji Shinde Road, New DP Road, and Nagras Road, Patil said.Patil was speaking on the issue of traffic and encroachments at a meeting of Aundh residents, police personnel, and officials from Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) at the Swargiya Gopinath Munde Sabhagruha in the area. Representatives of schools in the area and commercial establishments were also present at the gathering.The senior police officer also said similar studies will be conducted around all major commercial establishments contributing to traffic issues in the city. Furthermore, such establishments will be expected to provide a traffic warden to manage vehicles in their vicinity, who will be trained by the police, said Patil.Aundh residents have long highlighted the area’s worsening traffic situation. A Wireless Colony resident said, “We face daily traffic jams due to the presence of entry and exit gates of two malls on Mahadji Shinde Road. It turns into a complete gridlock on weekends. The congestion makes it hard for even ambulances to reach us. Autos and taxis meander for customers, reducing the already narrow carriageway width. Residents are frustrated.“Many who live here complained about encroachment and irregular parking on the road joining Ambedkar Chowk and Medipoint Chowk, leading to traffic jams. “The entire area has been taken over by hawkers. There are multiple T-junctions on different roads, and all these are choked during peak hours. Except for Parihar Chowk, there is no signal on any of the chowks, making it hard to navigate these spots,” said another resident.Local political activist Madhukar Musale, who organised the meeting, said there is a need to permanently solve the area’s encroachment issue. “Many roads are shown wider on the PMC development plan (DP) but are narrow in reality. This needs to be corrected. Secondly, some roads are extremely narrow and, considering the population growth, need to be widened urgently. Illegal hawkers must be removed. No-parking should be implemented in some places, while others should have the P1/P2 facility,” said Musale.Residents, including several women, highlighted the need for better police presence at Ambedkar Chowk, especially post-sunset. Patil agreed, saying, “I have asked the area traffic police inspector to conduct a feasibility study. We are most likely planning to change exits for both malls. In many places in the city, improper entry and exit points create traffic problems on roads. Establishments should not have exits on the main road. In the future, wherever we see a need, we will address it. Secondly, I want to suggest that establishments provide wardens to assist the police, because they contribute to traffic snarls. I have instructed the traffic DCP to assess this angle. We are not talking about small vendors or shops, but large establishments that attract thousands of people and vehicles. As they benefit from the city’s facilities, they should contribute to decongesting it.”Regarding the issue of school vehicles parked on roads causing bottlenecks, Patil said there can be no blanket rule to park these inside as the safety of students is paramount. “Wherever feasible, we request schools with large spaces to allow school buses to park inside. Sometimes, it’s not possible as if you have a small ground and all students exit through the same gate, parking vehicles inside can create an issue,” he said.The officer added that if wedding halls cause issues, they should also provide wardens. “Since they profit from their operations, they should contribute to civic solutions. If they disrupt traffic, they should help the police with traffic management and voluntarily come forward for this,” said Patil. He mentioned that the police can provide training and a badge to such wardens from commercial establishments.
