Pimpri-Chinchwad… Moving rapidly into the Fast Lane.

Pimpri-Chinchwad… Moving rapidly into the Fast Lane.
The traffic population in Pimpri-Chinchwad is growing at an exponential rate, largely due to the escalating Industrial growth across the Chakan-Talegaon belt at the periphery of Pimpri-Chinchwad, and the resulting mushrooming residential projects. However, thanks to several initiatives being taken by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), leveraging the ample availability of land and the existing as well as planned infrastructure development, traffic in Pimpri-Chinchwad and surrounding areas is rapidly moving into the fast lane.
Flyovers
In addition to an impressive network of broad, multi-lane primary and secondary roads, an important measure to de-congest traffic is the flyovers which are being constructed, supplementing those which are already operational.
Bhosari
The 1,400-m Bhosari flyover on the Pune-Nashik highway which connects Pimpri-Chinchwad to Chakan, is scheduled to be completed and opened to traffic by April 15,2011. There are plans to build a parking lot under the flyover in the near future, while a garden will be created where the height of the flyover is less, to prevent encroachments under the structure.
Three  more flyovers will address the issue of lateral traffic perpendicular to the Pune – Mumbai highway, at the Nashik Phata chowk,  at Empire Estate in Chinchwad and at Dange chowk in Chinchwad.
Nashik Phata
Tagged as Triple R flyover, the Nashik Phata flyover is stated to be the first of its kind in Maharashtra that will ‘fly over’ river, road and railways.
The two-tiered flyover linking Pune-Mumbai highway and Pune-Nashik highway
will be 1,100-metres long with 100-foot wide roads .It will span the Pune-Mumbai highway, the Pune-Lonavala railway line, and the Pavana river.
Dange Chowk
The four-lane flyover at Dange chowk in Thergaon on the Aundh-Ravet road will reduce congestion at this busy junction and will enable people coming from Kalewadi side to cross the Dange chowk and go smoothly towards Tathawade and Ravet
Empire Estate
The 1.9 km long flyover, the longest flyover within municipal limits, passes alongside the  Empire Estate complex on the old Pune-Mumbai highway. It will have six lanes, cycle tracks of 2.5 m width on both sides and footpaths.
The flyover will enable commuters from Kalewadi, Wakad and Thergaon to cross the Pavana river, Pimpri-Chinchwad link road, Pune-Lonavala railway tracks and  the old Pune-Mumbai highway and gain easy access to MIDC and the Pune-Nashik Highway.
100 traffic-friendly  chowks and large off-street Parking Lots
It is a sad commentary on the absence of civic sense among a large number of vehicle drivers ,who only heed traffic signals when there is a traffic policeman at the chowk, that merely installing traffic signals is not a complete solution to the traffic problems, However the traffic police have a manpower shortage and  policemen cannot be deployed at every chowk.
Improvement of at least 100 chowks, or crossroads, developing parking lots and tarring of roads will be on the priority list for the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s traffic cell in the forthcoming financial year. Announcing these measures, Municipal Commissioner Ashish Sharma affirmed that they will be  carried out in coordination with the traffic police. A provision of Rs 10 crores has been made for the traffic cell in the Municipal Corporation’s draft budget for 2011-12.
Work has already been completed on traffic improvement measures at the KSB chowk (Chinchwad),Bhakti Shakti chowk (Nigdi),Dange chowk (Thergaon)and Sambhajinagar chowk (Akurdi). Moshi chowk ,Sangavi junction,Rakshak chowk and Walhekarwadi junction are some others where measures will be undertaken this year.
Off –street parking
The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation is planning to develop two large parking lots along the Pune -Mumbai highway stretch. The first is a 1.43 hectare facility at the Bhakti-Shakti chowk in Nigadi. The second will come up on an open plot in Pimpri near the Morwadi chowk- Indira Gandhi flyover. Both will include a bus terminus and parking lots, so that people will be able to conveniently park their vehicles here and commute to different parts of PCMC and Pune by bus, thereby reducing traffic congestion.
Similar parking lots will be developed, in phases, in other areas within PCMC limits. The PCMC has also developed parking lots on both sides of the Pune –Mumbai highway. This is only major road in the municipal limits along which there are recognized free parking areas.
This is a good start, but a lot more needs to be done. Designated parking lots along the Telco road, Aundh –Ravet road and others are needed.