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An overview of Traffic problem in Kathmandu City and the Concept of Urban Traffic Management Planning By Anil Marsani 1. Introduction to Present day
Traffic Scenario in Kathmandu Valley During the past few years, populations of
many cities in the developing countries have doubled and this has been accompanied by the
rapid growth of city centers. In Nepal, although fast urban growth is fairly recent,
around 5% annual population growth rate of Kathmandu is generating a strong demand for the
further land development, expansion of infrastructure and other important urban services.
These changes have placed new and heavy demands on urban transport system - which the city
has been lacking. This problem is particularly acute in case of Nepal because of the lack
of resources and the very high cost of transport infrastructure. It has risen more rapidly
and officials have been less able to deal with it as the major roads and the networks are
generally small and of low standard. Apart from the failure to match supply with demand,
the problem is exacerbated by failure to use the available roads efficiently. The main
traffic problems that exist in the city can be summarized as below: *
Small road
space available for roads despite higher number of vehicles most of them being two and
three wheelers (table-1). *
Heavy
traffic congestion despite low level of private car ownership (table-1) *
Increasing
level of accidents in terms of numbers and severity (table-2). *
Mixed
traffic condition: There is no doubt that the wide variety of traffic sharing the limited
right of way is a serious factor in congestion. Most road sections in Kathmandu city are
not channelized for motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. The greater the pressure on
road space, more the speeds of the slowest moving vehicles tend to be reduced, and the
potential of faster public, commercial and private vehicles are wasted. The greater number
of traffic accidents and lower overall average speed of the vehicles in the streets are
attributed to the large number of motorbikes and tempos. *
Scarce
parking spaces: There are only 13 authorized paid-parking zones in Kathmandu Metropolitan
city which are mostly situated at the city centers like Bishal Bazar in New Road, Bir
Hospital vicinity and Durbar Marg area *
Inadequate
public transport services: The development of public transport is often hindered by a lack
of capacity, low operating speed, and outdated equipment and management practices. As
there is no single bus terminus, finding the different places from where buses leave can
sometimes be a horrible experience because there is a lack of information at public
places. *
Lack of
attention to pedestrians and cyclists in planning and managing roads *
Poor road
maintenance: Roads are inadequately maintained. Visual inspection and evaluation of road
network conditions show failures of the road pavement. A key factor contributing to this
situation is the lack of funding for the maintenance by the government. *
Poor road
users behavior: The striking feature of the city traffic is the poor driving behavior.
Driving standards are generally low. Our license issuing system is also extremely
unscientific and impractical, and it is helping in adding traffic accidents indirectly. It
is reported that in Kathmandu valley the number of accidents are higher than those that
occur in the rest of Nepal; and it can be said that the root cause of increasing traffic
accidents is the lack of traffic awareness among drivers and also pedestrians. *
Encroachment
of road space and footpaths by street shops, illegal parking etc. *
Inadequate
and inefficient traffic control measures: Effective road capacity of the city is
further reduced by uncontrolled parking of vehicles of all kinds and ineffective signal
timings and other traffic control measures. Manual control of junctions at peak hours is
often required and traffic signal timings are not appropriate. None of the existing
traffic signals in the urban area are coordinated, most of them operating under two phase
fixed time control. The majority of the junctions have not been channelized and sometimes
traffic island itself is creating the traffic problem due to its inappropriate placement
and bad design. Traffic signs and markings are too much insufficient. There is still a
striking need for better provision for pedestrian crossing facilities to give pedestrians
safer ways to cross the road. *
Air and
Noise pollution: According to a report published by the Nepal Health Research Council,
noise level at the Bir Hospital area is on an average of 80- 85 decibels (DBA) that is
54.5 and 21 per cent higher than the recommendations made by the United States Environment
Protection Agency (USEPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) respectively. *
Urban
patterns: Physical patterns of cities also compound the difficulties. Central
business districts are typically not so clearly demarcated as in the developed world. The
main activities centers are however often concentrated in narrow streets prone to the
intense congestion. 2. Remedial Measures: - As mentioned earlier, with the rapid growth
in demand for transport, Kathmandu is facing serious traffic problems. The immediate
concern in the city is to maintain the existing levels of service of the road system and
personal mobility, whilst reducing the potential for road accidents. For this, traffic
management measures need to be utilized, which typically will include junction
improvements, one way streets, segregation of two wheel vehicles with motor vehicle,
channelization, markings, signaling, selective road widening and provision for pedestrian
facilities, continuous traffic awareness program with the involvement of all sectors of
society. But traffic management is slowly becoming the concern of a number of
policy-making and executive agencies. As a result there is pressing need for close
coordination, effective decision-making machinery and enforcement, and clearly defined
responsibilities because the success or failure of traffic management measures largely
depend on the institutional arrangements. If the traffic management is to be truly
effective in contributing towards the development of an efficient and safe urban transport
system, it must interface and be coordinated with five other areas of responsibilities,
which include: *
Strategic
planning of urban development *
Engineering,
design and construction of transport infrastructure *
Public road
operations *
Road safety
programs *
Law
enforcement The following steps are helpful in managing
the traffic problem of the Kathmandu city: *
Change
in Urban Pattern: - Land use must be arranged so that residential areas are mixed
(in income and type) and are provided with nearby opportunities for employment, shopping,
education and entertainment, as much as these things can be efficiently provided on a
local scale. With this the demand management for the transport facilities can be pursued
efficiently. There is also a need to correct structural deficiencies in the road network
while improving traffic management. The roads should be widened where possible and
necessary and intersections should be redesigned to optimize its capacity. *
Road
safety: - From a traffic management perspective, the requirement is to optimize
both road safety and the need to ensure public mobility. Consideration of the needs of the
most vulnerable traveler groups, cyclists and pedestrians, should be adequately addressed
by providing separate cycle track and enough space for the footpath. All of the concerned
agencies including the traffic police, department of roads, department of transport
management, municipalities, private vehicle entrepreneurs have to have better coordination
to prevent accidents. At present valley traffic police is conducting road users awareness
program via traffic weeks. It is encouraging to see the participation of different
sections, including schools and NGOs in helping the traffic police in this matter. *
Public
transport: - There is an urgent need to finance on public transportation sector
by the government. The trolley bus and “Sajha” Bus in the valley have
restarted their services recently but their management still needs to be restructured.
There is a need to improve public transport sector by replacing expired assets, catching
up on maintenance and rehabilitation backlogs and expanding capacity. A policy is needed
which a) maximizes operational efficiency of public transport b) improves cost recovery by
setting fares at a reasonable level and c) sets user charges for private sector modes at a
level which recognizes true costs and uses the revenues to assist public transport. *
Air
pollution: - Combating the air pollution problem in the Kathmandu valley requires
the introduction of efficient transportation system. Environment friendly vehicles like
Electric Vehicles (EVs) have a reduced noise level as well. They are appropriate because
EV operations suit low traffic speeds, short traveling distances, and mobility in narrow
roads. Therefore EV operation should be accorded a high priority in the context of the
ever-deteriorating air quality of Kathmandu but it may have some problem in the undulated
areas due to its tractive power. *
Parking
control: - Parking control is an important traffic control management tool. There
is a need to carry out a parking study in order to develop a parking plan for the city
that is coordinated with other road network, traffic management measures and urban
development strategy. Some open space available can be effectively used for this purpose
and bus bays are to be constructed for the public bus service in the city. *
Urban
traffic control measures: - In their most simple form, such systems may control
one or a few sets of traffic signals, often incorporating some form of co-ordination in
order to minimize overall travel time. More complex systems may be demand responsive
either optimizing a particular set of traffic signals or a wider grouping of signals.
Further developments of such systems allow the detection of incidents such as accidents,
the provision of special priority for emergency vehicles, priority to public transport
vehicles and travel information systems, which issue warnings of delays, or parking
information. The use of modern traffic management system like Intelligent Transportation
System (ITS) should be gradually started in the city to cope with the traffic problem. The
use of GIS technology in city’s urban traffic management should be gradually
introduced. 3. Concept of Urban Traffic
Management Planning Over the past few decades, the solution
approach of urban transportation problem in the developed countries has changed from
capital-intensive to management-intensive schemes. It has been recognized that many
transport problems can be resolved without large-scale investment in transport facilities.
But the transportation facilities in a developing country like Nepal are far from adequate
and the available facilities are also not evenly distributed. Therefore implementation of
efficient traffic management plans and the construction of basic transport infrastructures
should be conducted side by side. It should be noted that emphasizing only in the
construction of facilities is not going to solve the urban traffic problem as the
construction of new transportation facilities, though they reduce the travel time will
also generate new demand, and after a period of time the new level of congestion will be
reached. As the urban transport management is the
sole alternative for solving the urban transport problem, there should be a scientific
answers to questions like what does urban transport planning do; what is the target group;
when, where and how to apply the urban transport management schemes. Answers to these
questions have given scope to the development of the concept of urban transport management
planning. Urban transport management planning is a scientific process of determining the
rules of vehicle movement (transporting objects) in the urban road network and the
policies to obtain the required target or the operational process. In the context of Nepal, there is a lack of
serious attention by the concerned authority in the field of urban traffic management.
There is no institution involved in conducting the systematic study of urban traffic
management planning. Lack of scientific study in this field results in the use of some
management techniques without theoretical basis that causes inappropriate decision-making
thus further wasting the scarce resources. In addition, here the whole burden of traffic
management lies on the shoulder of traffic police. So there is an urgent need for the
institution building with sufficient human and physical resources to perform the traffic
management task. At the same time, a study on traffic management planning should be
conducted to produce some results in this field that will be best suited for the traffic
condition of the country. 4. Conclusion: - The urban transport problem is
fundamentally similar in all large cities throughout the world. The basic causes are the
same and so are many of the consequences although there are some differences in degree
between developed and developing cities. But while the problems are similar, the solutions
are not. The only possible solution for our country at present is a low cost solution,
which in practice means extensive bus priorities, traffic management and traffic restraint
together with selective road improvements. And for this purpose there is a great need of
proper transport management planning to determine cost effective solution. (The author is currently studying
at the Transportation College, South East University, Nanjing, China. He can be contacted
at anilmarsani@hotmail.com ) List of tables:
Road Length and vehicles number (Table-1)
*Source: Nepal Road
Statistics 2000, Department of Roads, HMG/N **Source: Department of Transport
Management, HMG/N Majority of vehicles registered in Bagmati
Zone ply on the roads of Kathmandu Valley. Accident Data (Table –2)
Source:
Valley traffic police office, Ram Shah Path, Kathmandu. |
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