Roads contribute efficiently to social integration by reducing geographical gaps and bringing citizens closer to each other. Roads are an undeniable source of socio-economic welfare and will continue playing a dominant role in the transport of goods and people. In a country like ours, uneven topography is a barrier for railways and airways. Thus reducing the geographical handicap of remote areas is only possible through a network of roadways.
Road widening campaign in the capital city was initiated last September, and the state had approximated 400 km of roads under its plan. However, only around 230 kms road have been worked on so far. [break]
At the beginning the road widening campaign faced many obstacles, which was to be expected. Nobody likes it when trees are cut, houses are pulled down, and boundary walls bulldozed. But eventually the denizens of the valley became supportive. People started realizing that widening narrow roads would ease the city from traffic-clog, and reduce the hassles that have made life in Kathmandu valley hectic.
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Removing old poles, telephone line and electric wires from road sides, making pavements for pedestrians, placing drain pipes, graveling and blacktopping are all happening at a fast pace, and within a short span of time, the valley is expected to get spacious roads. However, lack of proper monitoring and sluggish pace of road contractors has postponed the day when that can happen. Despite these, it is for sure that if the government takes strict measures, the road expansion drive will soon give good results.
The government further needs strategic plans to revive the city’s greenery, make the roads user-friendly for people with special needs, make cycle lanes, provision for proper street lighting and adequate drainage, crossroad bridges, and flyovers.
Parking is one of the most terrible problems in the Kathmandu Valley. Vehicles are lined up on both sides of roads in every corner of the city, making narrow roads more congested. Parking sites are vital public amenities, and the lack of this facility in the city is making life as well as city tourism significantly unpleasant. Developing a new mechanism to sort out this problem is a dire necessity. Along with the road widening drive, the government should come up with possible planning to address parking in the city. In many developed nations, there are public and private parking buildings.
As we have open space constraint, the government should come up with ideas to construct parking buildings at major junctions of the city. The effort should be made through public-private partnerships so that the sites are well maintained and both the public and private sectors benefit from the revenue generated. Sansaburu Parking and Kindergarten in Beasian, Spain; Car Park Erika in Sweden; Parking Sonvida in Bottmingen, Switzerland; Ballet Valet Parking Garage in Miami, USA; etc. are a few examples of successful solutions to parking problems around the world. Such parking buildings could yield surprisingly positive effects on a city’s’ social, environmental and cultural climate. This in turn can create employment opportunities for hundreds of jobless people.
Apart from widening the existing roads, the government should plan for flyovers to help ease the traffic mess in the city. If flyovers could be constructed in New Baneshwor, Kalanki, Tinkune, Satdobato, Koteshwor, Maitighar, Sahid Gate, Chabahil, Maharajgunj and Balkhu where the traffic concentration is very high, then the routine traffic congestion in the city could be greatly reduced. As long as our life rolls on wheels, we will need roads. With the increase in population and the rising number of vehicles, no matter how wide the existing roads, they will soon become congested. Hence, alternatives like flyovers, cable cars, metro rails, tunnels, etc should always be prioritized on the government’s infrastructure construction plans.
We hope new initiatives will be taken by the government to make its road widening drive truly meaningful to users from all walks of life. We hope the widened roads of the valley will minimize pedestrian fatality, lower the number of accidents, make the valley roads safe for all once again, and make Kathmandu a better city to live in.
The author is a Manager of Business Development at GEMS Events
keshab.khatri@rediffmail.com
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