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Fatal accidents on Jangali Maharaj and Fergusson College roads drop from eight to two since they were made one-way a few months ago
PMC's decision to ease traffic congestion at Jangali Maharaj (JM) Road and Fergusson College (FC) road in March last year had met with several objections. But, interestingly, this has turned out to be a boon.
Traffic review
A review conducted by the traffic department in September shows that before the stretch was made one-way it witnessed eight accidents in 2007 and 2008. There were only two fatal accidents in 2009, after the one-way was implemented.
Confirming this, DCP (traffic), Manoj Patil told MiD DAY, "There are no reports of accident cases going up since the one-way scheme was put in place."
However, lack of adequate facilities for pedestrians who cross the busy twin roads is a concern which still needs to be addressed. PMC officials justified the delay by saying additional funds would be made available through the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Provisions for pedestrians are to be made in the next three months.
Special allocation
Vivek Kharwadkar, the additional city engineer, PMC, who is responsible for work on FC and JM Roads said, "The PMC has made an allocation of Rs 80 lakh in the draft budget for pedestrians. Proper road signs, road markings and traffic signals will be setup."
Vinay Deshpande, superintendent engineer and JNNURM technical director, PMC, said, "Rs 6.5 crore will be made available for improving the FC road under the JNNURM. There will be raised pedestrians crossings at five places, 3.5-metre broad footpaths on both sides from Goodluck Chowk to Agriculture College. Separate bus lanes will be created on the left. Two lanes will be dedicated to other vehicles." | 
