Commuting to get more tiresome with 37 new signals planned in Ahmedabad

To better manage the traffic in the western part of the city, the traffic department plans to have a new arrangement in place. It will thin down the presence of traffic cops at the existing 272 traffic booths to add to the staff at new traffic signals.

The number of traffic signals in the city may be increased from the present 272 to around 310 in a short span of time. The standing committee of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has sanctioned 37 new signals against a demand for 111 traffic signals put forth by the traffic department.

Talking to DNA, a source in the traffic department said that given the expanding city limits there is a need for more traffic cops to remain present at various busy junctions in the western part of the city. "To accommodate this, the traffic department will reduce the strength at the existing traffic signals," said sources.

The source said that usually a busy traffic point has three to four traffic cops accompanied by equal number of home guards. "The number of traffic cops at such points will be decrease to one or two so that more cops can be moved to areas where there is more need for such cops," said the source.

Another cop said that the department is in the process of designing a thin but effective presence of traffic cops at traffic points. "There are many areas in the city, mainly in the western part, where there is a need for traffic points but the department cannot reach here due to staff crunch," a source familiar with the development told DNA.

Apart from the new traffic signals to be constructed by the AMC, as approved by the standing committee, the department has also planned for traffic police presence at other smaller traffic junctions.