BY : Kaleem Niazi
Szabist.
Karachi : With great admiration and belief in the columns of your newspaper I seek to Highlight the issue of our city Karachi, Pakistan largest city. There is a road called shah re Faisal it is a boulevard in Karachi that runs 18 km, from the Bhutto Underpass near Hotel Metropole in central Karachi, to Star Gate near Jinnah International Airport. The issue is that during evening timing around 5:45 to 6 pm It is blocked by traffic and this traffic last almost 1.5 hours, in this traffic the majority of the people are employees and university on going students. There are certain side effects of engaging in that traffic which is increasing level of blood pressure, anger issues, stress levels etc. The ones coming from work/university are already exhausted and the remaining energy get utilized in that traffic leading to laziness, unproductivity and usage of phone more while the peoples are reached home.
This traffic issue also consumes petrol more resulting in more money spending on petrol, All the alternatives at that time of the day are also filled with traffic leading to no choice for the citizens of this city. This issue is something that should be taken seriously and this issue is ongoing from many times and no one has taken any measure against this issue. This is not only wasting citizens time but also creating health and fatigue problems for them as well. However, there are measures that can be taken to sort out this problem which is such as Adaptive Traffic Signals Implement smart traffic signals that adjust timings based on real-time traffic flow. Sensors and AI-based algorithms can optimize signal patterns to improve traffic flow during peak hours. Bypasses and Overpasses: Construct bypasses, flyovers, and underpasses to allow through-traffic to avoid congested intersections. Charge for Peak-Time Access: Introduce congestion pricing that charges drivers for entering highly congested areas during peak times. This will discourage unnecessary trips during busy hours and encourage use of public transit or off-peak travel. I hope government take this issue in its consideration and soon the citizens of this city get relief from this issue. And makes our life peaceful, happy and productive
