Ali Hassan
In line with the directives by the Punjab chief minister to smooth flow of traffic in congested areas of the provincial metropolis, Commissioner Lahore Division Zulfiqar Ghumman, Director General Lahore Development Authority Ahmad Aziz Tarar and Chief Traffic Officer Syed Hamad Abid along with other relevant officers visited various busy localities for assessing the situation on ground.
A joint team of officers from Traffic Engineering & Planning Agency (TEPA), a subordinate department of Lahore Development Authority, traffic police, district administration and other departments was constituted for putting up comprehensive and workable plan for this purpose at the earliest.
The officers visited Data Darbar area, Bhatti Chowk, Circular Road, Shimla Hill, Ghari Shahu and Allama Iqbal Road and reviewed requirements for remodeling and redesigning of roads, traffic management, building of parking plazas, removal of encroachments, clearing of right of way and making other interventions at these locations.
The officers reviewed ongoing work on Data Darbar Uplifting Project and repair and maintenance of Data Darbar Basement Parking. They also reviewed various plans for traffic management at Bhatti Chowk and Circular Road including stopping entry of traffic on road in front of Karbla Gamay Shah and reserving it for use by pedestrians only, using the road from Bhatti Gate to Lower Mall as a dual carriage way, underground shifting of services in the locality and other proposals for easing of traffic in this area.
While visiting Shimla Hill, the officers looked into the proposal of connecting Empress Road with Davis Road by using the existing road as a three lane dual carriage way instead of one way in view of frequent choking of traffic around Shimla Hill as a result of different demonstrations.
