Editorial
New road in city
The way to ease traffic congestion
WE welcome the government decision to construct a new link road between Old Airport Road and Rokeya Sarani to reduce unbearable traffic congestion in that part of the city. The proposed road will be used by vehicles wanting to go westward - Agargaon, Shaymoli, Mohammadpur and Mirpur - instead of taking a detour from the Bijoy Sarani. The planners claim that the link road will save several minutes of the commutation time for travelling from east to west and vice versa. It is heartening to know that the road will become operational by the end of the current year.
The main roads as well as bilanes of the metropolis experience horrendous traffic jam every day, especially during office hours, with vehicles of every description engaging in a maddening race to overtake one another. Stranded vehicles are known to burn more fuel and emit toxic gas than when these are running in speed. The existing railway tracks crisscrossing the city also cause traffic to come to a stand still for several minutes together.
Numerous studies done by competent authorities, including a cell in BUET, have revealed that lack of sufficient number of roads running both in the east-west and north-south directions, width and design of the roads, small intersections and railway tracks have been identified as the main structural reasons for traffic congestion. But successive governments had not taken any worthwhile initiative to implement the recommendations to undo such structural deficiencies by way of a durable solution. The plan to construct the Tejgaon-Hatirjheel-Rampura road, another vital east-west link, should also be taken up energetically by the relevant authorities.
Dhaka, being the hub of education, diplomacy and trade and commerce, deserves wider, longer and better constructed roads to give it the due character of a capital city. But, to be frank, most roads of the city are no better than those in the district and upazila towns. Surely, this is an area the authorities concerned should give due consideration.
We hope the proposed link road between Old Airport Road and Rokeya Sarani will be completed within the stipulated time. At the same time we urge the government to take steps for renovation, redesigning and restructuring of the existing roads to make them worthy of coping with the pressure of increasing number of vehicles.
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