1-min traffic plan re-introduced in Shimla

Shimla, June 11

To ease traffic woes in the town, the Shimla police on Tuesday re-implemented the one-minute traffic plan. Under the plan, motorists entering the town from Tara Devi, Heera Nagar and Charabra are allowed to move every minute on the ratio of 40:20 seconds, which means a vehicle will first be halted for 40 seconds and will be allowed to move for 20 seconds during rush hours.

About the plan

• The one-minute traffic plan is a systematic arrangement based on time, number and space. Under the plan, traffic is allowed to move every minute on the ratio of 40:20 seconds, which means that a vehicle will first be halted for 40 seconds and will be allowed to move for 20 seconds during rush hours.
• During normal hours, the ratio of 30:30 seconds is followed. The vehicle is first stopped for 30 seconds, and then allowed to move for 30 seconds.

With the surge in tourists’ inflow in the town, traffic-related problems have worsened over the past few days. Major traffic bottlenecks are generally witnessed at Victory Tunnel, Khalini, Sanjauli, Chhota Shimla and Dhalli Chowk.

According to the police, nearly 2,00,000 vehicles have passed the town in the past 10 days. The town sees heavy traffic jams during office hours in the morning and evening.

Nitin, a resident of Shimla, said people have to wait for hours in jams to reach their destinations. “Many times, residents, especially students and office-goers, have to get out of the bus and walk to reach their destinations on time,” he said.

Shimla SP Sanjeev Gandhi said the police have decided to re-introduce one-minute traffic plan due to an increase in the inflow of vehicular traffic during the ongoing summer season. He said the plan was earlier implemented during the apple season as well as the winters, which provided better results.