With one-way closures, DHA residents will have to navigate a maze

[Salman]

With one-way closures, DHA residents will have to navigate a maze

KARACHI: The residents of Defence Housing Authority (DHA) will now have to navigate a maze of turns, which were once straightforward routes.

One of DHA’s main arteries, Khayaban-e-Shamsheer, along with Khayaban-e-Mujahid, has been converted into a one-way route to end traffic congestion in the area.

In between Khayaban-e-Hafiz and the Seaview road, Khayaban-e-Shamsheer will cater solely to the traffic moving southwest towards Seaview while Khayaban-e-Mujahid will carry traffic moving northeast towards Khayaban-e-Hafiz, the opposite direction.

But officials watching these developments have been sceptical this scheme will work. “People will be coming out of their driveways and reversing on to a main road which has fast cars coming on it,” says Traffic Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Khurram Gulzar. “Pakistanis don’t like to drive even an extra yard – they will try and find shortcuts.”

Gulzar says that before a road is made one-way in an area with houses or shops, a service lane should be constructed. But the DIG says his advice has not been taken, and the plan has already been implemented. “These smaller streets will now turn into intersections and people will be coming from all directions, which will increase the danger of getting into an accident.”

Others such as the Association of Defence Residents (ADR) agreed that service lanes should have been part of the plan. The ADR’s general secretary, Asad Kizilbash, said that they had a meeting a couple of weeks back in which DHA’s administrator gave an order to build a service lane for Shamsheer. “But I don’t think Mujahid is broad enough for a service lane,” he added.

At least thirteen streets open out directly on to Khayaban-e-Shamsheer and 18 streets meet directly with Khayaban-e-Mujahid.

The Traffic DIG has deployed 10 to 12 constables at these intersections, along with the DHA Vigilance staff to keep the traffic flowing according to the new routes. These constables will only be available for a few more days because they have to return to their regular work. Makeshift metal barricades have been set up at different intersections to block parts of the roads.

One side of Khayaban-e-Hafiz, near Saudi consulate, has already been closed for months for security. The residents who live closer to that end will find it hard to navigate directly on to Khayaban-e-Shamsheer because the Gizri Road and the Khayaban-e-Hafiz Road open up to one-way traffic on both sides.

“They are making a wall in front of the Saudi consulate, similar to the one at the US consulate, and that is when the road will be open,” said DIG Gulzar.

The matter is more complicated than simply building a wall, according to Kizilbash. “The Saudi consulate road is out of our hands because it is a diplomatic issue and Islamabad’s permission is necessary for opening that road.”

In Gulzar’s opinion, 26th Street and Zamzama Boulevard should have been made one-way streets instead. “Traffic engineers should have been consulted since the traffic police only regulate traffic, they don’t create the routes.”

The original plan, which was ordered in December, was not implemented. Initially traffic signals, and islands and roundabouts were removed. Traffic signals had been set up facing only one direction, bewildering drivers who were left to decide on their own when to cross an intersection.

Residents will take some time to get used to finding their way around. It has not been disclosed as yet how these roads will be blocked permanently. Kizilbash says that the routes have been altered to cater to the increase of traffic in the area but, “It will be difficult to do this and the residents will face issues during this time.”