Pimpri-Chinchwad: The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has withdrawn its decision to narrow the service road at the Ahilyadevi Holkar Square, also known as Morwadi or Finolex Square on the Old Pune-Mumbai highway, officials announced on Thursday. The narrowing was done as part of a ‘junction improvement project’ to alleviate traffic congestion by installing plastic barrier poles and cement blocks. It was noticed that this measure was significantly adding to the traffic congestion. The plastic poles and blocks at the junction have now been removed, and the road has been cleared. This is observed to help reduce traffic congestion in the ever-busy square.
Morwadi Square lies in the heart of Pimpri-Chinchwad city. It's on the service road of the Old Mumbai-Pune Highway and very near the PCMC Main Administrative Building. This key square connects to areas like Pimpri, Chinchwad, Pimpri, Ajmera Colony, Pimpri Camp, Nehru Nagar, Chikhali, and other areas too. The vehicle movement is always bustling on this square. However, despite being such a busy square, the road was already narrow, barely having two lanes of vehicles due to commercial complexes and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes and metro poles.
Earlier this month, PCMC had undertaken measures in the name of Junction Improvement to reduce congestion at Morwadi Square. For this, cement blocks and plastic poles were installed, narrowing the road for the convenience of pedestrians. The PCMC administration claimed they tried to make people follow rules and signals and not drive on the wrong side.
Residents, however, complained that these measures increased congestion instead of reducing it. Vehicle drivers had to stop at the traffic signal at least four to five times at the red light to cross the Morwadi Square from Pimpri. There were long queues of vehicles, which also caused congestion at the next Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Chowk in Pimpri.
Work on a water pipeline is also underway on this same service road, which is part of the BRT route from Nigdi to Dapodi. As a result, PMPML buses are also running on the service road. The bus stop is on the road itself. Passengers also wait on the road for the bus. As a result, there has been severe traffic congestion in the Pimpri and Morwadi area for the past few months. The PCMC's experiment to improve the junction faced strong opposition from local politicians and commuters. Some organisations also staged protests. Finally, in view of the traffic congestion and the growing opposition, the PCMC administration claimed that the trial was complete and removed the poles and cement blocks. This has provided some relief to the drivers from the gridlock, but the traffic congestion exists.
Media Reports & Current Scenarios
The Free Press Journal had reported about this severe issue, backed by videos and photos, on 2nd November. At that time, the problem was too severe, and now it has fairly improved. But still, the situation is not solved, and the square has more traffic than the average square in the city.
According to the report, PCMC has restructured the roads between Pimpri and Chinchwad on the Pune-Mumbai highway according to the Urban Street Design. This has led to the roads becoming narrower and the footpaths wider. The addition of poles and cement blocks further narrowed the road. Hence, long queues of vehicles form in the morning and evening peak hours between the old Pimpri Court Building (in Morwadi) and the Ahilyadevi Holkar Square, and also on both sides of the highway in front of the PCMC Headquarters. Work on the MahaMetro bridge for pedestrians and the PCMC's water pipeline is ongoing on just one side of the service road. The PCMC Metro Station is also in this area, which again contributes to the congestion.
Ram Ghorpade, a resident of Akurdi, who had shared his views on the poles and cement blocks, on the recent update said, “I learnt that PCMC did this because the square was filled with unruly drivers. It's still the situation, and even their implementation hasn't stopped. Only police actions can somewhat reduce it. The traffic congestion situation has improved, but it still exists.”
Police Raise Concerns, PCMC Removes The Polls
Police Inspector Varsharani Patil, in charge of Pimpri Traffic Division, said, "The measures taken to improve the junction were adding to the traffic congestion. Therefore, I had written a letter to the PCMC Administration requesting a reconsideration of this decision. Accordingly, the PCMC has removed the cement blocks and poles."
PCMC's Joint City Engineer Bapusaheb Gaikwad said, "We conducted a test for a few days by installing cement blocks and poles to reduce traffic congestion and provide a safe crossing for citizens. We observed the resulting effects. There is a rush of passengers due to the Metro station. The plan was to enable pedestrians to wait on the footpath, away from vehicles. This junction is highly dangerous and has witnessed serious accidents. We are considering reimplementing this decision after the water pipeline and Metro work are complete, and with police approval. Planning is also underway to provide an appropriate location for auto-rickshaw drivers' stands."
