Traffic problems on Thursday across the provincial metropolis were seen at their peak. All the routes connecting to canal road were seen jammed for many hours. Major roads, including Jail road, Mall road underpass, Canal road and all the connecting roads were packed with traffic and held up for long periods of time.
This increase in traffic is a representative of the problem of growing vehicles and small roads to accommodate these vehicles. Development projects across the city have added to this problem for thousands of regular commuters. “Traffic jams are a part of my daily routine now,” Hammad Alam said. “I am stuck n traffic for hours everyday and the worst part is that I only see it getting worse, not better. I don’t think the government has any plans to resolve this issue for us,” he added.
A grade 18 officer, also stuck in traffic, said “this is a problem of lack of proper governance. For instance, there are number of government bodies responsible for managing and planning the traffic and transport issues of the city. Some of these departments include Punjab Transport Department, Traffic Engineering and Planning Authority, City District Government, Urban Unit of Planning and Development Department, City Traffic Police. But there is no proper implementation of the plans that are announced by each of these bodies.”
