KARACHI: The city with a population of over 20 million and with the number of registered vehicles well over seven million has a total of 154 installed traffic signals but only 93 of them are functioning on its road network spread over thousands of kilometres, it emerged on Friday.

The fact that 60 of these signals — 65 per cent of the total — happen to be in areas that fall under the jurisdiction of the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) makes things a bit more intriguing as such areas, according to the official CBC website, covers merely 361kms of overall road network that zigzags through the city.

According to a recent report prepared by the Traffic Engineering Bureau (TEB), the city has a total number of 94 installed traffic signals in areas under the jurisdiction of the Karachi Development Authority (KDA), but 61 of them are ‘non-functional’.

While DIG-Traffic Ahmed Nawaz Cheema, talking to Dawn, insisted that the city “should have 2,000 traffic signals” to ensure smooth flow of vehicular traffic, it is ironic that of the 61 ‘non-functional’ signals, 42 have been switched off by the traffic police itself for VIP movement and, in the words of the official, to “facilitate vehicular flow on the roads”.

DIG Cheema says city should have 2,000 traffic lights

Despite this being the level of utilisation of the existing traffic signals on the roads, the traffic police have suggested the installation of 25 new signals, out of which, work on 13 fully automated signals is likely to begin in the upcoming months by the TEB.

The remaining 19 non-functional signals have technical glitches, like cable faults, lack of power supply and malfunctioning equipment. Keeping these signals functional is the responsibility of the TEB, which blames shortage of staff and equipment at its end.

For instance, according to a TEB official, who preferred to remain anonymous, there is “only one vehicle designated for surveillance purposes and the same is used for maintenance”.

That being so, he said, it is no wonder that cables and other essential items “keep getting stolen on a regular basis”. There is nothing that the TEB can do in this regard howsoever it may try.

Making things difficult are the differences that mark the equation between the TEB and the traffic police hierarchy with respect to the installation and maintenance of traffic signals, with both sides blaming the other for lack of coordination.

Regardless of what the two sides say, the lack of coordination is undeniable as there has been no meeting between the two departments for the last several months.

According to the TEB official, the office of the DIG is the one to initiate a meeting.

On his part, the DIG says it is not necessary to call an official meeting as coordination is a process which is being taken care of by his subordinate staff.

The brighter side of the bilateral equation is that both sides agree on the way forward. After years of basking in the glory of the city’s signal-free corridors, both sides are now of the view that the city actually needs more traffic signals; not less.

Independent experts agree as well.

Dr Afzal Ahmed, director of the Advanced Traffic Lab for Analytics & Simulation (ATLAS) at the NED University of Engineering and Technology, said more signals were needed, especially on roundabouts and under the flyovers.

Dr Ahmed believes that the traffic signals are more necessary in downtown area, specifically the corporate and commercial zones, for traffic management as well as for facilitating pedestrian movement.

Published in Dawn, October 22th, 2022