Bhopal: With summer intensifying and temperatures rising steadily, long wait times at traffic signals are becoming a major concern for commuters in the city. Particularly affected are two-wheeler riders, who are forced to endure the scorching heat during extended red-light phases, often leading to violations and increasing the risk of accidents. There has been a continuous rise in number of challans issued by ITMS cameras fitted at 29 locations including major junctions during the past four months.Several key intersections, including Jawahar Chowk Square, Platinum Plaza Square, Chunabhatti Square, and many other major junctions are witnessing frequent instances of red light jumping. Commuters say that prolonged cycle times at signals make it difficult to wait under the blazing sun, especially during peak afternoon hours.“The signal takes too long to turn green. Standing in direct sunlight becomes unbearable, so many people end up crossing before the light changes,” said Rajendra Verma, a resident of Kolar area.Adding to the problem is the absence of CCTV cameras at some intersections, which reduces the fear of enforcement and encourages violations. Traffic experts warn that such behaviour significantly raises the chances of collisions, particularly at busy crossings.Traffic police officials acknowledged the issue and said measures are being considered to address it. “We are monitoring signal timings and will review cycle durations where necessary. Enforcement will also be strengthened to curb violations,” Additional DCP (Traffic) Basant Kaul said. He added that during peak hours traffic cops are deployed at traffic signals where there are no CCTV cameras installed to control violations.Traffic experts suggested that along with optimising signal timings, installing more surveillance cameras and providing shaded waiting areas could help improve compliance and ensure commuter safety during extreme weather conditions.A commuter Rizwan Khan said that Vallabh Bhawan Rotary, the square near MP Nagar police station, is like a maze. Half a dozen road meet at the busy square making it difficult for the commuters to pass through. He said, “Many times the commuters have to wait for two-three count cycle times of traffic signals to pass through the square as the volume of traffic remains so high. It becomes unbearable for two wheeler riders to wait in scorching sun.”A senior cop himself admitted that the count-cycle-time of traffic signals in busy areas is quite high. The signals remain red for longer duration like 90 seconds to 120 seconds. However, the green signal cycle time given for the vehicles to pass is quite low, like 15-30 seconds. So many vehicles get stuck at the signals that the commuters have to wait for two or more red signal cycles to pass a busy square. Some vehicles overspeed and jump the signals but there are no cops deployed to check it.April – 34440
