Pune: Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation MD Shravan Hardikar said residents should prepare themselves for traffic disruptions caused by the next phase of Metro construction work.The next line of the Metro was critical as it connects residential areas of Khadakwasla, Sinhagad Road, Hadapsar and Wagholi with commercial centres such as Magarpatta and Kharadi.“I want to bring in the Metro network, but it gives me jitters thinking about diverting traffic in Hadapsar and on Sinhagad Road. We survived the past five years at Ganeshkhind Road,” he said on Saturday while speaking at an interactive session organised by the Top Management Consortium Foundation (TMCF) on addressing traffic issues in the city.Hardikar stressed that if a vast network of public transport were to be built by laying 200km of Metro lines in the next 10 years, residents would have to pay a transactional cost.“Sustainable living comes by making sacrifices. If these are the sacrifices, then 50% of people might have access to a Metro station within 1km, hoping that they will walk that distance,” he said.The Metro construction on the existing line and the upcoming Hinjewadi route drew flak from commuters as it caused traffic disruptions and waterlogging during the monsoon.The severity of the traffic issues on account of Metro work was felt the most at university chowk after the flyover was demolished, and the police department hadto create several diversions for vehicular movement.Hardikar, speaking onlast-mile connectivity, saidthat enough space was not available to create parking facilities at all stations.“Even if the administration utilises all the available empty plots around the Metro stations along all main corridors and allocates those plots just for parking, the Metro can create only 30,000 spots. This is a mere 5% of the expected daily ridership, pegged at 6 lakh users only along two lines of 33km. That means, the Metro can cater to only 5% of the parking demand,” Hardikar explained.Hardikar estimates that the city would double in population in 25 years, and development should disperse along the Metro lines.”The younger generation will shift towards a Metro-centric life. Data shows that 35% of Metro riders are aged 14-25, and they would learn to use the Metro for all their needs,” he said.“Transit-oriented development is designed in such a way that planning for the next 30 years will happen around the Metro line. This will ensure that of all the incremental population growth, 50% will happen around the Metro line. Only those who can afford it will stay farther from the Metro,” Hardikar said.TMCF convener Ajay Aggarwal proposed that Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) should be brought under Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) for better management. The foundation also proposed to move the public bus service under a private-public partnership model for better management, as the city needed an additional 10,000 buses.
