Sense seems to prevail at Mumbai Traffic Police : JJ Speedbreakers may go

Within a month of installing the three pairs of speed breakers on the JJ Flyover, sense seems to have prevailed at the Mumbai Traffic Police. They are likely to take a decision to remove the speed breakers. (Speed breakers may go from JJ - Chittaranjan Tembhekar, TNN, 3rd July 2010 http://bit.ly/bG71N8)
But not before motorists had themselves removed blocks of rubberised speed arresters, in protest of the ridiculous design and placement of the speedbreakers. Motorists  have to virtually stop their vehicles at the speed breakers, leading to traffic snarls during rush hours. A four- to five-minute ride on the bridge now takes 10-15 minutes depending on the time of day.

The Genesis

There are many facets to Roads and Rides. The issues concerning the conditions of roads in cities, are starkly different from the pleasures of riding on the picturesque road from Gangtok to Lachung. Technology to build Autobahns and the issues governing the policies of speed limits at 180 km/hr, is a totally different ball game from the slippery mastic asphalt roads built over Mumbai's eastern express highway leading to speed limits of as low as 40 km/hr on some parts. So, what is this blog about? Well, it does concern Roads and Rides, but will focus on city roads and issues to start with.

Living in a metro implies that one would spend a lot of time travelling - whether on work or personal matters. For several years now, I, like many other city dwellers, spend over a couple of hours travelling to work and back every day. And this journey is on the road. i.e. if we agree that it is worthy to be called a road. Time and again I have wondered whether this is the best we can hope for. Everyday I have seen fellow travellers on the long road (I travel 36 km to work) - some driving and some driven - patiently drudging away, negotiating all kinds of obstacles on the way. Some of us travel much more than this and face greater difficulties and hats off to those who have been bearing these appalling conditions - and have managed to retain their sanity.

This blog is a forum to share our issues, experiences, knowledge and techniques to ultimately improve the hours we spend on the road. Will it make a difference? Will things improve? As long as it makes a difference in the lives of few travellers, the purpose is well acheived. Read on.....