12 Kolkata: The Kolkata Traffic Police used Monday to fine-tune its plans for the next 48 hours. They chased away vehicles that tried to park near hotspots, like Alipore zoo and Victoria Memorial, and tried out traffic diversions that can eventually help decongest the hotspots. This included diverting bigger vehicles from Alipore Road-DL Khan Road instead of Bhawani Bhawan for SSKM Hospital-bound vehicles and Queensway-Kidderpore Road for vehicles headed to Kidderpore and Howrah.
While some traffic tweaks did make commuting smoother, Lalbazar admitted the experiments also showed that further fine-tuning might be necessary, especially to manage the morning crowd on Dec 31 and Jan 1. Overall, smooth pedestrian flow and traffic will top Kolkata Police's priority list on the last day of the year, with cops planning to set up double-lane channels for revellers on Park Street throughout the day. Barricading was also strengthened opposite the Alipore zoo on Monday.
Cops said they will keep Park Street open, as much as possible, by taking up about 2.5 m of road space on the east. This channel will be solely used by pedestrians heading towards Allen Park. The pavements will accommodate those dining out at the eateries there. Cops said provision has been kept to use another 2.5 m on the other side. Those entering Park Street from JL Nehru crossing will have to use Middleton Street to walk out.
"Channels will be created and signal timings tweaked to allow pedestrians enough time for crossovers in the morning. Since there will be children, we will be careful that no one is stranded on the road before the signal turns green," said an officer. The police will be keeping 300 men ready between Alipore zoo and Maidan in the morning to keep traffic moving. Another 250 men will be on duty around Maidan and Esplanade. Cops will also stop people from loitering and blocking eatery entrances.
All police stations and traffic guards in and around Park Street and other hotspots have been asked to submit reports on how they handled pedestrian and vehicle pressure.