[sajo]

I start of my rant with the NH4, since many of us use this for our daily commute. Its full of peril spots, and especially for a driver new to this road, who assumes its just like our regular highway.
There are many, but I list some of those spots here :


Area near Lalani Quantum :

What makes it dangerous :

- Pedestrians on the highway, 6 seaters stopping off blocking one lane, prompting a chain reaction of sudden lange changes behind them.

Bavdhan exit , just after Praj Industries :

What makes it dangerous :

- Indisciplined merging of various vehicles right into the fast lane, just after a curve. Poor visibility at night due to dividers.

Just after the curve, ease off the throttle,and if possible, change lanes and take the left most lane.

Sus Road Exit, just below the overbridge :


What makes it dangerous :

- Traffic coming down from a slope and trying to merge on the highway. Impromptu lange changes and 6 seaters and other transport vehicles stopping to make a pickup/drop.
Its not as bad when you are coming from Wakad towards Katraj.


Illegal Breaks in the highway opposite the Balewadi Sports Complex:

- Its just a crash waiting to happen these days.



On another note, these days, a lot of digging work is also happening on Paud Road,for pedestrian underpasses. Which beggars a question : Do we even need those ? I mean, the one near MIT School/College is okay, but why near Hotel Kinara ?
Chokes up a lot of traffic during peak hours.

Punekars, post on!!

[advaitlele]

The rains have started and I am back on 4 wheels.
Usual route - Phase2 -> Mezza9 -> Wakad Underpass -> Dange Chowk -> Kalewadi Phata that takes 20 mins from office parking to home parking on my Thunderbird took 85 mins on Friday 'coz I was on a pair of wheels more. 50 mins from Wipro Circle to Wakad Flyover.

The work seems to be never-ending after Wakad Flyover till Jagtap Dairy chowk. I am thinking if its ok to get wet rather than waiting for an hour and a half and with a pain in knee/ankles.

One more hazardous spot is when you take left from Mankar Chowk towards Kalewadi Phata, the narrow road (is it a road?) that too when at least 15" of level difference between two opposite lanes - dont exactly remember where it is but its near the Sonigara Kesar building construction site.

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by sajo

On another note, these days, a lot of digging work is also happening on Paud Road,for pedestrian underpasses. Which beggars a question : Do we even need those ? I mean, the one near MIT School/College is okay, but why near Hotel Kinara ?
Chokes up a lot of traffic during peak hours.

Punekars, post on!!

Frankly i don't understand what are they doing near Hotel Kinara? Someone told me that they are building a Subway to ease pedestrian crossing. But it is taking ages.

That junction is a nightmare to cross for pedestrians or for that matter for vehicles to merge onto Paud Road.

One more addition to the list:

Kothrud Depot Junction:
They had installed the signal at the junction. But i have seen it working only about 5-6 times over the last couple of months. Why install the signal if it is not going to be used. Everyday during peak traffic we have buses coming in from the depot, people coming from Deccan side trying to turn right or take a U turn, 6 - Seaters comig from Chandni Chowk trying to take a U-Turn after dropping passengers at Kothrud Depot. The different directions that a driver has to look to cross the junction is stressful.

[Swanand Inamdar]

The entire stretch from CC to Wakad exit is a big pain in you know where.
The way those ILLEGAL 6 seaters plow is a menace causing many accidents.
The Balewadi crossing is a joke and a half. How can you expect, that putting those barriers would actually deter people from using it for a shortcut?

The Kinara hotel wala road is supposed to be a subway being built for pedestrians. Forget the amount of time its taking and all that. I have a fundamental question- How many pedestrians are actually going to make use of the subway? Have we forgotten what happened to the subway on JM road? It was closed forever on accounts of mugging and even attempted rapes! So then, why the same mistake again?

The one near the MIT school/college is actually done with some sense. Its more like a mini flyover that would be used by vehicles, thus making it compulsory for the pedestrians to use the crossing underneath.

[sajo]

Originally Posted by amitwlele

Kothrud Depot Junction:
They had installed the signal at the junction.

In my observation, there is more of a congestion there if the signal is working than if its not. Dont know why, but thats just the way it is. Again, thats a nightmare if you are a pedestrian trying to cross the road.

Originally Posted by advaitlele

The work seems to be never-ending after Wakad Flyover till Jagtap Dairy chowk.

Honestly, thats been going on for like..forever. Wonder why do they not just go ahead and "complete" it for once ?

[paragsachania]

How about the section of the bypass if driving towards Katraj where a left will take you towards Sun City?

This spot also legally permits a U-Turn but it is a nightmare when traffic density is high (Mornings and evenings and full on weekends).

The exit to Chandani Chowk is another spot where you'll come across morons who would stop their 6 seaters, Tempos on the left lane to pick passengers resulting in a chain reaction Sajo mentions.

[dot]

Entire Nagar road stretch from Yerawada to Chandan Nagar.

First Yerawada; both side of the road is totally encroached reducing traffic to snail's pace. To add to that, there is some kind of a corporation depot and you will see dumpers and other monstrosities racing and parking haphazardly. Not mention pesky two wheelers.

Next Loop road - Shastri Nagar - Kalyani Nagar crossing. The fun part is that regulars on this stretch know that there is a 10 sec red on both the back to back signals which is useless for everyone. So people take advantage and move on. Even funnier part is when a new-in-town shows up without a clue on what to do during this red. To go or not to go? Recently they have build huge islands. Huge, taking acres of useful road space. And one side of the island is an auto stand which has not moved. Therefore suddenly a three lane traffic has to merge into one. And not mention pesky two wheelers.

Next Ramwadi-Airport- Pulse mall junction. Some roadwork is going on for ages. Folks come from Kalyani Nagar and take a U turn on Nagar Road towards Viman Nagar, blocking all traffic. Not mention pesky two wheelers.

Next stretch through Viman Nagar all the way till Chandan Nagar. The road is really broad. God bless who tries to cross the road on foot. The road is divided, but there are many points where U turns can be taken. Naturally people take U turns or cut through without any consideration to oncoming traffic. The road is also in poor conditions with many sudden broken patches, manholes, undulations. People driving on this stretch suddenly swerve without warning. Finally, not mention pesky two wheelers.

[dot]

Originally Posted by dot

Not mention pesky two wheelers.

Hmm, interesting.

Where all the "to"s disappeared from these sentences. It should read "not to mention pesky.." Probably late night blues.

[mmxylorider]

1. NDA Road from CC to BHEL. Box culverts are being constructed at various places and the timing? Right before the monsoons. The road was widened and surfaced not more than 2 years ago and it's already time to destroy it.
2. A chaotic scene on the CC overbridge during peak hours. Traffic merging from different directions and dividing into different directions. It's truly 'every man for himself' scene out there.
3. I will also include Alandi road (starting from Deccan college) as a nightmare. Such a wide road, but absolutely no clear signage/road markings.
4. Last is the newly created Sangamwadi road. Has anyone used it a night? It's pitch black and the road surface simply absorbs all light from your headlamps.

[sajo]

Guys, check this photo out, taken from Facebook.


I was about to post something on similar lines on the PTP page, when I noticed this photo. Predictably though, no action is being taken against them.

[Swanand Inamdar]

Originally Posted by dot

Hmm, interesting.

Where all the "to"s disappeared from these sentences. It should read "not to mention pesky.." Probably late night blues.

, that road is a hazard with those HUGE traffic islands that have been built. I guess its a provision to those beggers. Those poor souls also need a place to rest right!
Not to mention, those pesky two wheelers who have no respect for the law .

Originally Posted by sajo

I was about to post something on similar lines on the PTP page, when I noticed this photo. Predictably though, no action is being taken against them.

Now whom do we complain to? When law makers become law breakers, what do we mortal beings do? Any comments on this on their FB page?

[selfdrive]

The bypass itself is a royal mess. When it was forst initiated, I had high hopes that this will be the stepping stone for a kind of ring road which we could use to go to the other end of town when so required. The bypass should have been purely maintained as one and entry/ exit points should have been regulated well. There should be bays for any vehicles stopping at any point.

Some other points which are a bit messy in Pune these days:

Underpass below rail line near Saakhar Sankul/ Wakdewadi: why has this underpass been opened for 4 wheeler traffic? Is it a temporary measure till the Sancheti hospital chowk mess is cleared?

Sancheti hospital: ^^Speaking of this, what are they trying to do here? Are they building an underpass for traffic going from University side towards RTO? The prime necessity here is to widen that rail over bridge between Sancheti/ COEP.

Sangamwadi road: A complete mess when dark, especially the section that does not have dividers.

JM road: Why are the speedbreakers built like mini hills? They are so unkind to biker backs even at reduced speeds. At least they should have been built uniformly. Someone had once told me that JM Road was laid so well that it had no second layer of tar for around 15+ years. I had retorted then that the road does not experience direct heavy rains due to the tree cover. Not sure of the authenticity of this info though

Karve road towards Kothrud stand/ Paud road: Just before the flyover, there is always a huge mess as people make last minute decisions of where to go. I have noticed a lot of guys in the left lane wanting to go right onto the flyover and those in the right lane wanting to go to Kothrud stand. Why dont these guys get into the correct lane at Nal Stop itself?

Access to riverside road (Nadi kaath cha rasta) from Mhatre bridge side: The access road needs to be widened; currently it is only two bikes wide at some points. This results in a huge pile up of bikes at the signal itself.

+1 to the concern raised about the underpass at Hotel Kinara; it is going to lie unused unless it is open to sky in parts (like the Garware underpass at Deccan). And what is it with Paud road; it has been WIP since at least the last 5 years. Is this road ever complete?

80 feet DP road (from Paranjpe school till Badhaai sweets/ Woodlands chowk): One lane is still WIP; and there is a huge (must be the biggest) speedbreaker I have seen in my life. It is actually as big as two put together.
Dahanukar colony: WIP?

Everywhere in Pune: why do people honk at other vehicles to clear the left lane when the signal clearly indicates a red? Just this morning an i20 honked itself hoarse and proceeded to take a left turn at Law college road (coming from SNDT). I indicated to the smarty pants that usually a cop is around the corner. He promptly got pulled over by the cop standing there. I could not resist the cheap thrill and waved to him as I passed him. I should have probably kept my camera on to record his priceless expression!

[noopster]

I don;t know which brilliant mind thought it would be a great idea to have a weigh bridge right at highway exit. I mean the one at Baner. What should by rights be a one-way exit ramp has vehicles merging both ways as a result. One of these days a car that is exiting at high speed will collide with a truck that is crawling onto the bypass and the result will NOT be pretty. Something needs to be done about this, and fast!

[ghodlur]

One section I am always frustrated with is the end of the Katraj bridge on the Pune-Bangalore highway and where I have to turn to go to Sinhagad Raod/Dhayari. That section does not have a traffic signal and very much depends on the incoming traffic from opp side. The road is not that great too.

[Bumble Beast]

Sancheti: Where does the underpass open to? It seems it will take 5 more months for it to get functional.

JM Road: Agreeing to selfdrive, those speed breakers do break the backs.

Oh one general phenomenon I would like to point out, Lets take an example of Univ road. There is one auto on the leftmost lane, there is a bus behind it, there is a bike on the center lane and there is a car on the right most. All of them at the same speed which would be around 30kmph. Gets very frustrating.

One thing I have noticed in Pune's traffic, its slow! Why I have no idea. Anyone interested to shed light on this?