LAHORE, July 20: The city traffic police have sought offices and parking places for 10 traffic circles to deal with road-related emergencies and provide help to motorists, Dawn has learnt.
The lack of parking places along roads for damaged vehicles and vehicles driven by the people facing medical emergency causes traffic jams on city roads.
Also, the police have no parking lots for impounded or seized vehicles besides official transport, city traffic police sources told Dawn on Friday.
Police have approached the urban sector policy and management unit of the Planning and Development department proposing the construction of 10 traffic complexes along roads.
Sources said the construction of the complexes had been proposed in the city traffic circles that are: Sadar, Gulberg, Model Town, Ichhra, Anarkali, City, Shahdra, Defence, Cantt and Mughalpura.
The proposed complexes will have parking lots for vehicles damaged in accidents, vehicles whose drivers face medical problems, broken-down vehicles awaiting technical help, vehicles detained for traffic rule violations, toeing and recovery vehicles and official vehicles.
Police proposed that first aid rooms be built in the complexes to deal with people injured in road accidents before the arrival of ambulances.
Besides first-aid rooms, storerooms to store barricades, traffic cones, wireless equipment and weapons and ammunitions should be built along roads, police proposed.
Police also demanded the construction of wireless rooms for the smooth flow of traffic, computer rooms to provide official information to the general public, traffic control centres for each circle and accommodations for officials which will facilitate the public in emergencies.
They said that of the 10 circles, places for complexes in five circles had been identified.
The proposal also includes the Multan-Thokar Niaz Baig flyover and Jain Mander Road and Ferozepur Road projects, sources said.
Police also proposed a traffic control centre for the city near the Qadafi Stadium, the sources said.
Sources added the traffic police were still dependent on the capital city police to park detained and seized vehicles and people had to face difficulties at police stations to get the possession of their vehicles.
The city traffic police are a public-friendly force and in order to make it an international standard force, the proposed plans should be executed, said a traffic senior police officer, asking not to be named.