Traffic congestion continues to remain an obstacle to both the livability and functionality of Bangladesh as a whole, especially in cities such as Dhaka. What is especially concerning is the fact that various dangerous behaviours -- such as motorcyclists driving on the footpaths -- seem to have manifested out of our overarching traffic problem.
As Bangladesh eyes to ramp up its economic and infrastructural development, inordinate levels of traffic will become extremely debilitating to such endeavours. As such, certain measures have to be taken by our administration, and they have to be taken now.
Among the problems that contribute to traffic congestion, one of the biggest issues is the lack of dedicated parking infrastructure, which means that different institutions take up a vast majority of the road in the name of parking space. This leads to the narrow roads of the city to become narrower and forces traffic into vast, unmoving lines.
While such issues are within the purview of the traffic police to solve such issues, the sheer magnitude of our traffic has become far too large for the police to handle by themselves.
This is where the government steps in and starts taking concrete measures to decentralize our nation from its current over reliance on the capital for the brunt of its economic activity. Dhaka is overburdened in meeting the needs of all the people in the country -- from housing to jobs, if someone needs something, generally the only place they come to is Dhaka.
We need a way out of this.
At the micro level, the authorities can consider forming task forces with the police and give them all the administrative support necessary to control the flow of traffic. Traffic rules in general have to be enforced properly, and supplementary infrastructural support has to be carried out.
But the long term solution is, and always has been, decentralization. There is a reason why Dhaka is such a densely populated city, and that needs to be addressed.
Traffic is increasingly bringing the whole of Bangladesh to a standstill. Unless we want our economy to come to a screeching halt, the government must act now.