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Dr. Charisma Choudhury

Assistant Professor

Department of Civil Engineering

Lecture 6

Deficiencies of Transport Planning in Bangladesh

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Outline

� Background

� Sound transport planning (TP)

� Deficiencies of TP in Dhaka

� The way forward…

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1 : Pre-Mughal Dhaka (before 1604)

Area: 1 sq m

Population: Unknown

2 : Mughal Dhaka(1604-1764)

Area: 8 sq m

Population: Around 0.15 m

3: British Colonial Dhaka(1764-1947)

Area: 20sq m

Population: 0.25 m

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4: Dhaka in the Pakistan Period (1947-1971)Area: 40 sq m

Population: 1.6 m

5: Dhaka, 1980 Area: 62 sq m

Population: 2.4 m

6: Dhaka. 2000Area: 590 sq m

Population: 10.7m

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New Road Constructions (Over Last 1 Year)

1. Link road between Rokeya Sharani and Airport Road (completed)

2. Continuation of the Road no. 11 from Banani to Gulshan over the lake (completed)

3. Link road and railway overpass linking Bijay Sharani and Tajuddin Sharani (completed)

4. Hatirjheel road

5. Interchange at Kuril junction

6. Tolled Jatrabari- Gulistan flyover (reinitiated)

7. Elevated Expressway (BOT bids invited)

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Other Transport Initiatives (Over Last 1 Year)

1. First franchised bus service Shuchona (April 2009)

2. CCTV aided surveillance system (May 2009)

3. Ban on old vehicle usage (September 2009)

4. New school and office timings (October 2009)

5. Decision to introduce school buses (November 2009)

6. Implementation of automated traffic signals (November 2009)

7. Expression of Interest for construction of the Bus-Rapid-Transit (BRT) system (November 2009)

8. Plan to introduce school buses (November 2009, abandoned April 2010? )

9. Enforcement of lane-usage rules (December 2009)

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Effects?

� Reflects the importance given by the Government to

tackle the problem of traffic congestion

– But very little tangible results

What is missing in our transportation

planning and policy framework?

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Common Development Process in Dhaka

Increasing cottages once,

twice and then

Land filling of fenced area

Neighborhood by seeing

them one after another

Bamboo pole for connecting

One or two storied building

on long column

Increasing no of buildings

Bamboo cottage

Fenced by bamboo in separate

plot

Selling and buying plot on

drowned land

Wants/Needs

Demand/ Precession

Build up a group

Coming in front of local political leader

Meeting & Procession

DCC, RAJUK, DESA,

WASA etc.

Constructions of local road in donated

land

Unplanned

community

Unplanned

community

Gas, Water, Sewer line by destroying

constructions

Marshy land/unbuildable landMarshy land/unbuildable land

Increasing cottages once,

twice and then

Land filling of fenced area

Neighborhood by seeing

them one after another

Bamboo pole for connecting

One or two storied building

on long column

Increasing no of buildings

Bamboo cottage

Fenced by bamboo in separate

plot

Selling and buying plot on

drowned land

Wants/Needs

Demand/ Precession

Build up a group

Coming in front of local political leader

Meeting & Procession

DCC, RAJUK, DESA,

WASA etc.

Constructions of local road in donated

land

Unplanned

community

Unplanned

community

Gas, Water, Sewer line by destroying

constructions

Increasing cottages once,

twice and then

Land filling of fenced area

Neighborhood by seeing

them one after another

Bamboo pole for connecting

One or two storied building

on long column

Increasing no of buildings

Bamboo cottage

Fenced by bamboo in separate

plot

Selling and buying plot on

drowned landBamboo cottage

Fenced by bamboo in separate

plot

Selling and buying plot on

drowned land

Wants/Needs

Demand/ Precession

Build up a group

Coming in front of local political leader

Meeting & Procession

DCC, RAJUK, DESA,

WASA etc.

Constructions of local road in donated

land

Unplanned

community

Unplanned

community

Gas, Water, Sewer line by destroying

constructions

Marshy land/unbuildable landMarshy land/unbuildable land

Source: Mahmud, Identifying the Deficiencies of Landuse-Transport Development in Dhaka City, MSc Thesis, BUET

64 % areas of Dhaka is below 6m from MSL

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Sound Transport Planning

� Pre-requisites:

– Long term and consistent

– Coordinated

� Among agencies

� Across time dimensions

– Comprehensive and integrated

� Land-use

� Trade, commerce and industry

� Technology

� etc.

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Long Term Transport Plans for Dhaka

� Dhaka Integrated Traffic Study (DITS)- 1994

� Strategic Transport Plan (STP)- 2004

– accepted in 2008

� DHaka Urban Transport Study (DHUTS)-2010

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Other Long Term Plans for Dhaka

� The first report on town planning came in 1917

� Three Master Plans

– First Master Plan Report-1959

– Dhaka Metropolitan Area Integrated Urban

Development Plan (DMAIUP)- 1981 (not approved)

– Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) - 1995

� Volume I: Dhaka Structure Plan (1995-2015)

� Volume II: Urban Area Plan (1995-2005)

� Detailed Area Plan (DAP) (currently waiting for approval)

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Acts and Ordinances:

1. The East Bengal Building Construction Act-1951

2. Town Improvement Act (TIA)-1953

3. The Municipal Administration Ordinance, 1960

4. Dhaka Metropolitan Development Authority Ordinance-1974

5. Dhaka City Corporation Act-1983

6. Town Improvement Act (TIA),1953 Modified in 1997

7. The Natural Water body, Open space, Park, Play Ground protection Law, 2000 .

8. The Private Land Development Housing Project Rules (PLDHPR), 2004

Other Long Term Plans for Dhaka

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Other Initiatives:

1. Creation of Dhaka Improvement Trust (DIT)-1956

2. Preparation of Task Force Report on urbanization,

1991

3. National Housing Policy -1993

4. National Habitat Report with detail action plans of rural

and urban development -1996

5. The Dhaka land Management Project (1993),

6. Housing Sector Strengthening Project (1993)

7. The Urban Poverty Reduction Project (1996)

Other Long Term Plans for Dhaka

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Limitations of Long Term Plans

� Lacks proper goals and objectives

– Question: what is our current transport planning goal?

� Discontinuity

– DMDP : Structure Plan and Urban Area Plan (1995), DAP still

being processed in 2010

� Planning horizon was 2015 !

� Data issues

– Stale data: STP approved in 2008, based on data from 2002

– Discontinuous data: no preservation of previous data

� No co-ordination

– e.g. DAP 2010 does not take into consideration the effect of the 6

MRT lines proposed in STP 2006 and approved in 2008

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Limitations of Long Term Plans (2)

� Implementation issues

– Long review process

� Time gap between plan and implementation

– Base scenario has already changed

– Poor implementation and enforcement

� e.g. land use, access, traffic design

– Inherent weaknesses in plans often make them difficult

to implement

� e.g. BRT in Old Dhaka

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More About Implementation

� Among the total so called

primary roads, 25 %

developed in between

1981-1990 are through the

executive orders

� No consistency with the

Master Plans

Source: Mahmud, Identifying the Deficiencies of Landuse-Transport Development in Dhaka City, MSc Thesis, BUET

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� New road: English Road, Rokeya Sharani, Progati Sharani,

� Missing link: Bijoy Sharani, Panthapath, Banglamotor road, Tikatoli road,

� Widening of roads

� Bus terminals establishment

� Rearrangement of Gulistan terminal area

� Relocation Golashaha mosque

� Correction of road width at Tejgaon by demolition of government staff quarter

� Flood embankment project

Transport Development Initiatives(1981-1990)

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� Overlooked planning issues:

– Access control

� No side road entry restriction

– No land use restriction

� Haphazard road side developments

Design of New Roads (1981-1990)

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Example 1: Rokeya Sharani

Moghbazar

Mirpur

Farmgate

1959 Master Plan

No direct connectivity

between Mirpur and

Farmagate

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Example 1: Rokeya Sharani

DIT Road: Merul, Badda

Rokeya Sharani with

Access road

Mirpur

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Example 1: Rokeya Sharani

Rokeya Sharani with no

access road

Mirpur

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Example 2: Mirpur Road

� Banning non-motorized vehicles in 2002

– What was the objective?

– How was this implemented?

� No planning of alternative options

� No parking restriction

� Result

– People were motivated to shift to car

� Coupled with introduction of low cost fuel (CNG) as well as

availability of auto loan

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Example 2: Mirpur Road

� Comparison with London Congestion Charging

– Vehicles entering Central London on peak hours have

to pay 7 GBP (Tk 700 +)

– All revenue goes to public transport improvements

� 30% increase in public transport rider ship on the first year

� No statistics for the benefits

– No performance evaluation step in the planning process

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Sound Transport Planning

� Pre-requisites:

� Long term and consistent

� Coordinated

– Among agencies

– Across time dimensions

– Integrated

� Land-use

� Trade, commerce and industry

� Technology

� etc.

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Landuse

� Disconnect with land-use planning is a major problem

– Mixed land-use is preferred but needs planning

� Zoning for schools

� Health-care facilities etc.

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Technology

� Mobile phone based information on:

– Traffic condition

– Bus routes

� Attractive options for public transport

– Common fare card

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The Way Forward?

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Planning Process

� Goals and objectives

� Alternative formulation

� Evaluation of alternatives

� Performance measurements

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Planning Process

� Goals and objectives: Missing

� Alternative formulation

– Very often Missing

� Need to think beyond local solutions

� Evaluation of alternatives

– Must be based on models/analytical methods rather than on common sense approach

� Performance measurements: Missing

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Acknowledgement

� Dr. Shamsul Hoque, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, BUET

� Md. Sohel Mahmud, Research Assistant, Accident Research Institute, BUET