Kozhikode’s police force is taking a proactive step to tackle the city’s persistent traffic issues. Following numerous complaints about congestion and a lack of personnel for manual control, authorities have initiated discussions to fast-track a groundbreaking new traffic master plan. This ambitious blueprint aims to bring intelligent traffic control systems and state-of-the-art parking solutions, drawing inspiration from successful models in other advanced urban centers.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Arun K. Pavithran, recently unveiled a preliminary model of this master plan at a key district-level meeting. Chaired by Inspector General of Police S. Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar and attended by District Police Chief T. Narayanan, the session gathered insights from various department heads. Discussions focused on crafting strategies for smoother traffic flow, bolstering road safety, developing exemplary roadways, and exploring innovative funding avenues for these crucial modernization projects.
“This master plan will be finalized with expert technical assistance from the National Institute of Technology, Calicut, and is expected to receive strong support from the Public Works Department (PWD), the District Planning Committee, and the Kerala Road Fund Board,” a senior police officer who attended the review meeting revealed. He emphasized that a key objective of this initiative is to confront the stark reality of last year’s figures, which tragically reported 315 fatalities from nearly 5,000 road accidents across Kozhikode district.
According to insights from recently retired police officials, a modernized traffic management plan is long overdue. They highlight the urgent need to address existing deficiencies, including outdated adaptive traffic control systems, conventional signaling, inadequate surface markings, insufficient cautionary lights, a scarcity of AI-powered surveillance cameras, and the pressing need to redesign accident-prone intersections. These officers underscore that securing the necessary funding for these fundamental upgrades demands collaborative efforts from all relevant government departments and planning agencies.
“The city absolutely needs to transition to adaptive traffic control systems that dynamically adjust signal timings based on real-time traffic conditions. This could initially be piloted at critical intersections such as Mavoor Road, Eranhipalam, and Thondayad,” explained a retired sub-inspector from the Kozhikode City Traffic unit. He further stressed that the redesign of problematic junctions must also be given top priority.
During the recent district-level discussions, experts also pinpointed the urgent need for more satellite parking facilities within the city and its surrounding areas. Police sources indicate that this challenge could be effectively alleviated once ongoing modular parking plaza projects and the proposed smart parking facility at Kozhikode Beach are fully operational.