Maharashtra To Develop ‘Traffic Gardens’ Across Districts At Rs 1 Crore Each

Mumbai: In a bid to spread awareness about traffic rules and road safety among students, the Maharashtra Transport Department on Friday announced the establishment of 60 “Traffic Gardens” across the state. The initiative aims to promote road safety awareness and inculcate traffic discipline among children from an early age.

The proposed traffic parks, to be named after Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s mentor ‘Dharmaveer’ Anand Dighe, will come up in all districts of Maharashtra with an estimated cost of Rs one crore per project. Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said the initiative has been conceived against the backdrop of rising road accidents and growing concerns over traffic violations. “Each traffic garden will be developed over approximately one acre of land, with an estimated expenditure of Rs 1 crore for each project,” he said.

Mr. Sarnaik said at least one Traffic Garden would be established in every district, focusing on educating children about traffic rules through practical learning. “These gardens will feature miniature roads, zebra crossings, traffic signals, directional signboards and replicas of vehicles to help students learn traffic discipline,” he said.

The minister added that the Traffic Gardens would not be restricted to students and would remain open to the general public as well. “This is expected to significantly help create widespread awareness about traffic rules and road safety. The initiative will prove extremely beneficial in shaping responsible drivers in the future,” he said.

The Traffic Gardens will also include facilities such as trial tracks for driving licence training. According to the Transport Department, school students will be allowed entry in scheduled time slots to manage crowds. Local self-government bodies concerned will levy a nominal fee for access to the gardens.

Mr. Sarnaik further said that rare species of trees from across the country would be planted in the gardens, along with information on their environmental significance. “Along with traffic rules, citizens will also receive lessons on environmental awareness at these parks,” he said.

The gardens will also showcase replicas of future electric vehicles along with related information. With these features, the parks are expected to be developed as centres of knowledge and recreation for people of all age groups.

A senior Mantralaya official said the traffic parks would be developed within existing gardens. The facilities will include signalling systems, vehicle tracking systems (VTS), information on the licensing process, and models demonstrating vehicle fitness testing.

“The traffic park will be accessible to schoolchildren and citizens of the concerned district. The head of the Regional Transport Office (RTO) will be responsible for operating the traffic park,” the official said.

The proposal is yet to receive approval from the Urban Development, Planning and Finance departments.