One problem faced by almost every large city is traffic congestion. What do you think the causes are? What solutions can you suggest?

A common issue that most big cities face is traffic jams, which is accepted by most people as inevitable in an urban setting.

However

, problems usually have solutions and

hence

this

essay will try to explain a few reasons for

this

malady and suggest appropriate solutions.

Firstly

, it is noted that traffic in metropolises becomes congested at certain times of day,

that is

during office hours, and in the downtown direction.

This

is because most offices are located in the centre and open and close at similar times.

Hence

,

this

is one major reason - clustering of workspaces in a certain geographical area. Another one is to do with similar office hours for all employees, irrespective of where they work. Added to

this

is the problem of a burgeoning working population in urban areas over a period of time

due to

increased job opportunities, which naturally means that every day sees an addition of 1% to the existing workforce in big towns. Any metropolitan city in India is a perfect example of these issues.

Secondly

, solutions have to tackle the problems outlined above in a concerted way, or else, many man-hours will continue to be lost and impact the economy negatively. In order to tackle the clustering issue, town planners need to situate commercial districts in various suburbs and not just in the centre of the city. The office timing concern can be addressed by policies of working from home, especially for workers who have desk jobs.

Additionally

, public transport which can carry many people to their destinations quickly, needs to be strengthened to make it attractive for commuters to give up using personal transport. The third issue can be sorted by creating similar job opportunities in rural settlements as well. The tri-cities of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula are a good example of some of these problems being tackled in ways similar to the suggestions given above.

To conclude

,

while

traffic congestion might seem inevitable in a large, bustling city, it can be tackled with a little ingenuity from employers, the transport system, town planners and government policies.