Pune Traffic Plan: Police Target 30 kmph Average Speed, Identify 30 Junctions for Flyovers

Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 18th August 2026: The Pune City Traffic Police have set a short-term target of increasing the city’s average traffic speed from about 22.5 kmph to between 26 and 30 kmph, while identifying 30 priority junctions for possible flyovers or grade separators.

A traffic-management presentation prepared for the Pune City Traffic Advisory Committee outlines a combination of low-cost road interventions, infrastructure improvements, technology-based enforcement and inter-agency coordination to tackle the city’s worsening congestion.

According to the presentation, Pune’s vehicle population increased from 52 lakh in 2018 to 81 lakh in 2026, with about 1,300 new vehicles being added every day. Only around 8% of the city’s area is covered by roads, compared with an indicated ideal level of 15%. Public transport accounts for an estimated 11% of travel, substantially below the stated target of 50%.

The document says Pune’s existing road capacity is already being exceeded at several locations. Unless corrective measures are implemented, traffic conditions on many roads could deteriorate further by 2044.
Focus on 33 arterial roads

The police have identified 33 arterial roads covering 265 km as the highest priority because they account for approximately 80% of the city’s traffic trip length. Another 79 sub-arterial roads, measuring 215 km, have been placed in the medium-priority category.

The proposed work on arterial roads includes improving road surfaces, widening bottlenecks, removing encroachments and other obstructions, upgrading junctions and footpaths, synchronising traffic signals, improving road markings and signage, and connecting missing road links.

The presentation estimates that better road surfaces could improve capacity by 20% to 25%, while corridor and footpath improvements could produce gains of 15% to 20%. Junction improvements are also expected to increase capacity by 15% to 20%.
Low-cost measures introduced
Under the first phase of its Low-Cost Traffic Management programme, the traffic police implemented:
34 junction closures or right-turn restrictions
Nine new one-way routes
11 median-opening regulations
27 obstruction-removal measures
Synchronisation of 101 traffic signals
Restrictions on heavy vehicles in designated core-city areas
The presentation says these measures are designed to be reversible if traffic data does not demonstrate an improvement.

Work has also been initiated or completed at 18 of 30 identified missing road links and 10 of 47 bottlenecks. Traffic-improvement plans have been prepared for 35 of the 90 most-congested junctions.

Completed missing-link projects cited in the document include stretches near Eklavya College and Shila Vihar in Kothrud, Nanaware Underpass in Baner, Sutarwadi Bus Depot in Pashan, Kirloskar Bridge near Magarpatta and Vision Cricket Academy in Hingane.

Bottleneck-removal work has been carried out at locations including Fatimanagar Junction, Ravidarshan, Swargate PMT Depot, Kharadi Jakat Naka, Wagholi, Magarpatta Junction, ABC Farm Chowk, Mobos Wadia Chowk, University Chowk and the Turf Club Road–Bhairoba Nala stretch.
Corridor speeds rise
The traffic police said improvements along the Ahilyadevi Nagar Road, Ganeshkhind Road and Solapur Road corridors had resulted in a 15% to 25% increase in travel speeds.

The Ahilyadevi Nagar Road corridor includes junctions at Kalyani Nagar, Aga Khan Palace, Ramwadi, Novotel, Phoenix Mall, Wadgaon Sheri, Agnibaaz, Air Force School, Aple Ghar and Kharadi Jakat Naka.

Ten junctions on the Solapur Road corridor have also been improved, including Golibar Maidan, Mhamadevi, Bhairoba Nala, Fatimanagar, Sopan Baug, Kalubai, Ramtekdi, Vaiduwadi, Kirloskar Bridge and Ravidarshan.
Thirty junctions prioritised
Using traffic volume, congestion alerts, road width and other indicators, the police ranked junctions requiring flyovers or grade separators.
The RTO–Shahir Amar–Maldhakka junction was ranked first, followed by Wagholi, Mundhwa Chowk, the Golibar Maidan–St Mary’s–Khanya Maruti Chowk corridor and Tadigutta.

Other priority locations include Kharadi Jakat Naka, Upper Kharadi Junction, Bhairoba Nala–Sopan Baug, Navale Bridge–Wadgaon, Gangadham, Sancheti Chowk, Undri, Khadi Machine, Turf Club, ABC Farm, Dandekar Bridge, Ambedkar Chowk in Yerawada, Amanora Mall and Gadital.

The ranking is intended to help the Pune Municipal Corporation decide where detailed surveys and grade-separation projects should be taken up first.
Enforcement rises sharply
Traffic enforcement has also intensified. The presentation records 10.32 lakh e-challans in 2023, 11.03 lakh in 2024 and 19.11 lakh in 2025. Another 13.12 lakh challans were issued up to August 11, 2026.

Challans issued through targeted special drives rose from 1.52 lakh in 2023 to 3.80 lakh in 2024 and 8.90 lakh in 2025. The figure for 2026 stood at 6.58 lakh as of August 11.

The Pune Traffic Police app had attracted 1.82 lakh users by August 17, 2026, according to the presentation. It was credited with generating 5.25 lakh challans involving penalties totalling ₹43.55 crore. The document also reports that 10,300 incidents were submitted through the platform, with an official resolution rate of 84.87%.

The app’s adoption had already crossed 1.70 lakh installations by mid-June 2026, according to an earlier report, indicating continued growth in citizen participation.
AI-driven traffic management
The police plan to expand the use of artificial intelligence through cameras, camera-mounted enforcement vehicles, automated number-plate recognition and adaptive signal-control systems.

An Intelligent Traffic Management System covering 196 junctions is proposed, with its detailed project report and request for proposal stated to be at the final approval stage. The system is expected to detect red-light jumping, helmet violations, illegal parking, wrong-way driving and triple-seat riding.

The city is also using or evaluating Google Green Light, MapmyIndia, TomTom and the TraffiCure analytics platform for signal optimisation, route planning, congestion monitoring and predictive analysis.

A dedicated T-20 Traffic Analytical Wing, comprising one assistant commissioner of police, four police sub-inspectors, 14 personnel and a traffic planner, has also been proposed to study problem locations and recommend quick, low-cost interventions.

The way forward, according to the traffic police, will require completion of the second phase of low-cost measures, removal of encroachments at 17 locations on 14 arterial roads, better public transport use, staggered work timings and stronger coordination among the police, PMC, PMRDA, public-transport agencies, the railways and Maha Metro.