KATHMANDU:- The Urban Management Department under Kathmandu Metropolitan City, through its Transport and Road Safety Golden Plan, has begun installing internationally standard traffic cones and retractable bars on city roads to strengthen traffic management.
These materials have been produced in Nepal. Although the procurement was planned for the fiscal year 2023/24, procedural hurdles delayed the purchase to 2024/25. Authorities expect the equipment to play a crucial role in streamlining traffic flow in Kathmandu.
According to Anukul Nidhi, Assistant Expert (Traffic and Transport Engineering) at the Urban Planning Commission, the new cones are larger than those previously used, making them more effective in disciplining drivers. The cones are hole-free at the base, weighing between 3 and 5 kilograms, which discourages motorcyclists from moving them.
“These cones are clearly visible at night. Each set includes two cones and a two-meter telescopic retractable bar that links them. A total of 1,250 sets, comprising 2,500 cones and 1,250 bars, have been purchased,” Nidhi explained.
“The materials will address Kathmandu’s lack of proper road channelisation and the South Asian driving tendency of squeezing vehicles into every empty space,” he said.
As per traffic engineering principles, proper channelisation without road widening forms the basis of traffic management. In the first phase, cones were placed on Wednesday along three routes: Singha Durbar to Bhadra Kali, Singha Durbar-Maitighar, and Padmodaya junction.
Particularly on the Bhadra Kali-Singha Durbar section, a long row of cones has helped reduce pressure from oncoming vehicles, ensuring a free left-turn lane for traffic moving from Maitighar to Bhadra Kali. This is expected to ease congestion and minimise accidents.
The installation was carried out in collaboration with Kathmandu Metropolitan City, the Valley Traffic Police Office, and the technical team of the Transport and Road Safety Plan.
“Traffic management is a shared problem that requires shared solutions, and cooperation is its foundation,” Nidhi said, adding that the cones can be cleaned and reused in batches for long-term effectiveness.