Experts have suggested that tourist towns like Darjeeling and Gangtok, which face massive traffic snarls, must adopt a non-motorised transport system as a long-term solution.

For the past many years, the administration of both towns has been looking at managing traffic in the “traditional” manner.

Two well-known architects from the region with vast experience in working on hilly terrains, Kailash Pradhan of Gangtok and Subin Pradhan of Kalimpong, however, had a new take.

“Non-motorised transport is the way out for mountain towns like Gangtok and Darjeeling as our region has reached a saturation point in vehicle density,” said Kailash.

The focus, experts believe, is to have a combination of ropeways, escalators and elevated walkways for the hills.

“Unlike in the plains, in the hills we can neither build flyovers in the hills nor broaden the roads because of the terrain,” said Subin.

The architects suggested that ropeways with at least four stations be planned from Lebong to the Chowrasta–Batasia-Tiger Hill stretch in Darjeeling.

“Gondolas must be used as public transport. Elevated walkways are other options one needs to explore,” said Subin, who added that car parking lots must be set up on the periphery of Darjeeling town.

Subin suggested that the DHR rail line and the road should be at the same level in select narrow stretches.

The experts said that there was no ready-made template for mountain towns like Darjeeling and Gangtok.

“Not many cities in the world have come up in terrains similar to that of Darjeeling and Gangtok. This is why our planning must be out of the box,” said Kailash.

Traffic in the hills virtually comes to a standstill during the tourist season. In 2019, Darjeeling Police and Anit Thapa, in charge of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, had organised an open-air meeting with stakeholders and the public to seek solutions to ease traffic woes.

Suggestions like removing all roadside parkings, rules to make it mandatory for hotels to create clustered parking spaces and designated pick and drop points, changes in traffic timing and setting up alternative roads were discussed.

“Only two decisions have been implemented so far, dismantling shuttered shops at the parking space near Darjeeling Government College and the Darjeeling zoo’s decision to build its own parking space,” said a tourism stakeholder present at the 2019 meeting.