By Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter

Faced with daily traffic congestion, usually extending for kilometers along the Corniche for at least three hours starting from 6.30 in the morning, city residents have come forward with proposals, some of which appear to be workable, if effectively implemented.
Reacting to a Gulf Times report on Sunday, which suggested urgent measures, some readers who travel regularly to the Towers Zone in West Bay have asked that traffic flow to the area is controlled to ensure easy movement for all commuters.
Commuters also advocated a mini shuttle from Qatar Sports Club, Khalifa Tennis Complex, the empty lot in front of Rumaillah, and the ground in front of General Post Office, all of which could serve as parking spaces for vehicles.
“Such an initiative may reduce the flow of vehicles to West Bay’s Tower zones, which house a large number of offices,” said a senior official at one of the offices located in the Tower Zone near Sheraton round about. Some residents also advocated the introduction of parking fee in more areas in the Tower Zone so there is more reliance on shuttles if they are introduced.
Initially, shuttle services could be operated every 5-10 minutes during the peak hours, said an expatriate working in a bank, adding that these services could be operated at least until 4pm in either direction.
Most high rises in the Tower zones have several offices and more offices are moving to the towers. As a result, occupants of almost all towers face parking problems.
Since West Bay has only a couple of effective pay parking lots - those at City Center Doha and Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa), the parking crisis is likely to become worse in the coming days.
More government departments are keen to move to new locations in West Bay, where many have their own buildings, despite the growing traffic peril.
Some city residents are also demanding that Mowasalat decentralise its public transport operations to more areas in and around the city instead of concentrating all its activities at Central Bus Station. “If more shuttles are operated to West Bay from different zones in the city, where adequate parking is readily available, it could eventually make more commuters utilise their services at least to and from the office,” said Ashok, a sales executive. He said finding parking is next to impossible during peak hours in most areas in the Tower Zones.
While hailing the efforts of the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) to improve road safety in Qatar, in particular its initiatives concerning pedestrian movement, commuters felt traffic authorities should introduce incentives for those using public transport services to reach such busy institutional areas like the Tower Zones.
  “Such incentives may prompt more people to use shuttle services, if they are introduced effectively,” said a lady airline executive.
Passengers also felt tower operators could jointly introduce shuttles at their own cost to bring their customers to the Tower Zones. “Such innovative measures would go a long way in eventually promoting the use of public transport, as is being repeatedly highlighted by the International Union of Public Transport (UITP),” said J H William, a Dubai-based transport consultant working on a number of projects concerned with the improvement of people’s mobility in the region, including in Qatar