Experts from London, Bogota at Delhi govt road redesign workshop

Organised by the government’s Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) of Delhi, the workshop will feature transport and urban planning experts from London, New York and Bogota.

As it gears up to revamp 540km of roads in the city as per international standards, the Delhi government will on Tuesday organise a workshop to learn from the experiences of top global cities.

Organised by the government’s Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) of Delhi, the workshop will feature transport and urban planning experts from London, New York and Bogota.

Jasmine Shah, DDC vice-chairperson, said, “As we will start work on transforming roads, it will be good to learn from the journeys of these cities. We plan to make our streets accessible to all, provide infrastructure for cycling, among others.”

In 2019, the Delhi government launched its ambitious initiative to redesign 540km of roads across the city. The Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) maintains around 1,280km of roads in the city. The project will be implemented on roads that are 100-feet or more wide, and will aim to provide adequate space for pedestrians, non-motorised transport, provide street furniture, among others.

The government has completed work on the stretch between Chirag Delhi and Sheikh Sarai.

The government has invited Shashi Verma (director of strategy and chief technology officer at Transport for London, or TfL), Alex Williams (director of city planning at TfL), and Dario Hidalgo (transportation consultant from Bogota), among others for the workshop.

DDC Delhi is organising the workshop in partnership with World Resources Institute (WRI) India.

Shah said streets in cities such as New York have been made pedestrian-friendly. Similarly, London introduced the bus priority signal system that reduces delay for buses at intersections.