Gurugram’s Rajiv Chowk unsafe, congested, says audit; fixes recommended

A GMDA-commissioned audit found Rajiv Chowk plagued by poor design, bottlenecks, encroachments and unsafe crossings, urging redesign and tighter enforcement.

A detailed traffic audit of Rajiv Chowk, one of Gurugram’s busiest multi-leg junctions, has flagged major safety and congestion risks stemming from poor geometry, misplaced islands, erratic signage and routine violations, warning that these conditions create a high-risk environment that both snarls traffic and endangers pedestrians and motorists.

Poor underpasses, broken footpaths and bus stoppages make Rajiv Chowk unsafe for 41,000 daily pedestrians, an audit found, recommending speed cuts and redesign. (HT Archive)

Based on site surveys and conflict-point mapping, the study recorded seven crossing conflicts, 12 merging conflicts and 13 diverging conflicts—indicators of the intersection’s complexity and the likelihood of collisions—and highlighted that a new entry near Exit 10 channels heavy straight traffic into the chowk during peak hours, with the evening peak there recorded at 1,043 vehicles per hour, officials said.

The audit, commissioned by the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), found multiple structural and operational problems choking the junction. Among them were sudden reductions in carriageway width, such as a stretch narrowing from 13.8 metres to 7.6 metres, which create dangerous bottlenecks; an underutilised slip road toward Jaipur-Sohna that fails to absorb turning traffic; and a bus stop located 420 metres from the junction that forces buses to halt illegally at channelising islands, compounding congestion.

Inspectors further observed violations including wrong-side driving, illegal parking, vendor encroachments and buses stopping at islands to pick up and drop off passengers. Pedestrian safety was identified as a major red flag: the underpasses, meant to serve as safe crossings, were waterlogged, poorly lit and littered, while the foot overbridge was damaged and footpaths were either broken or encroached, pushing thousands of pedestrians into carriageways.

According to the GMDA-led survey that informed the audit, peak-hour volumes reached about 16,000 vehicles and 4,300 pedestrians, with over 41,000 pedestrians estimated to use or cross the chowk daily.

To restore safety and flow, the audit proposed a package of engineering and operational measures. These included relocating bus stops closer to the junction with proper multi-bay shelters, with one stop proposed to be shifted 170 metres nearer; trimming and reprioritising islands to improve turning radii; adding a traffic lane by reclaiming under-utilised footpath space where feasible; realigning barriers at Exit 10; redesigning U-turns; and synchronising signals. It further recommended reducing approach speed limits from 50 km/h to 30 km/h, alongside urgent upgrades to subway lighting, CCTV and basic amenities.

Gurugram’s Rajiv Chowk unsafe, congested, says audit; fixes recommended

DCP (Traffic) Rajesh Kumar Mohan said the audit mirrored everyday realities and signalled immediate action. “Rajiv Chowk is a congested, conflict-prone node; these recommendations are practical and must be implemented in phases,” he said. Mohan added that he had raised at a recent road-safety meeting the need to reduce the width of a pedestrian way in one section and add an additional traffic lane towards Sohna Road so peak flows could be channelled more smoothly. “We will prioritise bus bay relocation, signal optimisation and enforcement against illegal stoppages and encroachments. Traffic police will coordinate with GMDA and civic agencies to ensure engineering changes are matched with strict on-ground enforcement,” he said.

Traffic engineers, however, cautioned that piecemeal fixes would not suffice. They stressed that only a coordinated push, combining junction redesign, robust enforcement, upgraded pedestrian infrastructure and public-transport prioritisation, led jointly by traffic police, GMDA and civic authorities, could prevent further gridlock and reduce accident risks at this critical intersection.