Pedestrian refuge island to come up at Sector 70/75 intersection

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) will develop a pedestrian refuge island at the Sector 70/75 intersection, a key crossing on the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) that connects motorists to Sohna Road and National Highway 48, officials said on Tuesday

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) will develop a pedestrian refuge island at the Sector 70/75 intersection, a key crossing on the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) that connects motorists to Sohna Road and National Highway 48, officials said on Tuesday.

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“Acknowledging the importance of the Sector 70/75 intersection, especially as development in new sector areas increases, we are redesigning the entire junction for catering to future needs. We expect this crossing to have a large volume of pedestrians and cyclists and have, accordingly, made adequate travel arrangements for each of them (modes). Keeping this in mind, a pedestrian refuge island is being constructed here on priority,” said Jitender Mittal, chief engineer, GMDA.

The city’s first pedestrian refuge island was constructed last week at the Sector 44 intersection, near Huda City Centre. A pedestrian refuge island is a wide and elevated median that allows pedestrians and cyclists to safely wait on the structures and continue to navigate intersections according to the signal changes.

GMDA officials said they have shortlisted the intersection as the city’s second spot for a pedestrian refuge island as they are also developing a cycle track and footpath at the crossing, and that the three features together will now be constructed mandatorily at all intersections in Gurugram.

Mittal said that the three features will, together, be classified as a model intersection, where the allocation for all road users has been provided equally.

GMDA officials said they expect the redesign to be completed by April.

Mittal said that the GMDA has selected Ambedkar Chowk as the next location for constructing a pedestrian island, after the Sector 70/75 crossing.

“The pedestrian refuge island, along with other features such as footpaths and cycle tracks, will not only make the Sector 70/75 intersection safer, but also provide a traffic management solution. The GMDA is redesigning the intersection, keeping both these aspects in mind. Without pedestrian or cyclist amenities, there will be continuous snarls at the crossing as people will use the main carriageway to reach the other side by coming in the path of moving vehicles,” said Sarika Panda Bhatt, road safety expert, Nagarro.