Pedestrian safety: Committee to analyse five points with most fatalities

Officials said that the committee will focus on Shankar Chowk, Iffco Chowk, Signature Towers, Rajiv Chowk and Hero Honda Chowk, where 80-85% of the on-road fatalities are pedestrians, due to an array of reasons ranging from lack of pedestrian amenities to long detours to access pedestrian bridges

Following discussions about pedestrian safety at a road safety meeting earlier this month, the district administration constituted a four-member committee to survey five key crossings on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and suggest measures to resolve pedestrian issues.

Following discussions about pedestrian safety at a road safety meeting earlier this month, the district administration constituted a four-member committee to survey five key crossings with most fatalities on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. (HT Archive)

Officials said that the committee will focus on Shankar Chowk, Iffco Chowk, Signature Towers, Rajiv Chowk and Hero Honda Chowk, where 80-85% of the on-road fatalities are pedestrians, due to an array of reasons ranging from lack of pedestrian amenities to long detours to access pedestrian bridges.

“Our first priority is to safeguard citizens. It was observed that at all these five points, footfall is among the highest in the city. However, they also have a high number of road accidents and fatalities involving pedestrians. Hence, a committee has been formed to first identify the issues pertaining to each of the points, and accordingly, come up with solutions for implementation,” Dr Yash Garg, the deputy commissioner of Gurugram, said.

In addition, the committee also has the responsibility to align each of the crossings in such a manner that all road users, including motorists, those using non-motorised transport, cyclists and pedestrians, have equitable distribution of the right of way (ROW) at these five points.

The committee comprises officials from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Gurugram traffic police, Raahgiri Foundation and Regional Transport Authority (RTA).

The five points, all located on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, are among the 21 black spots in the city where the highest number of road fatalities have been reported. Any 500-metre stretch of road where more than five road fatalities are recorded in a three-year period is termed a black spot.

The issue of pedestrian safety at the five points was raised in a district road safety meeting held earlier this month, following which the committee has been formed.

“The committee has carried out a preliminary on-ground survey at the five points. From the initial survey, we all have discovered that the subways at each of the five points have virtually no takers. In addition, the foot overbridges (FOBs) are located at far-off distances and not properly placed,” Sarika Panda Bhatt, the co-founder of Raahgiri Foundation and one of the committee members, said.

With regard to the FOBs, Bhatt said that instead of providing a path to cross from one end of the highway to the other, it is primarily helping pedestrians reach an adjoining arterial road. In addition, due to poor placement, it takes pedestrians nearly three times the distance and time to cross the road using the FOB, due to which these structures have few or no takers.

Bhatt said that almost 80-85% of road fatalities at these five points are pedestrians.

“The pedestrian amenities at each of the five points are not making any difference. Instead, the committee is likely to recommend the installation of traffic signals below the overhead flyover at each of the junctions as a solution. The committee will be carrying out more on-ground surveys before submitting a final report to the administration for perusal,” Bhatt said.