Optical illusion: 3D zebra crossing tricks drivers, slows them down in Delhi
New Delhi Municipal Council’s (NDMC) newly installed and Delhi’s first 3D zebra crossing painted at central Delhi’s Rajaji Marg has started yielding results. Delhi Traffic Police officials said ever since the crossing was installed on July 9, the average speed on the stretch has come down to 30 km per hour.
New Delhi Municipal Council’s (NDMC) newly installed and Delhi’s first 3D zebra crossing painted at central Delhi’s Rajaji Marg has started yielding results. Delhi Traffic Police officials said ever since the crossing was installed on July 9, the average speed on the stretch has come down to 30 km per hour.
“The new 3D zebra crossing has become a sight of amusement for commuters. Cars inevitably slow down and there is also excitement among pedestrians to use it,” said a senior traffic official.
With an aim to make the city roads safer, the crossing was painted (in yellow and black) on a trial basis. If the results are found to be favourable, more such 3D pedestrian crossings will come up in the New Delhi area, said officials.
“We did not know how people would respond to such 3D pedestrian ways, but the response is overwhelming. Our aim is to make the NDMC area a people-friendly space and such measures will ensure safety for pedestrians as well as drivers,” said Naresh Kumar, NDMC chairperson.
The average speed on the stretch is 50km/hr, but the wide and well-maintained roads in the area often make drivers speed through. In the last week, the traffic officials monitored the stretch and the average speed was recorded as 30km/hr.
“If you are driving, from a distance the crossing looks like the road has been dug up or is elevated, this automatically makes the driver slow down. During the day you will see pedestrians hopping through the painted blocks,” the official said.
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Yogesh Saini, founder of Delhi Street Art, who collaborated with NDMC to paint the crossing said that it took them three days to paint the crossing.
He added, “We are waiting for a response from NDMC to paint more such crossings. The entire crossing was painted in the morning during rush hour.”
A senior NDMC official said that apart from this, five other locations have been indentified around the C-Hexagon where the crossing will come up in the coming months.
“Instead of repainting the zebra crossings in black and white, we will replicate the 3D design,” the official.
Last year, NDMC had also installed speed resisters (red patches on the road, that slows a car’s speed) at Sunehri Bagh Road at the Udyog Bhawan roundabout, Minto Road in Connaught Place and parts of Akbar Road to control speeding vehicles.
