Pedestrian corridor crumbles

The traffic signal system on the corridor is now being re-calibrated and separate traffic signal for cyclists and pedestrians has been removed. Sidhartha Roy reports.

The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system was meant to provide safe and comfortable passage to pedestrians and cyclists if not expected to be motorist-friendly. While it indeed has made the life of motorists miserable, there is some piece of bad news for pedestrians and cyclists as well.

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The traffic signal system on the corridor, which has malfunctioned from day one, is now being re-calibrated and separate traffic signal for cyclists and pedestrians has been removed. They would now have to cross the busy BRT stretch only when there is a red light for motor vehicles and buses like on any other road.

“It was getting difficult to accommodate eight different signals in the 180 seconds traffic signal cycle, so it would be reduced to six. We are calibrating the traffic signal system, which should be complete by tomorrow,” said SN Sahai, managing director of Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd. (DIMTS).

“Now, there would be no separate traffic cycle for cyclists and pedestrians. Buses, however, would retain a separate signal cycle of 14 seconds,” he said.

The huge volume of traffic on the stretch is proving to be a problem for the DIMTS, which admits that the design of the corridor didn’t take into account so much traffic load.

“The actual calibration could only have begun after the segregation of the lanes,” he said. The traffic signal system was expected to cut down friction between different modes of transport and bring down accidents.

“Crossing the BRT stretch is risky proposition as there are no medians or dividers on the road where you can wait. Now you cannot cross the road halfway and wait, as all the lanes are open,” said Souminder Singh, a Sheikh Sarai resident.

“I cannot go across the road to Jahanpanah forest for my evening walks,” he said.