NEW DELHI: In a bid to ease traffic problems in the ring road area of Delhi, three routes in the surrounding areas have been made one way during the peak hours of 5 to 8 PM. The three routes that have been selected for the policy change are Purana Qila Road from C-Hexagon (India Gate roundabout) to Mathura Road, Abai Marg from San Martin Marg to Sardar Patel Marg, and Kushak Road from Teen Murti to Rajaji Marg. Delhi Traffic Police has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with World Resources Institute (WRI), India to implement the rerouting plan. Amit Bhatt, Executive Director, Integrated transport, WRI India told Urban Update, “Delhi Police, through its outsourcing of data, had identified 17 stretches which could be viable for one-way movement. We looked at the stretches from a technical perspective for one-way mobility and how will the implementation of this project impact the safety of pedestrians in these stretches. We deduced that only these three stretches would benefit from one-way traffic movement as of now.” Considering that these stretches connect with the ring road and take some traffic load from that stretch, we asked him if the implementation of one-way traffic movement would burden the ring road even further. But, the director was positive that rerouting on these roads won’t cause a longer detour for the passengers and hence they have shortlisted these three of the proposed 17 for the implementation of the plan. The initiative is in its pilot phase as of now.
When asked about the phase of the project, the director assured us that this is in the pilot phase. “Based on the success of this, the project would be extended in the near future,” he added.
However, traffic planners have been critical of this new initiative. “The rerouting of traffic to one road, which is the ring road in this case, makes no sense. It is against the principle of traffic planning. This will also effect the public transit. Also, some of these stretches that would now be one way are often closed due to VIP movement, hence contributing more to the traffic woes,” Dr Sewa Ram, Professor at School of Planning and Architecture told Urban Update.