Gurugram to conduct survey on ‘unsafe’ stretches for cyclists to fix issues soon

For the first time in the city, the Gurugram traffic police, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), and the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) will conduct a survey in April to identify stretches that are the most unsafe for cyclists and accordingly come up with solutions.

Officials said they will first identify spots from where maximum number of accidents and fatalities are reported. Subsequently, they will visit these spots and carry out a road safety survey to identify the causes leading to accidents and come up with solutions for preventing it.

“During a meeting on traffic management with MCG and GMDA officials last week, the traffic police highlighted the importance of cycle tracks in the city... It was jointly decided that a survey of stretches, where cyclists are most likely to meet with accidents, needs to be carried out in the next two to three weeks so that the requisite changes can be made to reduce accidents and fatalities,” said Ravinder Singh Tomar, deputy commissioner of police (traffic).

According to data available with Gurugram police,13 cyclists died in road accidents last year.

Officials from Gurugram police said they anticipate stretches, such as NH-48, Sohna Road, Gurgaon-Faridabad Road, Golf Course Road, Southern Peripheral Road, Old Delhi-Gurgaon Road, and Pataudi Road, have the highest number of cyclist-related accidents and fatalities as they are most frequented by cyclists.

“There are two main types of cycle riders in the city, those who ride to work every day and the other who do it for leisure. The survey will ensure issues faced by both these types of cycle riders are addressed,” said Tomar.

According to Sarika Panda Bhatt, the co-founder of Raahgiri Foundation--an organisation supporting sustainable mobility, around 12-15% of Gurugram’s daily traffic volume consists of cyclists.

“Barring the cycle tracks built by the GMDA and a few stretches cutting across townships, the rest of the city does not have any kind of amenity for cyclists. The city needs a complete overhaul to ensure equitable share of mobility is given to all stakeholders, including cyclists,” said Bhatt.

In October 2020, the city’s first cycle track came up on Netaji Subhash Marg. Since then, the GMDA has built cycle tracks on stretches such as the Bijwasan-Rezang La Chowk, Maharana Pratap Chowk-Atul Kataria Chowk, and Hamilton Court Road. As per GMDA’s long-term plan, the city will have 800km of cycle tracks by 2035.

“Work on the cycle survey is under process. Once the survey is complete, tenders will be floated for carrying out engineering changes that will make the stretches safer for cyclists. Measures, such as introducing or fixing traffic signals, aligning the road width of carriageways and service lanes, building new cycle tracks, will be part of this process,” said Mani Ram Sharma, chief general manager, mobility division, GMDA.

Quote of TL Sharma, chief engineer, MCG to be added.