Traffic trials planned at three junctions to minimise snarls

The district administration has decided to conduct traffic trials at MDI Chowk, Iffco Chowk and Shankar Chowk in the coming weeks to reduce congestion and make the intersections safer for pedestrians. A three-day trial is likely to take place at MDI Chowk from April 15, officials said Friday.

According to additional deputy commissioner Vishram Kumar Meena, a team from the district road safety committee (which comprises officials from the district administration, National Highways Authority of India, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority, Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, Gurugram traffic police, Public Works Department as well as representatives from Raahgiri Foundation and Gurugram Vision Zero) surveyed the three junctions earlier this month and found that they lacked pedestrian amenities and were heavily congested and prone to accidents due to the converging of vehicles. To tackle this, Meena said that the junctions needed comprehensive redesigning along with the introduction of traffic signals.

“Following the success of the design changes and traffic trial at Rajiv Chowk, we identified more such junctions in the city where similar measures could be implemented. We are in the process of procuring portable traffic signals and are planning to start the trial at MDI Chowk next week,” said Meena.

The traffic trial at Rajiv Chowk started on March 22 and will be in place till April 13.

Administration officials privy to the matter said the traffic trials at Iffco Chowk and Shankar Chowk are likely to be conducted next month. The trials will include the placement of portable traffic signals at each of the junctions. Officials said that with the help of jersey barriers and traffic cones, the intersections would be compacted, and waiting areas for pedestrians and vehicles created.

A portable traffic signal works like a conventional traffic signal and operates on solar energy or batteries, instead of electric wires.

According to officials from Gurugram Vision Zero, a road safety programme of the administration aimed at bringing down road fatalities and accidents across the district, who surveyed the three junctions, foot overbridges (FOBs) and the subway at Iffco Chowk have virtually no users, and there are no pedestrian amenities at both MDI Chowk and Shankar Chowk.

“During the survey, we found the FOB at Iffco Chowk only helped commuters cross from one side of mall mile to the other and was located nearly 300 metres from the intersection, due to which barely anyone uses it. In addition, the subway at Iffco Chowk lacks illumination and ventilation which dissuades people from using it,” said Sarika Panda Bhatt, a member of GVZ.

Bhatt said that GVZ is currently preparing new road designs for the three junctions, which is being supervised by a professor of transportation research and injury prevention programme at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. The designs, she said, will be submitted to the road safety committee early next week.

GVZ is also preparing road designs for Hero Honda Chowk, however, currently, there are no traffic trials planned for the junction, said officials.

According to GVZ data, the total number of road fatalities recorded at Iffco Chowk, Shankar Chowk, and MDI Chowk in 2017 and 2021 stood at 33, 16, and three respectively.