While authorities have been strict with Mumbai about space for cyclists and pedestrians, it has looked the other way as Delhi embarks on a flyover construction spree. A DNA Special
DELHI: Do different rules apply to Delhi and Mumbai?
Apparently so, if one goes by the yardsticks applied by the Union Urban Development Ministry in dispersing funds to the two cities for renewal projects. On Thursday the ministry had put a caveat that if Mumbai wants to upgrade roads, even if under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), it would have to make space for cyclists and pedestrians.
But in Delhi the ministry sees no cause for concern in the city government's plans to build 25 new flyovers and road over bridges, without any dedicated space for pedestrians and cyclists, at an estimated cost of Rs1650 crores in next four years.
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who is taking a personal interest in these projects, is pushing them as part of her plan to modernise the city for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Experts point out that almost all flyovers in Delhi completely disregard pedestrians and cyclists.
Geetam Tiwari, a traffic expert working with Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme (TRIPP), says, "Flyovers are ignoring the kind of traffic we have. Every road in the city has cyclists and pedestrians. Clubbing them as Passenger Car Units (PCUs) is not the answer. At the AIIMS flyover, where there was so much money spent, why was their no provision made for cyclists and pedestrians?"
Debabrata Sanyal, who has planned a majority of flyovers in the city, agrees with Tiwari. "Logically you cannot integrate pedestrians and cyclists with main stream traffic. They need a dedicated corridor. The Indian Road Congress in the past twenty years has not been able to find a solution for pedestrians and cyclists," he admits.
But Sanyal says that even when project plans create space for cyclists and pedestrians, they are discarded at the level of implementation. "When we are planning flyovers we do leave segregations for this sort of vehicular traffic. Yet when the projects are implemented they are not a part of the plan. Ultimately we can only suggest the rest is in the hands of the government," he says.
Sanyal takes the example of the Nizamuddin Bridge in South Delhi. "A separate lane has been constructed for cyclists, but ultimately at the red light they have to merge with the main traffic. And chaos reigns," he says.
Engineer-in-Chief, R Subramaniam, who was in charge of constructing several flyovers that dot the capital, says, "In the 1990's there was a lot of congestion on the Ring Road. So we decided to make it signal free. Flyovers were created to allow fast movement of vehicular traffic. In the entire process we left behind a portion of population behind (cyclists and pedestrians). We are now looking at finding solutions for them."
On solutions, though, the cupboard seems to be bare. A viable solution - a boon for cyclists and pedestrians - are dedicated corridors, which will have ramps and elevators feeding into underground subways. Though such a plan was submitted to the government way back in 1985, it is gathering dust.
But Subramaniam has a completely different logic. "The prosperity of a nation is by counting the number of cars on the roads. Therefore there should not be cyclists travelling long distances and traffic should be made homogenous," he says. A solution that the Ministry of Urban Development seems to have taken to heart, leaving cyclists and pedestrians to fend for themselves.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}