All 1,260 roads in Delhi to be re-designed: PWD minister.

Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) minister Satyendra Jain recently said all 1,260 roads in Delhi will be redesigned while taking into account the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

'Five people die on Delhi’s roads everyday… Around 70 per cent of these are pedestrians and cyclists. When we think about road safety, cars and buses come first… Pedestrians can be found very low on the list though they have the first right to roads. We also have to think about cyclists. These factors have been lacking in road-planning….,' Jain said at a conference on Delhi’s transport vision at the Delhi Secretariat. He said five-lane roads are dangerous as people drive at high speed without following traffic rules.

He said roads of more than three lanes should not be constructed. 'If such roads are built, they should have divisions,' he said. Jain also said the Transport system in Delhi has to be such that people feel encouraged to use it.

Although the Delhi government recently decided to scrap the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, Jain said it was the only solution for Delhi’s traffic woes. He said the BRT in South Delhi was scrapped because of its poor implementation.

Jain also called the government the 'biggest traffic generator'. 'It is good to admit our flaws. We cannot say we don’t make mistakes. To approve a single plan, we call officials from different parts of the city to one place. Hence, if the government moves towards e-governance and m-governance, officials will not be forced to travel to offices,' he said.


THE INDIAN EXPRESS