The Public Works Department (PWD) has approved construction of a first of its kind cyclist-friendly foot overbridge (FOB) at Mathura Road.
To be constructed at Aali Village crossing at an estimated cost of ₹3 crore, the FOB intends to ensure safe passage between Alipur and Aali villages, and the stretch connecting Sarita Vihar and Badarpur metro stations, which an estimated 18,000 pedestrians and cyclists currently use on a daily basis.
Volume of traffic
“As per a feasibility study conducted on the stretch, the volume of vehicular and pedestrian traffic is high. Therefore, the FOB sub-committee recommended construction of an FOB between metro pillar numbers 320 and 320-A near Aali Mod on Mathura Road,” said a senior government official.
“It will the first FOB of its kind to come up on a congested stretch, with not just the safety of pedestrians but also cyclists in mind. The access ramps on both sides will be lower than on other FOBs so that cyclists — a sizeable chunk of whom reside in the adjacent villages — are able to utilise it,” the official said.
Part of larger plan
The official added that the FOB was part of a larger plan aimed at improvement of the 6-km corridor which, according to the feasibility study, caters to an estimated 1.04 lakh commuters, including 86,835 units of vehicular traffic, and 17,783 pedestrians and cyclists daily.
Current rules mandate a minimum width of FOB walkways for pedestrians to be between 2.50 metre and 3 m, and 3.50 m for FOBs intended for both pedestrians and cyclists. While a height of 5.5 m as per standard must be kept free above roadways, cycle elevators are to be provided at every alternate FOB and should be 1.4 m by 2 m.
Even as majority of these remain underutilised, as per the government’s own admission, the PWD has suggested the construction of FOBs at 24 more locations as significant measure in its bid to de-congest and gradually pedestrianise the Capital.
An essential tweak in the policy governing their construction, according to the Department, has now been arrived at to ensure that upcoming FOBs here don’t meet the fate of 75 others that currently exist in Delhi — which essentially entail pedestrians avoiding them because of availability of crossing points on road surface despite speeding oncoming vehicular traffic due to lack of habit or lethargy.
Impact assessment
New FOBs, it has been decided, will only come up on the basis of verified social impact assessments instead of whims, and their construction cost will be linked to the outcome budget, which will reflect their existence as loss to the State exchequer if they are found to be in disuse.
