NEW DELHI:
One of the busiest intersections in the Capital, at Rajghat, has become relatively safer for all commuters as a result of a joint venture between the Delhi government and SaveLIFE Foundation, according to an assessment report.
As part of the Zero Fatality Corridor (ZFC) project with the Delhi Transport Department, SaveLIFE Foundation, which works on road safety issues, had implemented strategic Tactical Urbanism (TU) Trials at the Rajghat intersection on November 23, 2021.
The TU trials included a temporary on-ground setup of an improved junction design layout aimed at research and impact assessment work.
The four-armed Rajghat intersection includes a crossing of three roads - Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, and Satyagraha Marg. It has roads leading towards Rajghat, ITO, Shantivan Chowk and Daryaganj.
“Through preliminary studies, certain issues were identified at the junction such as discontinuous and staggered pedestrian crosswalks, inadequate pedestrian refuge, absence of signages, free lefts promoting speeding, and other design flaws,” the impact report prepared by SaveLIFE stated.
“The TU trials with proposed design interventions were conducted during November-December 2021. The impact of these trials was assessed by collecting traffic data before and during the trials on various traffic parameters,” the report added.
The assessment looked into the effects of altered road geometrics and designated pedestrian crossing, among others.
The traffic data was captured using eight cameras installed at the site, before and during the trials. The data was analysed using a computer vision platform and the output parameters were compared to assess the impact of the TU trials, according to the report.
In the comparative analysis of pedestrian data, the report stated that the pedestrian exposure distance and exposure time were reduced by 47% and 30% respectively during the trials.
An overall reduction of 32% was observed in pedestrian-vehicle conflicts, which included 38% fewer conflicts with cars and 33% with motorcycles, the report stated.
“The data was further analysed to understand the intervention-wise impact of the TU trials. It was found that reducing the lane width of free left turns led to an overall reduction of 53% in the clearance speed for the ITO to Daryaganj approach,” the report stated.
“Similarly, streamlining travel lanes and expansion of refuge islands reduced the clearance speed by 36% for the Shantivan Chowk to Daryaganj approach. Further, continuous zebra crossings and pedestrian pathways have reduced both pedestrian exposure distance and time,” it also stated.
