Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Tuesday inaugurated the Tactical Urbanism trials at Rajghat to improve road safety in Delhi.
The Delhi Government has collaborated with SaveLIFE Foundation to work on road safety in order to save lives on Delhi’s roads. These trials, which also involve Delhi Traffic Police, Public Works Department (PWD) and SWAYAM charitable trust as important stakeholders, will be conducted for a period of 2 months. Tactical Urbanism (TU) trials are temporary, quick and relatively low-cost interventions, which test out urban design, transportation planning and infrastructural changes for improving road safety for all road users, especially the most vulnerable, like pedestrians, cyclists and other non-motorised transport users.
As part of the Zero Fatality Corridor (ZFC) Project with the Transport Department of Government of NCT of Delhi, SaveLIFE Foundation will be testing temporary urban design interventions to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users, starting this week.
The trials will see road space being redistributed to ensure modal equity, road geometes being modified, traffic being channelized, vehicular speeds being reduced, and pedestrian and cyclist safety infrastructure being added.
While inaugurating the trials, Minister of Transport, Kailash Gahlot said, “Delhi roads belong to all, as much to pedestrians and cyclists as to a motorist and Delhi Government is committed to making Delhi Roads safer for all road users. It was also keeping this in mind that we had launched the Delhi Road Safety Policy in 2018. Through these Tactical Urbanism trials, earlier at Bhalswa Chowk and now at Rajghat, we aim to develop a comprehensive network of safe roads and junctions across the city. Small interventions like these, which you and I can take up can effectively drive the behaviour change needed from commuters, and the general public, to enable safe road practices in cities.”
Ashish Kundra, Commissioner of Transport, Delhi said, “ The objective of these trials is to insert safety elements for all road users. Since 2016, Rajghat Intersection and Rajghat Bus Depot collectively witnessed 47 crashes,13 fatalities and 51 injuries. These trials are aimed at making the intersection safe for all in an inclusive, cheap and quick manner. ”
