How Traffic Cops Plan To Strike Delhi Gate Off Black Spot List

New Delhi: In 2019, WRI India, an NGO promoting road safety, started working with Delhi Traffic Police on traffic black spots in the city, where accidents took 1,500 lives every year. The idea of this study was to see how to improve the road design to bring down both the accident numbers as well as the human toll. Among the worst of these black spots was Delhi Gate.

Delhi Gate forms an important connection between Old Delhi and New Delhi, while also connecting the New Delhi Railway Station with the Ring Road. It is surrounded by arterial and sub-arterial roads, including Asaf Ali Road, Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg, Netaji Subash Marg and Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg. Due to the presence of numerous commercial areas, hospitals, educational institutions and sports arenas around Delhi Gate, the traffic volume is extremely high. Pedestrian numbers too are very high.

These are conditions that made Delhi Gate one of the city’s worst 10 traffic black spots in 2017. Between 2017 and 2019, 42 road accidents were reported here, apart from eight fatalities. The WRI India trial on this intersection established that it has a huge conflict area of around 4,700 sq metres, and according to officials, the bigger the conflict area, the higher the risk of road crashes. A bigger area also increases the clearance time for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists to cross the intersection.

A traffic official said that the study had helped them identify the trouble points at Delhi Gate, which they will now look at to ensure that the number of accidents at such sites are reduced and traffic is managed in a better way.

The trial discovered that pedestrian crossings were missing at a few crucial locations or were placed wrongly, putting pedestrians at risk. Such crossings were only available on Asaf Ali Road and Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg. Elsewhere, there was no walking room for the pedestrians.

According to the WRI India report, the proposed plan for redesign of the roads says there should be a consistent four-lane carriageway on all arms to channelise traffic movement. Apart from this, it recommended a bold 5-metre-wide continuous pedestrian crossing for the safety of foot traffic and cyclists. There should also be a tabletop crossing for pedestrians on slip lanes from them to connect with and safely access footpaths. The report also suggested a defined entrance and exit to the slip lanes, with lane segregation through extended islands and road markings to reduce left lane blocking by the straight going traffic.

The advantages of the new design, officials claimed, were that it would make Delhi Gate safer and facilitate efficient traffic movement, while also making the crossing a safer space for pedestrian movement. A traffic officer said that the changes would also discourage non-permitted traffic.


Explore the yearly horoscope 2025 for Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces zodiac signs. Spread love this holiday season with these New Year wishes, messages and quotes.