Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Bicycling

To Tame the World’s Most Dangerous Traffic, New Delhi Turns to Bike Lanes

delhi_street_1.jpg(Photo: DaveBleasdale via Flickr)

Delhi,
home to over 12 million people and the seat of India's national
government, is widely considered to have the most dangerous traffic in
the world.

As The Guardian wrote recently,
traffic safety in Delhi basically consists of "good horns, good brakes,
good luck." Nationally, crashes in India killed more than 130,000
people -- 85 percent of whom were pedestrians and cyclists -- in 2007
alone.

As of last week, however, one piece of Delhi's solution seems clear: bike lanes on all major roads. 

One
month after a local bicycle advocacy group, the Delhi Cycling Club,
sent a list of demands to the Delhi government, Chief Minister Sheila
Dikshit announced
that all major streets will be retrofitted with bike lanes. "In
a city like Delhi, cycling would be the most effective mode of
transport to combat pollution and congestion on the roads," wrote
Dikshit.

From press accounts, it's not exactly clear whether the new network would consist entirely of physically separated lanes,
which currently exist along the city's bus rapid transit corridors.

A network of physically separated lanes would be especially useful in a city where traffic laws go largely unenforced. There are 110 million traffic violations in Delhi every day, according to the Guardian.

Delhi's investment in a cycling future comes not a moment too soon. Last year's introduction of the Tata Nano, a car priced at $2,000, has threatened to flood the city's already full streets with even more automobiles and even worse gridlock.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

July 2024 Metro Board Meeting: Ridership Up, Security Measures, LAX, and More

LAX station will open this November. Metro will expand security measures, from TAP-to-Exit to turnstile hardening. Plus more Metro action!

July 25, 2024

Covina to Begin Construction on Recreation Village

The new facility will be next to the Metrolink station and include a variety of opportunities for fitness and amusement

July 25, 2024

Incomplete Streets Part 2: in OC Caltrans Ignores Caltrans Policy on Bike and Pedestrian Needs

Caltrans has a policy requiring Complete Streets in its projects, but Caltrans Districts routinely ignore it

July 24, 2024
See all posts