Jaipur: The signal-free redesign at Laxmi Mandir Tiraha has left pedestrians struggling to cross busy traffic lanes, with experts questioning whether adequate safety planning was carried out before traffic signals were removed. On Saturday, pedestrians were seen weaving through uninterrupted traffic at the crossing. The danger was greatest on the B2B-bound flank, where people had to negotiate vehicles emerging from the underpass as well as traffic moving on the surface from Gandhi Nagar Tiraha.“We are compelled to cross the road risking our lives every day. It takes at least 15 minutes extra if we use the pedestrian bridge near Tonk Puliya. Many times, the elevators there do not work,” said 61-year-old Amit Jhakkar, who works at a nearby showroom. Sewa Ram, transport planning professor at SPA Delhi and a member of an Indian Roads Congress committee, said the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) should have assessed pedestrian movement before removing the signals. “Signal-free does not mean continuous green for vehicles. If pedestrian volume is low, a controlled facility can stop traffic for a few seconds. If volume is high, a grade-separated facility such as an overbridge, subway or raised crossing is needed,” he said. Sewa Ram is also advising JDA on making the entire JLN Marg signal-free. The intervention is part of the state’s plan, initiated during the Ashok Gehlot government, to make the Tonk Road corridor signal-free. JDA first redesigned Laxmi Mandir Tiraha and the B2B crossing, followed by Rambagh Circle. A senior JDA engineer admitted a pedestrian overbridge could have been built at the crossing but said the available space was instead used for statues. “There is an overbridge 400 metres away, but pedestrians do not use it, and traffic police do not enforce it,” he said.
