South Asia
On Delhi’s New Roads
Dear Ms. Shiela Dikshit,
Honorable Chief Minister of Delhi, I am writing to thank you for the amazing improvement in Delhi’s roads over the past few years. I left Delhi 5 years ago, but have returned each year. Congratulations are in order for the immense improvements, only some of which I can highlight here.
First, I must congratulate you on not wasting scarce resources on irrelevant things such as lane markers and directional signs. People here never drive in lanes, so it is much easier to do away with lane markers than discipline people.
Anyway, your engineers obviously know that lanes are overrated, because very often there are three lanes coming into an intersection, but only one going out - or vice versa. And dedicated lanes for turns - now what genius thought that would serve any benefit? Sure, it ensures smooth traffic flow, but that would make driving so boring.
Your engineers have actually done one better, for they know very well that less is more. The excellent massive new flyovers - some 30 of which were created over the past few years - are usually only 2.5 lanes in each direction. Even if your engineers failed the courses on road design and civil engineering, I am sure they excelled at packing and chaos theory.
Most of all, however, I must congratulate you for not accepting outdated norms on pedestrian friendliness and cycle access, that most major cities are blindly accepting. We can do better - no reason to crowd our roads with sidewalks, trees, or crosswalks. Anyway, nothing gives me more pleasure than watching a woman trying to cross her road, clutching her child in the middle of fast moving traffic, as I whiz by in my air-conditioned car. These damn pedestrians are a menace, and rightly deserve to be relegated to the fringes of dug up roads.
Some may say that Delhi’s broad roads don’t necessarily mean they are better. I say that better is a subjective word. Delhi’s roads are developing a character of their own, and this is natural selection at its best. While your engineers deserve some credit, you as their leader deserve most of the accolades. Once again, my heartiest congraulations.
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[...] It is exactly this kind of asinine reasoning that sees India take two steps back for every one forward. During my last visit, my friends pointed out Delhi’s improved roads to me. Yet, what they failed to note is that the roads improved for some, but became much worse for many (see previous post: On Delhi’s New Roads). This new decision is similarly symptomatic of what Delhi is becoming - an urban center that makes the divide between the have’s and havenot’s - those inside and outside a car - that much clearer. Bookmark:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
[...] Yet, Delhi is still very far from being anything world-class and promises to the contrary remind of the equally hollow slogan of ‘India Shining’ in the last general elections. Then, India’s economic growth had failed to include those outside the middle class. Similarly, today I find myself both disappointed and frustrated by Delhi’s progress and am scathing in my criticism. I am struck not by how much things have changed, but how much they have not. [...]
[...] Yet, Delhi is still very far from being anything world-class and promises to the contrary remind of the equally hollow slogan of ‘India Shining’ in the last general elections. Then, India’s economic growth had failed to include those outside the middle class. Similarly, today I find myself both disappointed and frustrated by Delhi’s progress and am scathing in my criticism. I am struck not by how much things have changed, but how much they have not. [...]