Mumbai: Three high-risk traffic junctions in the western suburbs have been taken up for improvement by the traffic control branch, the BMC, and the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety.
Some of the major changes at these “black spots” include increasing the size of the zebra crossing, a smaller radius for vehicular turns, and changes in the direction of these turns.
The three critical intersections are the Western Express highway (WEH)-Goregaon Mulund Link Road (Oberoi Mall Junction), WEH-Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road (HBT Trauma Care Centre junction), and WEH-NS Phadke Marg (Bisleri junction).
These black spots, identified among the top 20 dangerous intersections between 2019 and 2021, have witnessed significant crashes and fatalities.
The initiative, supported by WRI India and the Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI), introduced design interventions to improve safety for road users. “Key measures included reducing turning radius to slow down vehicles, introducing pedestrian crossings, refuge areas, and optimising underutilised spaces. Short-term modifications, such as barricades, painted markings, ropes, and cones were used to test the impact of these changes,” said a press release.
The Oberoi Mall junction area was reduced from 2,450 sqm to 1,320 sqm, freeing 820 sqm of pedestrian space. Road markings established clear pedestrian crossings and stop lines, facilitating safer movement for the 2,700 pedestrians who cross the junction hourly. Akanksha Aggarwal, programme manager at WRI India, said a well-designed intersection can balance efficient traffic movement with pedestrian safety, making it a scalable solution for city-wide improvements.
At the HBT Trauma Care Centre and Bisleri junctions, the absence of signal phases and pedestrian refuge spaces left users vulnerable to speeding vehicles. During the trial, 1,745 sqm of space was reclaimed, and crossing distances were shortened from 15 m to 9 m. Temporary refuge islands provided safe spaces for pedestrians, including elderly and disabled individuals.
Jashwanth Tej Kasala, programme manager at GDCI, highlighted the importance of improving intersection geometry to calm traffic and make streets more inclusive, noting that during peak hours, over 6,648 pedestrians cross Bisleri junction, and 7,670 navigate the HBT Trauma Care Centre area.
DCP (west) Mitesh Ghatte said these locations were prioritised due to their high crash rates. “Once this is successful we will identify more such black spots all over the city and make improvements accordingly.” added Ghatte .
The ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) defines a “black spot” as a 500-metre stretch on highways or urban roads that records either five serious crashes or 10 fatalities over three consecutive years.
