Sunday, December 7, 2014

Little help to navigate around in Gurgaon: Report

Times of India, 23rd November 2013

CHANDIGARH: It is difficult to find your way around in Gurgaon with signboards either missing or giving confusing information, besides being installed at wrong places in violation of norms. This has been pointed out in a preliminary report of 'Gurgaon Outdoor Advertisement and Signage Study' conducted on directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court, which was submitted in the court on Friday.

"In general, Gurgaon has more advertisement panels than normal road information signages. For an unknown user, it is almost difficult to travel in Gurgaon due to non-availability of any driving aid in the form of signage," it reads.

"Placement of advertisement hoardings clearly violates the normal policy terms and can be serious road safety threat to road users. Most of the footpaths and sideways are encroached by wrongly placed signage and unauthorised hoardings, which is restricting free and safe movement of pedestrians," adds the report.


The survey was conducted by traffic researcher Navdeep Asija and Anvita Arora on the directions of the court. It has been pointed out that there is no local support from Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) or municipal corporation, Gurgaon (MCG). For instance, advertisement on red lights pose safety hazard and there are wide intersections with no information signs but advertisement boards. At many places, signboards have been placed in the middle of footpaths, obstructing passage.

Because of non-cooperation of local bodies, the exact count of missing signages could not be arrived at as the survey could not be matched with locations that have been identified for putting up of boards on paper, reads the report.

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