These Two Pain Points Have Defeated Signal-Free Corridor On Mathura Road

New Delhi: The plan to make Mathura Road a signal-free corridor for traffic flow has come unstuck because of two bottlenecks, one from the Oberoi flyover to Sabz Burj near Sunder Nursery and the other from Bhairon Marg to Delhi Zoo. During weekends, these stretches are thronged by large crowds visiting the two popular spots.
While weekday congestion, such as parking outside the Supreme Court, is a common annoyance, these two points have become major pain points on the weekend. Anuja Chaudhury, 27, used to enjoy going to Sunder Nursery during her college days — it was cheap and charming. Ask her about it now and she sighs, "Never go there on a weekend. The traffic is a mess."
After the historic garden's restoration by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), the beautiful setting for six UNESCO World Heritage sites draws big crowds. Each weekend, Delhi Traffic Police deploys personnel at the Sabz Burj roundabout in coordination with AKTC, with little of consequence happening to help motorists.
On a gloomy winter day when people would perhaps prefer to stay indoors, TOI found that crossing the Sabz Burj circle, with Humayun's Tomb and Sunder Nursery tangential to the roundabout, became increasingly difficult as the day wore on. The 500 metres frustrated the motorists, choked as it was by late afternoon.
E-rickshaws and autorickshaws trawling for passengers and pedestrians added to the chaos of buses and cars. If the traffic cops managed to shoo them away to ease the congestion, they stopped at another location and caused another constriction. Hawkers had set up shop on the pavements, forcing people to walk on the road, exacerbating the situation. A traffic policeman on duty admitted, "The jam was delayed today. Usually, it's a nightmare after 12 noon." By evening, live maps were showing red lines and commuting delays of 17-20 minutes.
Some foreigners posed for photos, not of Sabz Burj, but of the traffic. Mathew, 55, an Australian, remarked, "I came from Sydney, and it's crazy here. I don't know if this is normal."
Ratish Nanda, conservation architect and CEO, AKTC in India, said, "In 2023, over 1.1 million people visited Sunder Nursery. There was a marginal increase in 2024. Most visitors are family groups. Also, 74% of Sunder Nursery visitors use public transport." He said that to ease traffic problems, events aren't permitted on winter Sundays. "At present, the traffic is only a concern on Dec-Jan weekends. But if the city authorities do not take adequate measures, including creation of additional parking zones, the stretch could be affected throughout the year," said Nanda.
DCP (Southern Range) Kushal Pal Singh said, "The problem is mainly on weekends and peak hours. In winters, families come out for picnics. Extra police personnel and volunteers work to keep autos moving, but civic sense plays a big role. Being a key route and meeting point for various roads in Delhi, any excess vehicles create problems."
The chaos near the zoo was equally exasperating, with the road as crowded as the park itself. At 4.30pm, there was a sea of vehicles on the stretch, which only increased with the zoo's closing time. As the cars streamed out from the parking and pedestrians ignored the footbridge for a quicker, but riskier, path across the road, vehicular movement almost came to a standstill. Autorickshaws and cabs waiting for passengers also narrowed the space available for cars. Reckless driving added to the mess. And then were zoo visitors, many with children, walking nonchalantly on the main road, further causing impediments to traffic flow.
Sorabh was at the zoo with his family. He said, "I did not bring my car to avoid the congestion and parking queue." Many others too prefer not to drive themselves, causing a preponderance of cabs to descend on the zoo. People arriving by taxis or cars and taking their time to unload picnic items cause a pileup on the road that stretches long distances. "At least 500 vehicles arrive at peak hours. Also, irrespective of how much you order them not to walk on the road, people still do it," said a tired traffic cop. "At our level, we try to manage the congestion. There's also a circulation plan being discussed for the zoo, which should help ease things."
A govt official, requesting anonymity, added, "VIP visits are quite frequent on this route. This results in a complete blockade on some days while affecting traffic movement and causing congestion on other days."