{
  "id": 1404861,
  "title": "Going round in circles",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/going-round-in-circles",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-17T02:53:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hindustan Times",
    "slug": "hindustan-times",
    "url": "https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/going-round-in-circles-101786907369627.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Every weekday morning, Rishi Kumar faces a 'slow-motion whirlpool of traffic' on his commute to the office in central Delhi. Kumar expresses his frustration with the roundabouts in Lutyens’ Delhi, claiming they have become significant traffic bottlenecks. These roundabouts, once seen as a grand idea in urban planning, are now causing unexpected delays in reaching office. The basic rule of a roundabout – that traffic already inside the circle has the right of way – has been replaced by a free-for-all, where the whole junction locks up within minutes. Roundabouts were initially designed to ensure smooth movement and give cities a unique identity, but now they are struggling to cope with the city's growing traffic.\n\nA survey of 39 roundabouts in the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area identified five worst-affected roundabouts: Teen Murti Haifa, Tughlak Road, Sunehri Bagh, Jaswant Singh (Panchmukhi Chowk), and Q-Point near India Gate. The issues range from disproportionate road widths, misaligned footpaths, oversized plantation spaces, narrow roundabout diameters, to driver behavior. Experts argue that cities have grown faster than these junctions were built to handle, resulting in a mix of urban growth, road design, driving behavior, and surrounding network traffic causing the chaos.\n\nTraffic engineers suggest treating the entire network rather than just a single roundabout. Junctions should be evaluated using a Level of Service (LOS) framework, which ranges from LOS-A (free-flowing traffic) to LOS-F (traffic movement breakdown). Cities like Ahmedabad and Chennai are redesigning their intersections based on traffic simulations and peak passenger car unit analysis. In Ahmedabad, high-volume junctions have been converted to conventional signalized crossings, while intermediate-volume junctions keep their roundabout shape but add synchronized signals. Low-volume junctions remain signal-free. These strategies aim to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety, providing a more efficient and cohesive urban circulation plan.",
  "summary": "Every weekday morning, Rishi Kumar finds himself caught in what he calls ‘a slow-motion whirlpool of traffic’ on his way to the office in central Delhi",
  "key_points": [
    "Rishi Kumar complains about roundabouts causing traffic delays in Delhi.",
    "Survey identifies five worst-affected roundabouts in New Delhi Municipal Council area.",
    "Experts recommend evaluating entire network, not individual roundabouts."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The malfunctioning roundabouts in Delhi highlight the need for a comprehensive approach to traffic management, treating entire networks rather than isolated junctions to improve flow and safety.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}