No red lights in Kota: When cities try out signal-free roads | India News

At a junction on Anna Salai in Chennai, a car edges past the spot where a traffic light once hung, slows down, curves into a U-turn and merges back without stopping. Almost 1700km away, in Bokaro, drivers approach roundabouts that have never needed signals at all, easing off instinctively. In Kota, the same idea of uninterrupted flow often collapses into peak-hour gridlock, forced detours and sudden bottlenecks. India’s experiments with signal-free roads may not have succeeded universally but have left deeper lessons on traffic management and human behaviour. Kota’s attempt was the most sweeping. Under the Smart City Project, it dismantled traffic signals in Dec 2022, spending over Rs 2,000cr from the Rs 5,000cr programme to build more than two dozen overbridges, as many underpasses and multiple slip lanes. At least 12 major junctions were widened and redesigned to eliminate stopping altogether. The redesign drew attention beyond the city too, with industrialist Anand Mahindra among those who appreciated the concept – an endorsement residents now cite as proof the idea was never dismissed as impractical, only difficult to execute at scale. “It’s the only traffic signal-free city of nearly 15 lakh people,” said RD Meena, former officer on special duty of then Kota Urban Improvement Trust, now Kota Development Authority, who supervised the project.Signal-free roads have led to drop in accidents and fatalities, say policeRD Meena, former officer on special duty of then Kota Urban Improvement Trust and now Kota Development Authority who supervised the project, said the overhaul was completed in three years despite time and financial constraints, and that “the changes were made with public consensus”. Immediately, long waits at major circles eased, and 10-15 minute snarls at places like Commerce College Road, Gumanpura and Sabzi Mandi thinned out. But the city’s “no-stop” layout also produced new stresses. Trips that once required a simple right turn now involve longer loops. During peak hours, congestion resurfaces at redesigned junctions, while drivers cut through narrow link roads to save time, increasing side-swipes and wrong-side conflicts.

The strain is most visible along the Commerce College-Airport Road stretch, where ambulances and vehicles parked outside private hospitals routinely narrow down moving lanes. What is designed as free flow breaks down when stationary traffic intrudes. “Travel time hasn’t really come down,” said Sujeet Swami, a Kota-based advocate. “At peak hours, congestion becomes unbearable at Commerce College Circle, Kotdi, Antaghar, Chawani, Gumanpura and Keshavpura. Without signals or cops managing the rush, jams just stack up.” Traffic police counter with enforcement data. Deputy SP (Traffic) Ashok Meena said the city adopted a ‘no-stop’ policy for violators, moving away from roadside confrontations that happened when drivers were stopped on the road. Instead, officials moved to digital monitoring using night-vision laser speed guns, interceptor vehicles and static cameras linked to Abhay Command Centre. Till Nov 2025, over 8,000 speed violations and more than 1,000 cases of wrong-side driving were recorded digitally. A black-spot audit improved 57 of the 76 accident-prone locations. “Accidents have dropped from 556 in 2023 to 358 by late 2025. Fatalities are down about 20%,” Meena said, adding the model could work in other cities under right conditions. Police data shows that in 2023, Kota recorded 556 road mishaps, with 103 deaths and 604 injured; in 2024, mishaps fell to 458, with 104 deaths and 494 injured; and till Nov 30, 2025, mishaps stood at 358, with 83 deaths and 417 injured. As of July 31, 2025, Kota had over 7 lakh registered vehicles – including around 5.2 lakh two-wheelers – policed by a traffic force of just over 100 personnel, supported by 30 home guards. Urban planners point out that the city’s mixed results reflect a tightening equation between road width and vehicle load, one that becomes harder to balance as traffic grows. Bokaro presents a quieter contrast. Developed in the 1970s as a planned township, Bokaro Steel City has functioned without traffic signals, surveillance cameras or constant policing for years. Wide roads and three-arm roundabouts keep movement predictable, and the city’s largest junction, Birsa Chowk, is the only four-way intersection – also signal-free. “Driving here feels easy,” said Kirti Kumari, a college student who rides a scooty daily. “There’s space, no pressure, and no sudden stops.” Deputy commissioner Ajay Nath Jha said the township’s road design shaped behaviour as much as enforcement. “There’s a unique and effective traffic culture. Wide roads, roundabouts and road bumps play an important role in making driving safer,” he said. “We are moving Bokaro towards a ‘zero accident’ goal, and all departments concerned work with seriousness, sensitivity and strong coordination.” Roads inside the township are maintained by Bokaro Steel Plant. “The layout was planned from the start – wide carriageways, roundabouts, regular upkeep,” said Manikant Dhan, the PSU’s chief of communication. “That reduces congestion and accidents.” Down south, Chennai’s signal-free experiment occupies a narrower, more controlled space. In mid-2023, Greater Chennai Traffic Police removed signals at six junctions along Anna Salai, including Nandanam, Spencer’s and Teynampet, replacing right turns with straight movement, designated U-turns and left turns. Average delays fell from over 12 minutes to under five, while speeds on the six-km stretch between Saidapet and Spencer’s Signal rose from about 10 kmph in 2022 to around 14 kmph. Instead of permanent concrete channelisers, Chennai used removable barricades, allowing quick corrections. Some motorists complained that barricades ate into up to two-and-a-half lanes on four-lane roads, affecting opposing traffic. Police said designs were reviewed and adjusted. Chennai also adopted a corridor approach rather than isolated junction fixes. On 100 Feet Road between Koyambedu and Vadapalani, three signals were shut together and replaced with two double U-turns, enabling continuous movement along the stretch. The model has since extended to EVR Periyar Salai, Old Mahabalipuram Road and the CPT junction. Chennai now has nearly 36 such U-turns, deployed selectively rather than citywide. Across the three cities, the pattern is hard to miss. Signal-free roads work when space, design and behaviour align, or when interventions are limited, data-driven and reversible. Where those conditions thin out, uninterrupted movement becomes another source of friction. The red light was never the real constraint. The city itself was.