new delhi delhi is a city of contrasts it has a worldclass metro and also severely congested streets this is what the former transport commissioner of new york city janette sadikkhan felt on her first day in the national capital sadikkhan is credited for creating a cycle lane network of 650 kilometres during her sixyear tenureimpressed with delhi metro sadikkhan said it was the kind of experience i would hope to have in new york city what delhi is doing is an example the world needs to follow new york city hasnt invested in the metro in many years and we are now paying the costhowever sadikkhan was put off with the streets clogged with traffic she said it would be great if buses could move fast in the same corridors in dedicated lanes you have done this during the 2010 commonwealth games if you can revisit the approach you took traffic would move better than ever before you know what the secret sauce is and you know how it can be done she addedthough 80 of delhiites get around by walking cycling or taking public transit the streets reflect that they have been built for the 20 who use them rather than focussing on the 20 lets look at the 80 that have been left behind we need to redo the map its not an anticar strategy its just a prochoices strategy lets provide more choices and put people at the top of road hierarchy she saidauthor of the book streetfight handbook for an urban revolution sadikkhan was new york citys transport commissioner between 2007 and 2013 her tenure saw drastic changes in new york citys streetscape when not only did a vast network of bicycle lanes come up but public plazas including the one at times square were createdcurrently working at principal of bloomberg associates a philanthropic consultancy she faced huge opposition when she undertook the projectsyou cant embark on changes if you want to be popular at the end new york city became an example for other cities the idea of carving out space on streets for pedestrians and cyclists required huge attitudinal change it does take a while to change the culture and when you change the status quo the status quo hits back hard sadikkhan saidfor people to switch from personal to public transport more options needs to be provided first sadikkhan said los angeles one of the most carfriendly cities is now investing in metro and bus rapid transit apart from more pedestrianising the motor city of detroit is going for the bus and bike share systems she addedinitially the idea of bicycle lanes was severely criticised with people saying no one would use them it would be dangerous and there would be blood on the streets none of that proved true and cycling quadrupled the project also brought road fatalities to a 100year low she saidit is important for cities to be inspired by others believes sadikkhan new yorks parking protected bike lanes