Indian cities need to move beyond building more roads. They need better road networks

A well-connected road network has continuous links between different levels of the street hierarchy. Arterials carry longer-distance traffic, while primary, secondary and local streets distribute it and provide property access. The goal is not merely to add road space. It is to create enough connected routes for people and vehicles to travel directly and safely.

Wider roads may increase capacity along one corridor, but they cannot solve missing connections elsewhere. When links are absent, trips are pushed onto a few major roads. In Bengaluru, a roughly 3 km journey takes 3.4 km in Basavanagudi but 4.7 km in Whitefield because Whitefield has poorer connectivity and missing links.

The article urges cities to plan networks rather than isolated projects. They should identify missing links, build complete hierarchies and reserve land before development makes acquisition difficult. Better connectivity can distribute traffic, support public transport and make walking to stations easier.

A road hierarchy organizes movement by distance and function. Arterial roads carry longer-distance traffic across the city. Primary and secondary roads distribute that traffic toward different areas. Local streets provide access to individual properties and support short, nearby trips. Each layer is necessary because no single road type can serve every purpose efficiently.

The design of each road should complement its role. If connections between hierarchy levels are missing, traffic cannot move smoothly from major corridors into neighbourhoods. Trips are then forced onto a few arterials, increasing congestion and making the whole network less efficient.

The article argues for complete hierarchies as cities grow. Master plans should identify where secondary and local streets are needed, where strategic links are missing and how land can be allotted for them. This approach also helps people reach buses and metro stations safely and efficiently.

The Bengaluru comparison shows how much poor connectivity can add to a journey. The origins and destinations in Basavanagudi and Whitefield were roughly 3 km apart in a straight line. Straight-line distance alone, however, does not determine the route people can actually use.

In Basavanagudi, the connected street network made the trip 3.4 km. That required only a 400-metre detour. In Whitefield, poorer street connectivity and missing links stretched the same journey to 4.7 km. The detour there was 1.7 km, making the trip more than 50 per cent farther than necessary.

This difference is a hidden cost of disconnected growth. Longer routes mean more time on the road and more pressure on already congested corridors. The article therefore supports finer-grained street networks and strategic links that allow more direct travel between neighbourhoods.

A road network needs links between arterial, primary, secondary and local streets. When those connections are missing, people cannot move directly between nearby neighbourhoods. They must first reach one of the few continuous major corridors, even when that route is not the most natural or shortest path.

This concentrates many separate trips on the same roads. The corridors carry traffic that could otherwise be distributed across several routes. In Whitefield, poor street connectivity turned a roughly 3 km straight-line journey into a 4.7 km trip, including a 1.7 km detour. The added distance means more time spent travelling and more vehicles using pressured corridors.

The article contrasts this with Ahmedabad and Delhi, where well-connected networks distribute traffic across several routes and retain higher peak-hour speeds than most other Tier 1 cities. Closing missing links can therefore improve network efficiency without relying only on wider roads.

Cities need long-term road plans because networks cannot be created quickly. The main obstacle is often not engineering but land acquisition. If development has already formed around a future corridor, acquiring the required land becomes expensive, politically challenging and disruptive. Planning ahead gives cities a better chance to protect the space needed for connections.

The article recommends a 10-year-15-year planning horizon. Master plans should anticipate where growth will occur, how people will travel and what road hierarchy will be needed. They should also identify land for future links and policies to rehabilitate communities affected by construction.

This shifts decision-making away from isolated road projects. It helps cities build secondary and local connections before neighbourhoods become disconnected. Long-range planning can also support public transport, since people need safe and efficient routes to reach bus stops and metro stations.

New roads are only one part of efficient urban movement. Strong public transport can carry more people, while on-street parking policies can manage how road space is used. Demand management measures can also help control pressure on the network. These tools work best when the underlying streets are connected.

The article explains the connection through public transport access. A city may invest billions in a metro system or add hundreds of buses, but that investment will not reach its full potential if people cannot get to stations and bus stops safely and efficiently. Connected local and secondary streets provide those crucial links.

Cities should therefore combine network planning with public transport, parking policies and demand management. They should close strategic gaps, create finer-grained streets and protect walking access. The result should be judged by how well the city moves people, not simply by how many roads or flyovers it builds.

Street design determines whether people can move safely between their homes, neighbourhoods and public transport. A connected hierarchy gives local streets access to secondary roads and larger corridors without forcing every trip onto an arterial. Finer-grained networks can provide shorter, more direct routes for walking.

This matters because public transport depends on access at both ends of a journey. The article notes that billions spent on a metro system or hundreds of additional buses may not deliver their full potential if people cannot reach stations and stops safely and efficiently. Walking was also recognised by the Supreme Court in June as a fundamental right.

Cities should plan connections alongside transport investments. They need complete hierarchies, strategic links and streets that support safe access. The key test is not road width, but whether the network enables people to walk to buses or metro stations and move through the city efficiently.