Chandigarh: Cyclists and pedestrians – among the most overlooked and vulnerable users of India’s roads, whether in cities, towns or villages – had cause for celebration in Chandigarh on Friday, after the Punjab and Haryana High Court halted a proposed flyover at one of the city’s busiest traffic junctions. Proposed for the congested Tribune Chowk – named after the Tribune newspaper and situated along one of the city’s busiest gateways to New Delhi and much of Punjab and Haryana – the flyover had long been under consideration by the authorities as a solution to mounting traffic congestion in Chandigarh, where registered vehicles now outnumber residents: 14.2 lakh against a population of around 13 lakh.Much to the delight of environmentalists and cyclists like myself, who periodically flee Delhi’s smog, gridlocked traffic, noise and relentless pace in search of Chandigarh’s tree-lined avenues, open spaces and altogether gentler rhythm of life, the High Court also delivered a defence of the founding ideals of this self-styled City Beautiful.It urged the local administration to preserve the “sun, space and verdure or greenery” that the celebrated Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, who designed Chandigarh, had envisaged as central to the city’s intrinsic character. The court went on to state that flyovers and overbridges were impermissible under the Chandigarh Master Plan-2031, but sagely left the door open for alternative traffic-management measures, such as an underpass at the same Chowk.Furthermore, the court observed that Chandigarh, independent India’s first purpose-built city, had been planned around pedestrians, cyclists, green spaces and public movement rather than the relentless expansion of motor traffic. Chief Justice Sheel Nagu added that preserving the city’s pristine environment required only “a little sacrifice by humans of their greed and lust”, through reduced consumerism and a shift from “plundering to protecting nature”.The court also restrained the authorities from felling any of the 500–700 mature trees around the Chowk that the flyover project would have necessitated, many of them planted during Chandigarh’s formative years, from 1951 onwards. Additionally, it directed the Chandigarh Administration to “ensure and encourage the original ambience and character” of the city by minimising private motorised traffic and promoting public transport.In effect, the court endorsed the arguments advanced by opponents of the flyover, who contended that such large-scale tree felling would come at a high ecological cost and run contrary to the very planning philosophy that has long set Chandigarh apart from other Indian urban centres.Chandigarh, India, August 7, 2016. Credit: Frederick Noronha, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsSupporters of the flyover, on the other hand, presented it as a solution to worsening congestion in the Union Territory, which is also the capital of both Haryana and Punjab. They maintained that Tribune Chowk had become one of the region’s most persistent traffic bottlenecks, carrying a heavy volume of daily commuter and inter-state movement, and argued that without a multi-pronged flyover here, journey times, congestion and pollution would proliferate as vehicular traffic multiplied.It is this tension between rising mobility demands and the city’s original design that takes the debate back to the city’s origins.Corbusier had designed Chandigarh – named after the nearby Chandi Mandir dedicated to the Hindu goddess Chandi, and then the capital of a united Punjab state until 1966 – around broad boulevards, generous green spaces, self-contained sectors and an extensive network of pedestrian and cycling paths. The city’s celebrated tree canopy, with its variety of species and associated structure is therefore not merely an environmental asset but an integral element of its original planning philosophy and identity.Meanwhile, for avid cyclists like myself, the significance of Friday’s High Court ruling can scarcely be overstated as, for now at least, it helps preserve Chandigarh as India’s sole sanctuary for bicycle users.Also read: Here’s to the Humble BicycleThis unique distinction is rooted in the city’s physical fabric, for across Chandigarh and its adjoining satellite towns of Mohali and Panchkula stretches an interconnected network of dedicated, largely well-lit cycle tracks, extending to nearly 300 km and still gradually expanding. More than seven decades after the city was first planned and developed in the 1950s, this well-maintained and frequently tarred grid allows students, office-goers and commuters alike to move across much of the tri-city region with ease, while remaining largely insulated from fast-moving traffic. There is an inbuilt respect for cyclists too in the city’s traffic culture, with motorists often yielding and, at times, even policemen briefly halting traffic to let a lone cyclist pass through.Equally remarkable is that these tracks are, for the most part, respected even by motorised two-wheelers such as scooters and motorcycles. Encroachments are relatively rare and, when they do occur, they tend to attract swift protests from cyclists and pedestrians, with most intruders retreating rather sheepishly.Elsewhere, across urban India, cyclists are generally treated as an afterthought – squeezed between traffic, wandering livestock and parked vehicles – but in Chandigarh, the humble bicycle, embedded by Corbusier into the city’s original design as a legitimate mode of transport, still enjoys a degree of respect, rather than being treated as a relic of a bygone era.Chandigarh’s vast canopy of trees, part of which the High Court order has saved, also provide welcome shade during the city’s long summer months, improves air quality and creates a far more pleasant cycle riding environment. Morning rides, for instance, can stretch from the landmark Sukhna Lake past the Leisure Valley, across quiet residential sectors and into neighbouring Mohali and Panchkula, without the constant need to dodge encroaching and at times, uncontrolled traffic.Part of the cycling charm also lies in the scenery en route, which includes manicured gardens, quiet residential sectors, expansive green spaces and the almost constant glimpse of the nearby Shivalik Hills. And, in winter, the city’s crisp air and azure skies, a rarity in Delhi, create near-perfect riding conditions.Pedestrians, too, as the High Court ruling observed, enjoy a high degree of space and priority in Chandigarh, a reflection of the city’s foundational intent and people-centred design. That intent comes alive at dawn and again in the early evenings, when hundreds of locals of all ages pull on their Nikes and Adidas sneakers and head out for walks or jogs, along the same tree-lined cycling tracks and broad avenues that stitch the city sectors together.Also read: Chandigarh Is Changing, But the City Still WorksSome are accompanied by an unusually wide array of dogs – retrievers, collies, huskies, Alsatians, Irish setters, the occasional St Bernard and the ubiquitous Indie – trotting contentedly beside them as they pass people seated on benches reading newspapers, chatting or simply lost in thought. Neighbourhood parks, dotted with slides, jungle gyms and parallel bars, slowly come alive at an unhurried pace, unfolding at a gentler rhythm than in most Indian cities. Yoga groups also gather in clusters, while cyclists glide past them on the edges of pathways, completing a near-idyllic scene rarely duplicated elsewhere in other major towns around the country.Besides, road repairs, public maintenance work and even the construction of roundabouts and other civic upgrades are executed with noticeable speed and coordination across Chandigarh, compared to other places where such work tends to linger on interminably. There is a certain sense of order in this administrative rhythm, as if the city’s original planning ethos still exerts an invisible pull on how things are done on the ground. In that sense, one might say that Corbusier’s presence still hovers over Chandigarh, keeping an eye on his creation to ensure it continues to function, with the order and discipline he once envisaged.This is not to suggest that Chandigarh is perfect; far from it. Rising population, increasing vehicle ownership, traffic volumes, illegal encroachments and uneven maintenance have all eroded some of the advantages that once distinguished the city. These pressures are hardly surprising: conceived in the 1950s for a population of a few hundred thousand, Chandigarh today anchors a rapidly expanding tri-city region of around 30 lakh people.Furthermore, prosperity has triggered an explosion in real estate and vehicle ownership, placing undue strain on its roads and infrastructure. And that is why Friday’s Punjab and Haryana High Court’s decision resonates beyond a single flyover project, highlighting larger questions confronting Indian cities: whether urban development should be measured solely by the speed at which vehicles move, or by the quality of life enjoyed by residents.Panjab University, Chandigarh, in spring 2022. Credit: UnpetitproleX, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsEven so, the High Court’s intervention is best seen not as a cure-all but as a corrective pause. It will not reverse the pressures that have steadily accumulated in the city over decades, nor will it halt the creeping congestion or the growing dominance of private vehicles and other urban challenges. At best, the judicial ruling may slow down some of these phenomena but will, in no way eliminate them.But realistically, traffic volumes will continue to rise and the demand for faster road infrastructure will remain politically and administratively impossible to ignore or defray. The temptation to widen roads, insert flyovers elsewhere, or further accommodate motorised flow is unlikely to disappear. What this latest judgment does do, however, is to draw a line, however fragile, around one junction and remind planners of the original logic that once defined Chandigarh.In conclusion, the court ruling is best seen as a moment of restraint rather than a permanent shift in direction. Chandigarh no longer exists in the controlled conditions of its design era, but is part of a larger, more chaotic urban system shaped by growth it was never built to contain. And so, while Friday’s court ruling may preserve pockets of its original character, the broader trajectory remains unchanged: one where the pressures of population expansion will continue to test the limits of even the most carefully choreographed urban dwelling.