ISLAMABAD: Park Road, which was overhauled earlier this year, has created safety concerns for pedestrians, particularly students of Comsats University and other institutions.

The absence of a pedestrian bridge near the university has become a serious concern as heavy traffic on the newly-revamped road makes it extremely dangerous for students and other pedestrians to cross safely.

The CDA under a project worth around Rs2 billion completed the project in January this year, adding two more lanes, making it one of the fastest roads in the city.

At the length of Park Road, there are dozens of educational institutions. The area where Comsats University, Iqra, Abasyn University and Park Turk School are located needs immediate installation of a pedestrian bridge.

CDA planning to install six pedestrian bridges, including three on Park Road, says official

As the other side of the area, there is a privately owned hostel, where thousands of students are residing and have to cross the busy road putting their lives at a risk.

“Hostel City located on Park Road is one of the largest student residential areas in Islamabad. It houses approximately 20,000 to 24,000 students from across the country.

“This area is surrounded by 8 to 9 major universities and educational institutes, making it one of the most densely populated student zones in Pakistan.

“Every day, thousands of students travel from Hostel City to nearby universities. To reach their campuses, they are forced to cross the busy Park Road. Unfortunately, this routine activity has become extremely unsafe due to the absence of proper pedestrian bridges, underpasses, or traffic safety measures, said Abbas Khan, a student. He said this year several road accidents have taken place on the road.

“Most recently, a female student was hit by a speeding vehicle while crossing the road. She sustained severe injuries, highlighting the urgent need for immediate intervention,” he said.

Meanwhile, a faculty member of Comsat said that there are around 12000 students in Comsats and a large number of them have been living in Hostel City.

“There is immediate need of a pedestrian bridge in this area to avoid any major accident,” he said and added that if there is any delay in installation of a pedestrian bridge, the authorities concerned should immediately install traffic signals in the area.

Muneer Ali, a student, who lives in the area, criticised the CDA for not installing a pedestrian bridge. He said that the pedestrian bridges should have been installed during the road overhauling project.

“The project of this 7.4 km road was completed earlier this year, but still pedestrian bridges are not installed on this entire road, except one near Rawal Town. Why CDA is not taking action; are they waiting for any big mishap,” he said and added that earlier the road had two lanes, but under the project, CDA added one lane extra on either side, making it a three-lane road.

When contacted, an officer of the CDA said that a proposal was under consideration for installation of three pedestrian bridges on Park Road including one near Comsats University.

“We are cognizant of this issue and ill install bridges soon,” he said.

Another officer said that CDA was planning to install overall six pedestrian bridges, including three on Park Road, one each on Srinagar Highway and Islamabad Expressway near Kak Pul.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2025