The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Chandra Bahadur Gurung said the Thimphu Thromde is taking new steps to ease traffic congestion and improve pedestrian safety as public concern grows over recent road accidents, including the Zilukha incident where a medical student was run over on a Zebra crossing.
The city currently has 35 zebra crossings along the main road corridor, stretching nearly 16 kilometers from The Living Monument in Ngabiphu to the New Pangrizampa Bridge. Most of these crossings are supported with speed humps, especially along the expressway, and several are placed near schools and institutions.
In July 2025, Thromde installed 14 types of traffic signs along the expressway and re-marked over 138 square meters of road markings. Based on the positive outcome of the existing pedestrian footbridge in Olakha, the city has identified and proposed new footbridges and underpasses at key locations, such as the Druk School Junction, JDWNRH Gate, Lungtenzampa, Changjiji Bus Stop Shelter, and near the new BNB Office in Olakha.
These proposals are being reviewed as part of the Thimphu Structure Plan and the Low Emission Transport Master Plan, which also include a major redesign of the expressway. The plans are currently under review by the Department of Human Settlement under the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MoIT).
In the short term, Thromde has taken steps to improve safety at zebra crossings and reduce traffic bottlenecks. Speed bumps were removed and replaced with speed humps at Gochukha City Bus Stop in Babesa, near Zimdra Suzuki Showroom, and near Penchu Car Wash.
At Changbangdu, the old speed bump was removed and a pedestrian underpass walkway was constructed. Thromde also introduced a 2-meter stop line before zebra crossings and is working with the Traffic Police and the Bhutan Construction and Transport Authority to ensure proper enforcement.
To improve visibility, hedges and other visual obstructions at crossings were cleared. Brighter lighting has been installed at Zebra crossings, and sloped medians have been added so that pedestrians are more visible to drivers. New road markings and traffic signs, including pedestrian crossings, speed humps, and speed limits of 20 km/h, have also been placed.
Thromde also plans to install more footbridges and underpasses along the main corridor and make additional improvements to speed humps to reduce congestion and improve safety. Road improvement projects are being considered in other parts of the city as well.
MoIT has held two stakeholder consultation meetings to discuss traffic congestion in Thimphu and explore solutions. It was noted that Thimphu alone has more than 3,000 taxis out of the 6,125 registered across the country, making public transport improvement a growing priority.
Lyonpo said he suggested to Thimphu Thromde on the need to remove the parking near the zebra crossing as cars cannot see people crossing.
