Carefree on Car-free Sundays: Citizens take to city streets for fun and revelry

9th August 2018 by admin

Imagine an arterial road in your city. Now, place a child running about in that stretch. Fair to assume that your brows twitched at the thought of these two events aligning. Though stark, urban dwellers are naturalised to the danger that arterial roads or streets in general hold. But to hold a static entity accountable is unfair. So where does the buck stop?

Let’s reimagine this sequence of events. Same arterial city road and same child running about carefree. This time though, cordon off vehicles from the section. Suddenly, the road seems to be devoid of chaos. It even becomes an oasis where people can come together to run, play, and enjoy themselves to their heart’s content.

Isn’t it bewildering how one component can drive our stress up the walls and still be considered an integral part of our lives. This is exactly what the “Car-free” initiative was conceptualised to debunk. Originated in the Netherlands and Belgium during the 1956 Suez Crisis, the move was planned to ration petroleum. But it took its true form in 1958, when New York City residents blocked vehicles into their neighbourhood to protest the extension of a road at the cost of a public space.

As vehicles started taking over our streets and lives, the initiative gained prominence to counter this menace. And it is with the same intention that the initiative made its way into the Indian quarters. The “Car-free Sundays” drive, proposed by ITDP India Programme in collaboration with Riverside School and other partners, was first introduced to Ahmedabad in 2009. Every Sunday, citizens were given unconditional access to three arterial stretches to experience the freedom of walking and cycling on safer car-free streets.

India’s first car-free Sunday in Ahmedabad in 2012

It wasn’t long before other states recognised the transformative nature of the initiative. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra were quick to come on board and transform their streets into vibrant spaces for citizens, not vehicles, to occupy.

Leading the charge in Tamil Nadu was Coimbatore. The dialogue, facilitated by ITDP, was a success. All partners –including the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation, Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore (RAAC), print media partners and the residents– realised that the concept would help improve walking and cycling conditions in the city.

The Corporation and the Coimbatore Police left no stones unturned to help citizens reclaim landscape lost to vehicles. With prior public consultation workshops for residents, the campaign was launched across two stretches –DB Road and T V Swamy Road– for a total of 1.7km, in 2015. This sense of emancipation was refreshing, as many came in droves to be part of the revelry. Soon accolades started pouring in, with the campaign being honoured with the Best Project Award, Non-Motorised Transport category, by India’s National Ministry of Urban Development.

People enjoying hop-scotch at the car-free Sunday in Coimbatore

The obvious impact was soon realised by Chennai and it didn’t take much for city officials and the police to join the bandwagon, with ITDP again playing a hand holding role in collaboration with Chennai City Connect and The Hindu (media partners). Titled “Namma Chennai Namakke” (Our Chennai for Ourselves), many residents took an instant liking to the idea.

“I would love to see children aimlessly ride their cycles on the road…or adults playing badminton and pet enthusiast take their companions for a walk. I personally would indulge my pet, without the fear of him/her getting hit by a car,” said Jennifer Jacob-Murali, resident of Chennai.

Father and daughter bonding over skipping at the car-free Sunday in Chenani

Every Sunday, the ruckus of vehicles were replaced by that of laughter and excitement. Of kids being kids and parents joining the act. Of people dancing, doing yoga, and enjoying art and craft. Of citizens, young and old, not surrendering their right to walk, run, and cycle to the chagrin of fuel guzzling automobiles.

Today, these cities have taken a step ahead towards sustainable urban transport solutions with Chennai adopting a Non-Motorised Transport Policy and Coimbatore adopting the Street Design and Management Policy. Car-free Sundays helped citizen to wake up to the possibility of enjoying public spaces like roads and streets without the hindrance and dread of vehicles. Its success gave momentum to the ‘Model Roads’ project, as citizens demanded better walking and cycling infrastructure across Coimbatore.

Not even John Lennon could have imagined how vehicles would take over lives, leaving us struggling to find our way. So an ode to his legendary vision, with a twist of our own.

Imagine there are no vehicles
It’s easy if you try
No fumes around us
Only people and the sky
Imagine all the people living for today

Cover image courtesy: Times of India, Coimbatore.

Chennai’s journey to reclaim city streets for its people

8th June 2018 by admin

Chennai, a thriving South Indian metropolis and the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, is at the cusp of turning into one of the world’s megacities. While it historically had the image of being somewhat insular, the Chennai of today is a cosmopolitan hub where the old meets the new.

Transportation is the focus of many pressing issues facing Chennai today—decisions about whether to build highways or bus corridors have a great impact on our health and our environment.

But within five years of ITDP’s engagement with the city, Chennai took the bold move of adopting the Non Motorised Transport (NMT) Policy—first in India. The policy mandates that a minimum of 60 percent of of transport funding to create and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure in the city.

Having retrofitted over 50 km of walkable streets over the years, Chennai has initiated the next phase of redesigning an additional 50 km of street network. Chennai’s policy has inspired many national and international cities—from Chandigarh to Nairobi—to adopt similar policies. The comprehensive approach undertaken by Chennai, was awarded the Sustainia Award in 2015.

Watch how ITDP India has supported, and continues to support Chennai transform its streets for a better city, and better lives.

ITDP India – Our Journey from a Dream to Reality

11th May 2018 by admin

It was back in 1998 that ITDP began its engagements in India, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s words, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” What started as one woman’s journey to change the dystopian path our cities were drifting towards has transformed into a formidable force of young, passionate visionaries who strive to bring back life in a place we call home. Today, ITDP celebrates two decades of action on the ground, catalysing tangible transformation at scale in over a third of urban India.

Transportation is the focus of many pressing issues facing the world today—decisions about whether to build highways or bus corridors have a great impact on our health and our planet. For this reason, ITDP has worked with over 18 Indian cities to reduce the human impact of transport choices: ensuring cities put people before cars, all citizens can walk and cycle safety, and jobs and services are a bus ride away. Through the dedicated efforts of our team and a strategic approach towards sustainable transport, ITDP India programme has impacted the lives of millions for the past 20 years.

The journey in India began in Agra. The vision to develop a modern cycle rickshaw to counter the growing threats of motor vehicular pollution, gave way to the India Cycle Rickshaw Improvement Project. What started off as five prototypes has become sustainably embedded as the standard design in cities across North India. Today, around half a million of these modern cycle rickshaws serve 4-5 million zero-carbon trips daily and offer dignified livelihood to over a million people, transforming the lives of their families as well.

ITDP realised the need to transform the quality and availability of public transport in Indian cities. Since 2003, the India Programme evangelised the idea of the Bus Rapid Transit (popularly known as BRT) to transform mediocre bus services into high-quality mass transit.

Ahmedabad, Gujarat’s largest city, welcomed ITDP to reimagine bus transit in 2005. Our partnership with Environment Planning Collaborative, and thereafter with CEPT University and the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation resulted in the launch of Janmarg (in 2009)—India’s first high quality BRT system that expands to a network of 87 km. Janmarg has inspired many cities in India, and with guidance from ITDP, five cities have created 200 km of high-quality BRT to date.

In 2009, the India Programme revolutionised the way people perceived streets in India. Safe, child-friendly streets are not just a mirage of the past, but can be a beautiful reality even today. Ahmedabad was the first city in India to host Car-Free Sundays in collaboration with ITDP, Riverside School and other partners. The initiative allowed citizens to experience the freedom of walking and cycling on safer car-free streets. The success enabled expansion to Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra to raise awareness and transform their streets into places we all dream of everyday.

ITDP India Programme initiated collaboration with Chennai City Connect in 2009 to improve cycling and walking conditions across the city. Change isn’t easy in cities where the car is a symbol for status. But within five years of ITDP’s engagement with the city, Chennai took the bold move of adopting the Non Motorised Transport (NMT) Policy—first in India.

The policy mandates that a minimum of 60 percent of of transport funding to create and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure in the city. Having retrofitted over 50 km of walkable streets over the years, Chennai has initiated the next phase of redesigning an additional 50 km of street network. Chennai’s policy has inspired many national and international cities—from Chandigarh to Nairobi—to adopt similar policies. The comprehensive approach undertaken by Chennai, was awarded the Sustainia Award in 2015.

Since 2013, the India Programme has worked with the smaller cities of Tamil Nadu – Coimbatore, Trichy, Tirupur, Salem, and Madurai. In Coimbatore, the Namma Kovai Namakke (Our Coimbatore Ourselves) campaign, initiated by ITDP, sparked citizen demand for better pedestrian facilities. Coimbatore was the first city in Tamil Nadu to host Car-Free Sundays, that inspired Chennai and Madurai to do the same. The city also adopted The Coimbatore Street Design and Management Policy that aims to increase walking, cycling and public transport use. In light of Coimbatore’s vision to improve people-mobility, the city has planned a 30 km-network of walking and cycling paths to connect the city’s major lakes, in line with the guiding Policy.

The India programme began its engagements in Maharashtra in 2009, first with the Municipal Corporations of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, and thereafter in Nashik and Aurangabad. Today, Pune is the epitome of a smart Indian city. Pune launched 40 kms of the Rainbow BRT in 2015, with an additional 45 km in the pipeline. The city adopted the Urban Street Design Guidelines and plans to redesign 100 km of streets based on the world-class standards set by the transformation of JM Road and DP Road pilot project.

While Pune has taken the first steps towards developing a people-centric city, the next challenge is to address the encroachment onto footpaths by parked vehicles. As a result, Pune adopted the Public Parking Policy to regulate parking, in 2018. The Policy aims to manage on-street parking through an efficient paid parking system but exempts bicycle parking from any charges. Pune realises that encouraging cycling reduces CO2, improves commuters’ health and increases retail visibility. As a result, the city plans to implement a dockless Public Bicycle Sharing system of 13,100 cycle, under the city’s Bicycle Plan. Yes, the city has worked wonders. Pune, Chennai, and Coimbatore – all cities ITDP assisted, were selected in the first round of the national government’s Smart City Mission.

In 2013, the India programme also expanded to Ranchi, the capital of the state of Jharkhand. Local conditions were unfavourable to support sustainable transport; thus, ITDP initiated collaboration with local civil society groups, educational institutions and trade associations that formed the Ranchi Mobility Partnership. Ranchi’s Mobility for All action plan prepared by ITDP, with input from the partners, provided a detailed roadmap of transport solutions for local conditions.

The action plan inspired the city to take responsibility of overseeing operations of 100 new buses, and an additional 300 buses in the due course—an applaudable move for a city that had fewer than 30 buses. The plan also identified a cycle network to improve access to public transport; as a result, the city is in the midst of constructing the state’s first Bicycle Sharing system comprising of 1200 cycles.

Onward and upward, Ranchi’s Parking Policy has inspired other cities in the state, like Jamshedpur, to manage on-street parking. The State too realised the chaos caused by unregulated parking and thereafter adopted the Jharkhand Parking Regulations—first in India. Jharkhand is also the first state to endorse the Transit Oriented Development Policy that was prepared in consultation with ITDP India.

On account of leveraging the sustainable transport agenda at the national level, the India expanded to the country’s capital, Delhi, in 2016. This gave rise to the policy brief on Women and Transport in collaboration with Safetipin and UN Women. Women represent the largest share of public transport users, yet they face many barriers that limit their mobility such as safety, comfort, convenience and affordability. Empowering women in transport enables them to participate in workforce, thereby creating a societal shift to transform the entire world economy.

The India Programme’s capacity development work, through training workshops and study tours, has been imperative to the success of its projects and policy. The India Programme has trained over 1000 government officials and other stakeholders. Over the years, our knowledge products have not only been used for best practise references, but also endorsed by the government – for example, the National Guidelines for Public Bicycle-sharing for the Ministry of Urban Development, and Street Design and BRT Guidelines for the Indian Roads Congress (IRC).

Since 1998, ITDPs’ agenda of improving the quality of life of citizens through equitable and sustainable transport has only magnified in momentum over time. Times have evolved, but our dream remains the same. Take a moment and imagine a 2050: will we design a future where we continue to get trapped in endless traffic while pollution destroys the city, and infrastructure fails to deliver? Or, will we live in ‘smart cities’ where people can zip around town, connected with walking and cycling boulevards and world-class rapid transit. The choice is yours; we chose the latter.

P.S. Dear Mahatma Gandhiji, we are being the change we wish to see in the world today. And, we have been doing it successfully for the past 20 years in India!

A year of radical planning, 2017 passes by…

30th December 2017 by admin

“I used to take my two-wheeler to travel the 3 kilometers between my house and the railway station. I’m now able to walk the stretch, thanks to the continuous footpath. Best part – I’ve lost 5 kilos and my diabetes!” Mr. Manimaran, a resident of Egmore in Chennai, is thrilled at the tremendous change that a safer and better footpath has brought about in his life.

The year 2017 witnessed many such impactful changes in the field of sustainable transportation all around the country, including cities which ITDP India Programme has been closely working with. Thanking all our supporters, we take a look at the year that passed by.

Pune broke ground on its ambitious Complete Streets networks – a 100km-network with its own financial resources and 45km through support from the National Smart Cities Mission. The first phase of these street design projects on JM Road and DP Road has already been lauded by the country, owing to the vibrancy of these redesigned streets. Pune’s Bicycle Plan, recently approved by the General Body, paves way for the creation of a 300km bicycle-track network in the city.

Having accomplished over 40km of Complete Streets, Chennai initiated the next phase of street design by inviting tenders in late October to redesign 22km of streets. The city tested out the design of 5 key intersections through a tactical urbanism approach – quick, temporary, on-ground interventions. Chennai also conducted another trial run of the proposed pedestrian plaza in Pondy Bazaar, the success of which fetched the project a sanction of of Rs 55 crores (~US $9 million) under the Smart Cities Mission.

Smaller cities have also made remarkable progress this year in their Complete Streets programmes – Nashik appointed nationally-acclaimed urban designers to redesign its proposed street network of 50 kilometers, with 10 kilometers tendered out; and Coimbatore commenced construction of its Model Roads and hosted an interactive exhibition to inform the people of the design of the roads while collecting feedback. Coimbatore also started developing detailed implementation plans for its Greenways and Lake Restoration Project, which includes a 30km network of greenways (exclusive walking and cycling infrastructure) that crisscross the city and connect 8 water bodies.

Becoming one of the pioneering cities in parking management in the country, Ranchi implemented a progressive on-street parking management system on its busiest thoroughfare, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, with a twelve-fold increase in revenue. Inspired by the success of the pilot, the city has proposed to refine and expand the system to cover all key locations. The state of Jharkhand has also proposed to adopt a state-level parking policy.

Chennai recently invited tenders to select an operator for its proposed on-street parking management system covering 12000 equivalent car spaces on Bus Route Roads across the city. Since Pune is also working towards parking management, ITDP, in collaboration with GIZ-SUTP, facilitated and managed a two-day workshop on the topic, with international parking expert, Dr Paul Barter in the city. Participants included municipal officials, traffic police, public officials from other agencies as well as various local stakeholders.

An increase in demand for better public transport has provided the fillip to cities across the country to increase and improve their transit services. Chennai made considerable advancement in its BRT planning, with the interim report for Phase I approved by the state and a series of public consultation programmes organised to explain the significance of BRT to people and get their feedback on the various corridors.

In Pune, around 130 crore rupees was sanctioned to construct 13 new bus terminals to facilitate better integration of bus services with the proposed Metro Rail network. The city also commenced work on expanding the existing 38km Rainbow BRT by an additional 15km. Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) initiated the process of adding 200 feeder buses to its fleet, to improve connectivity between the city and the surrounding towns.

Public bicycle sharing (PBS) is emerging as a popular mode of public transit across the country. Pune piloted a dockless PBS system with 275 bicycles and signed an MoU with 4 vendors dealing with dockless systems. Two other cities are preparing for the installation of a PBS system – Ranchi and Chennai invited operators to submit proposals for setting up 1264 bicycles in 122 stations (Phase 1) and 5000 bicycles in 378 designated parking areas, respectively.

Successful and sustained on-ground changes invariably require the backing of well-framed guidelines, policies and financial plans – 2017 was marked by many of these. Two sets of guidelines – the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) planning and design guidelines, and the Guidelines on Control and Regulation of Mixed Traffic in Urban Areas – prepared by ITDP, were approved by the apex committee of the Indian Roads Congress. These guidelines will apply for all cities across India and guide them towards low-carbon mobility.

The Government of Jharkhand adopted an inclusive TOD policy that focuses on equitable development of cities in the state, so that a majority of the population lives and works in areas with safe and accessible walking and cycling facilities integrated with reliable and high-quality public transport.

The Government of Maharashtra published a draft of the State Urban Transport Policy, which promotes low-carbon & equitable mobility and urban development by prioritising public transport (PT) and non-motorised transport (NMT). Furthermore, over half of Pune’s total transportation budget of 1100 crore rupees was allocated towards sustainable transport development for the financial year 2017-18. In the South, Coimbatore adopted a Street Design and Management Policy that focuses on creating equitable and sustainable mobility options and expanding their use.

The realisation that sustainable urban development will remain elusive without integrating women’s safety and comfort in urban transport, has generated momentum to include gender as a key factor in transport planning. Bringing this subject to the fore and as a first of its kind, a paper on Women and Transport in Indian Cities was created by ITDP and Safetipin, and released at a national workshop on gender and transit conducted by the two organisations. This paper identifies indicators, service level benchmarks and processes for integrating a gender perspective in urban transport projects, policies and programs along with good practice case studies.

2017 was a year of radical planning indeed, with many grand plans conceived, developed and initiated for sustainable transportation. With all these plans set to materialize in the coming months, 2018 will be a year of implementation and tangible transformation. Looking forward to a great year ahead: Happy New Year!

On-Street Parking Management: Pune and Chennai to join the bandwagon

3rd June 2017 by admin

“I bought an AC, now the government has to give me a free house to install it in!” If this is an absurd demand, so is free parking – “I bought a car, now the government has to give me a free place to park it!” Cities across the world including India, are gradually beginning to realise that parking is not a right; it is a commodity and should come at a price. In keeping with this revelation, Indian cities such as Ranchi have started implementing on-street parking management, with a parking fee.

Pune and Chennai are the latest cities striving to join the bandwagon. Pune will soon adopt a parking policy to guide parking management in the city. Pune and Chennai both aim to put a smart parking management system in place. There is now an urgent need to learn more about global best practices, especially challenges faced during implementation and solutions. In order to initiate this learning process, Pune and Chennai will host discussions and workshops internally and for the public in the following weeks, led by internationally acclaimed parking expert Dr.Paul Barter.

Today, unorganised on-street parking and invasion of pedestrian footpaths by parked cars is common of most Indian cities. On-street parking is mostly free, and even when charged, the rates are too low and fee collection is carried out by private operators with little monitoring or oversight by the government.

In Pune, open spaces have been converted into parking lots – including a mechanised structure – to meet the ‘demand’. However, prior to providing off-street solutions, on-street parking has to be addressed as it comes free of cost and is more easily accessible, hence is more sought after.

Realising this, Pune has tried to employ certain strategies to ensure that rampant parking doesn’t hinder movement of vehicles as well as people. The age-old “P1/P2” scheme has been incorporated in several streets where parking is allowed only on one side of the road depending on odd/even dates. Traffic cops have tried to ban parking on mobility corridors during peak hours.

A manually-operated “Pay and Park” system in Pune charges 4-wheelers Rs.5-10 for 2-4 hours

Pune has also implemented a manually-operated “Pay and Park” system on some streets with parking charges of the order Rs 5-10 for four-wheelers for 2-4 hours. While this is the on-street scenario, many private establishments like hospitals and cinema halls charge upto Rs 50 for 4 hours of car-parking. All these measures have had mixed successes.

In Chennai on the other hand, parking rules and fees are administered on an ad-hoc basis, leading to a lack of clarity for users, inconsistent enforcement, and significant revenue leakage. The city experiences localised shortages despite overall availability of parking space.

The two cities are thus trying to solve the parking problem by better on-street parking management. The Pune Municipal Corporation has proposed a policy to manage parking in the city. The policy suggests slabs of parking charges, using the fundamental economic principle of supply and demand to determine the cost. It prioritises road space for other users – especially pedestrians, by dissuading the usage of any available public space (both off- and on-street) for parking.

The revenue from parking management only on bus-route roads in Chennai could itself be over half a crore rupees per year.

Chennai has initiated the process of implementing a smart parking management system. Key features of the proposed system are parking guidance for users and real-time information of parking slot availability on mobile platform, an online digital payment portal to improve revenue collection and enhance transparency and an electronic enforcement system, among other things.

For parking charges, a zone-based system will be followed wherein streets are categorised into paid parking (medium to high demand), free parking (low demand) and no parking (since parking restricts movement) zones. Parking fee and fine will be determined by the Greater Chennai Corporation and Chennai Smart City Ltd. It is estimated that the revenue from the system only from bus-route roads could itself be well over half a crore rupees per year.*

Dr. Paul Barter at a parking management workshop in Kathmandu. Image Courtesy: Clean Energy Nepal

In order to assist the two cities’ commendable efforts to deal with parking, Dr.Paul Barter will be visiting and leading discussions in both Pune and Chennai. Dr. Barter has offered his expertise along with necessary training in several parking-management projects across the world including Beijing, Kathmandu, Jakarta, Singapore, Mumbai, etc. He has published an on-street parking management toolkit as a guide for government staff in low-income and middle-income countries. His expert opinion and knowledge will add greatly to the parking management plan of the two cities.

Through their actions to tackle parking, Pune and Chennai are surely setting a great example for other cities that intend to create an urban environment focused on people rather than vehicles!

*This estimate is based on a parking fee rate of Rs. 40 per ECS per hour for bus-route roads.

Read the draft of Pune’s parking policy here: Suruvath: Public Parking Policy 2016.

Discover the basics of parking management and regulation in ITDP’s publication, Parking Basics.

People’s day out: Shoppers welcome T. Nagar Pedestrian Plaza

3rd March 2017 by admin

“He doesn’t want to leave yet! He hasn’t even had his breakfast, but in his enjoyment, he’s forgotten his hunger!” Mrs. Lalitha, a resident of T.Nagar, thus ended up spending the entire morning at Pondy Bazaar with her 7 year-old son Pranav. Pranav, who has nobody at home to play with, found not just games, but also company and a lot of space in T.Nagar to keep him entertained. His mother, who also participated in the games, reliving her childhood days, enjoyed a fun-filled, nostalgic shopping trip.

This alternate shopping experience was on the occasion of the second trial run of the proposed Pondy Bazaar Pedestrian Plaza. Owing to the success of the first trial run of the plaza, a second trial was organised by the Greater Corporation of Chennai on the 25th February, 2017 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm along Sir Thyagaraya Road. Though a hit amongst the people who visited, the shopkeepers remained concerned that the plaza would affect their sales.

Pondy Bazaar, located in the heart of the city, is known for being a famous shopping destination, with both small stores and big brands lining the stretch. This shopping promenade is best experienced on foot, giving one the opportunity to stop-and-shop to one’s content. In order to transform this hub into a haven, a pedestrian plaza has been proposed along Sir Thyagaraya Road as a Smart City initiative.

As a first step towards creating this plaza — for collecting citizen feedback and building support for the project — a part of the road was converted into a pedestrian zone for the first trial run on November 20th, 2016, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Visitors witnessed a new Pondy Bazaar, bustling with activity and games throughout the morning. The lack of congestion despite diverted traffic further added to the success of the experiment.

The first trial run went on smoothly, with no traffic congestion

Similar to the first trial run, the 700m stretch between Thanikachalam Road junction and Panagal Park was closed off to cars, autos, shared autos and vans, during the second trial run. Two wheelers and buses were allowed along the stretch both ways, although on a shorter width of four meters on either side of the median. The traffic rerouting was quite successful, with incredible support from the Chennai Traffic Police.

Due to the longer duration of this trial, the activities were split into various slots across the morning and afternoon sessions. The morning was dedicated to kids, with games such as carrom, chess & life-sized snake & ladder, and activities like yoga, craft with newspaper & a drawing competition on Smart City. Young drummers and dancers dazzled the crowd in the afternoon while the elders learned more about first aid at the training camp organised by the NGO Alert. The health camps organised by the Corporation were also a hit among the older people. Restaurants set up tables & chairs outside, to serve those who wanted to snack while enjoying the outdoor activities.

In terms of facilities, parking was provided at the site of the proposed multi-storey car park at the Thanikachalam Road junction. On-street parking was also arranged for on Bashyam Road in front of Panagal park and Thyagaraya Road between Anna Salai and Nair road. Water and seating were provided all along the street at regular intervals for people’s convenience. Shuttle service in the form of battery-operated cars was made available for the elders.

Pedestrian counts and pedestrian user surveys were conducted to study the quantum of pedestrian traffic in this section of the street as well as collect public feedback. Vehicle-volume video surveys were also conducted at the intersections to study the flow of traffic and pile-up, if any. The results of these surveys, along with those from the first trial run, will be used to decide upon the final design of the proposed plaza.

Visualising the proposed T. Nagar pedestrian plaza

The shopkeepers were concerned about the loss of parking that will result from the pedestrian plaza, which they believe might affect their profits. The appointed consultants for the project, Darashaw, along with members of ITDP, explained to them that the idea of mandatory parking for shopping is a myth. Cases from the world over were presented to them.

Pedestrianisation across the globe

Cities across the world are celebrating the pedestrian and the cyclist. Many have created completely pedestrianised areas to provide better mobility for pedestrians, enhance the shopping experience & volume, and reduce pollution level and the number of accidents. Despite initial resistances, most of these projects have proven to be great successes.

Copenhagen, for instance, set out to pedestrianise its main shopping street, Stroget, in 1962. In the 1960s, the increasing number of vehicles led to growing pressure on Stroget for both moving traffic and parking. As a result, shoppers became confined to a narrow, almost non-existent footpath, with no room to stop-and-shop.

In 1962, 15,800 sq.m of pedestrian area was created. Today, a total of 100,000 sq.m once dedicated to motorised transit has been converted to traffic-free space for pedestrians in Copenhagen. Stroget now has 6 times more area for pedestrians than in 1962 with a 10-12m width carrying 145 people/min. More importantly, the shops have seen an increase in sales by 30%.

Similarly in New York, to ease traffic congestion throughout the midtown grid and improve pedestrian safety, mayor Bloomberg decided to pedestrianise Broadway around Times Square for a trial on May 24, 2009. Initially, the plaza had a few tables, 376 rubber folding chairs, potted plants and orange barrier cones.The plaza is now being redesigned permanently at $55 million.

After pedestrianisation, Times Square has seen a 33% reduction in traffic related injuries. Sales have risen by 71% – the biggest growth in history – and the number of shops has doubled. The testing of the Time’s Square pedestrianisation over the years has taught the world a valuable lesson – trials over a long period help understand the needs of the stakeholders better.

Snøhetta’s proposed design for Times Square

Pondy Bazaar pedestrian plaza to be rolled out soon

The Greater Corporation of Chennai aims to see the pedestrian plaza take shape on the ground by the end of the year. If all goes according to plan, Chennai will have a brand new, revamped public space in its centre, right on the street!

Transport investments for better cities

24th May 2016 by admin

In the next fifteen years, the top hundred cities of India will grow by around 60 percent. These cities will have 125 million new inhabitants, roughly the population of Japan! Today, with less than a third of all urban trips on personal motor vehicles (and less than 10% by personal cars), and more than two thirds by sustainable modes—walking, cycling, and public transport—Indian cities look good on paper. But, the ground reality is different.
Formal public transport is poor or non-existent. Uncomfortable, unsafe, and polluting paratransit services fill the gap in most cities. Walking and cycling facilities are completely missing, or unusable if they exist. People use ‘sustainable’ modes out of financial compulsion, not out of choice. Cities are choked with traffic and pollution. Road fatality rates are 20-25 times that of developed countries.

On the other hand, personal motor vehicle ownership is doubling every decade, at nearly thrice the rate of population growth. As more and more people depend on personal motor vehicles for their daily travel needs, cities try to accommodate this deluge of traffic by expanding roads, building flyovers, and increasing parking space. However, such automobile centric planning practices cause urban sprawl, resulting in longer commutes and more traffic on the roads. Infrastructure costs, user costs, travel times, and pollution increase; traffic safety worsens.

To become smart, Indian cities must embrace a radically different approach to urban mobility: one that focuses on efficient and sustainable forms of mobility like public transport, walking and cycling. They also need to adopt a transit-oriented development (TOD) approach to create dense yet livable neighborhoods along mass transport lines, so that trips remain short and convenient and cities remain compact.

Large and medium-sized Indian cities must invest in an extensive network of rapid transit along with a wide coverage of frequent, high-quality urban bus service. Further, cities of all sizes must invest in safe and convenient walking and cycling infrastructure. The aim should be to provide safe, convenient, and attractive mobility options for all while restricting the vehicle-kilometres travelled (VKT) by personal motor vehicles to no more than present levels. In mode share terms, percentage of trips by personal motor vehicles should be cut by half of present level by 2031.

Rapid transit in India: A global comparison

A global comparison of rapid transit projects reveals that India has just 3.2 kilometers of rapid transit per million urban residents (counting only cities with population of more than half million), a third of its peers China and Brazil, and less than a twentieth of France. To keep pace with its urban growth, India needs over a eight-fold increase of its mass rapid transit supply by 2031. However, at the present rate of building rapid transit in India, it would take at least 3-4 times longer, by when, the need for rapid transit would increase even further. India is not investing in sustainable urban transport at anything close enough to meet even basic mobility needs, much less to addressing the issues of inequity and environmental degradation that are growing faster than the population.

Countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico not only have much more urban rapid transit per capita than India but are expanding their systems at significantly faster rate. The reason behind this is bus rapid transit (BRT)—an inexpensive and quick to implement rapid transit mode that can provide metro-quality service with the added benefit of flexibility of rubber-tyred buses compared to rail systems. BRT systems not only have dedicated median lanes to bypass congestion but also have feature elements like stepless boarding, off-board fare collection, and real-time passenger information that reduce delays and improve customer service.

BRT and bus-based public transport in India

The Ahmedabad BRT system—known as Janmarg or “the People’s Way”—has revolutionised expectations about bus-based mass rapid transit in India. In a span of five years from 2009 to 2014, Janmarg has expanded from a 12.5 km corridor to a network of 88 km, providing connectivity across the city. Janmarg demonstrates that BRT can provide high-quality service at a fraction of the cost and has inspired similar BRT efforts like Rajmarg (Rajkot) in 2012, iBus (Indore) in 2013 and Citilink (Surat) in 2014.

Features of Bus Rapid Transit

In 2015, Pune-Pimpri Chinchwad inaugurated Rainbow BRT. Bus operations are monitored from a central control centre using real-time data from GPS tracking devices on buses. The system uses a fleet of Euro IV CNG buses to contain emissions. With a daily ridership of 130,000, Rainbow BRT has helped reduce reliance on personal motorized vehicles. Around 12 percent of Rainbow BRT commuters used personal motor vehicles for their daily travel earlier.

Rapid transit, while important, is not enough. Many Indian cities have skeletal bus services or none at all. In their absence, people depend on intermediate public transport modes that are unsafe and, often, highly polluting. Hence, a formal bus-based public transport service is a necessity in all cities. In all, Indian cities will need over 3 lakh new city buses and minibuses in operations by 2031.

Walking and cycling: Basics of urban transport

More than a third of all the trips in our cities are made by foot or cycle. Public transport trips too start and end on foot—making walking integral to India’s transport systems. Cities must focus on redesigning streets to support walking and cycling—clean modes of transport that still play an important role in Indian cities. Indian cities need to build at least 32,000 km of wide and accessible footpaths and 16,000 km of safe and convenient cycle tracks over the next fifteen years.

Chennai is the first Indian city to adopt a non-motorised transport policy to promote walking and cycling in the city. The Corporation of Chennai has proposed to create a safe and pleasant network of footpaths, cycle tracks and greenways through the entire city to arrest the current decline in walking and cycling. 26 streets have been redesigned with better walking infrastructure, with another 20 streets under construction. Streets with wide carriageways and narrow or no footpaths have been replaced by wide, continuous and unhindered walking spaces, safe pedestrian crossings, properly scaled carriageways, conveniently placed bus stops, and clearly designated on-street parking.

Building cities around transit

Investments promoting walking, cycling and public transport will not bear fruit unless Indian cities stop counterproductive car-centric investments like flyovers and elevated roads. No city in the world has solved its congestion problem by building more roads. Our cities should follow a simple mantra: Build transit, Add density, Control parking. Cities should encourage higher densities in areas where there is good connectivity to mass rapid transit. They must also actively control personal motor vehicle use through parking restrictions and market-based pricing. Parking fees should be pegged to parking demand—higher demand, higher fee. Revenue generated from parking can be used to build better walking and cycling infrastructure and to expand public transport.

Ahmedabad’s Development Plan 2021 embraces this mantra. It encourages the use of public transport and promotes a compact city by encouraging higher density commercial and residential activities along BRT and Metro corridors while removing minimum requirements for off-street parking in new buildings. In fact, there is a cap on the amount of parking that new buildings can create—a maximum of two basement levels. Any additional parking will be deducted from the permitted FSI.

Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), through its draft parking policy, makes a case for limited parking. In areas with good connectivity to mass rapid transit, the emphasis is on controlling parking supply. As per the policy, the city will be divided into multiple parking districts. Parking rates in these districts will reflect rentals in the area, the size of the vehicle and the levels of congestion in the area.

PMC has also proposed in its 2016-17 budget to spend 50% of its transportation budget on footpaths, cycle tracks, and BRT, thus prioritising spending on sustainable transport over car-oriented infrastructure. Revenue generated from parking will also be used to build streets with better walking and cycling infrastructure as well as to expand public transport. Many vehicle-free zones are also planned, particularly on busy shopping streets.

The way forward

Benefits of adopting such a sustainable transport approach are many. It can bring down capital expenditure, fuel consumption, pollution levels and travel costs, saving money for government and individual citizens. Building safe streets that support the needs of all road users can also save tens of thousands of lives.
The Smart Cities Challenge has clear guidelines to promote walking, cycling, and public transport and will see an investment of around one trillion rupees (including central, state, and city contributions) over the next five years to develop best practices in the urban sector. Though these are good signs, implementation challenges remain. Access to funds, while essential, is not enough. Cities must also improve their capacity to plan and deliver high quality projects, by creating institutions with clear authority to plan, design, and implement. Smart are those cities that have the ability to create a sustainable, equitable and livable future.

The article was first published in Urbana World, Mar-Apr 2016

Coimbatore delegation visits Chennai: Understands best practices in street design

7th March 2016 by admin

As Coimbatore looks at developing 13 km of streets as ‘Model Roads’ in the city featuring high quality pedestrian environment, a team comprising officials from the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation along with empanelled architects visited Chennai for a detailed knowledge-sharing session with their peers from the Greater Chennai Corporation on 23 February.

The team, comprising of four engineers and ten architects from Coimbatore, visited various streets developed in Chennai as part of the ongoing Chennai Street Design project. ITDP facilitated the site visits and discussions with support from the Greater Chennai Corporation and local partner, Chennai City Connect Foundation.

City officials from Chennai explained various site-specific details to the visiting engineers and architects.

Over the course of the day-long program, participants visited various streets in the city and noted key design features, such as continuous footpaths at property entrances, location of bus stops, and pedestrian crossings, all of which contribute to a safe walking environment. City engineers from Chennai showcased various construction details and stressed the need for contextual design solutions that accommodate existing utilities and landscape elements. Key implementation barriers like managing parking and street vending were also discussed.

These site visits were followed by a presentation by ITDP on best practices in street design. Mr. L. Nandakumar, Superintending Engineer (Roads, Works & Bridges), Greater Chennai Corporation, outlined the various processes adopted in Chennai to build public support for better streets. In addition, he also detailed out the construction and implementation challenges faced in Chennai and how these were resolved. Subsequent discussions saw active participation from the visiting delegation, who provided positive feedback on this program.

Learnings from these site visits and discussions will directly contribute to the street design processes underway in Coimbatore, where important streets like DB Road, TV Swamy Street, NSR Road, Sanganoor Road, Race Course Road and Masakalipalayam Road are to be redeveloped at an estimated cost Rs. 26 crore.

DB Road in Coimbatore (left) is proposed to be redeveloped into a pedestrian-friendly street with wide, continuous footpaths (right).

Pune, Coimbatore and Chennai Selected as India’s ‘Smart Cities’

16th February 2016 by admin

Pune, Coimbatore and Chennai have been making huge progress creating sustainable cities. Each has made great strides in recent years, laying the groundwork for even bigger changes to come. Thanks to their demonstrated commitment to act, in addition to well-developed plans for next steps, all three have been selected for the first round of India’s national Smart Cities Mission.

Right now, experts predict that about 25-30 people are migrating every minute to major Indian cities from rural areas in search of better livelihood and better lifestyles. It is estimated that by 2050, Indian cities will house nearly 843 million people. This massive increase in population will put incredible pressure on India’s cities, requiring new infrastructure for transportation, energy, and safety. To address these imminent issues, the Government of India has allocated Rs 48,000 crore to create the Smart Cities Mission, a programme dedicated to helping cities invest in sustainable infrastructure and growth.

As part of the Smart Cities Mission, these three selected cities (see the full list here) have each proposed to invest over 600 Crore rupees in sustainable transport projects. By pegging this money to tangible, area-based improvements, these cities have a clear plan to transform over the next 5 years, bringing widespread socio-economic benefits to a large section of society. ITDP is proud to have partnered with Pune, Coimbatore, and Chennai to chart out their sustainable paths for the future.

ITDP has been working with these cities in different roles, providing technical support to projects, capacity building for officials, and creating community engagement at various levels. In the twin cities of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, ITDP helped implement the Rainbow BRT, incorporating best practices in BRT planning and design. ITDP has been instrumental in helping Chennai adopt a Non-Motorized Transport Policy and overseeing its implementation through street design and engaging with citizens through initiatives like car-free Sundays. In Coimbatore, the Namma Kovai Namakke (Our Coimbatore Ourselves) campaign, initiated by ITDP, sparked citizen demand for better pedestrian facilities, all of which formed the groundwork for the Smart City proposals developed by these cities.

In the next 5 years, Pune aims to increase the mode share of public transport from 18 percent to 50 percent by augmenting its bus fleet and improving bus services using Intelligent Traffic Management Systems (ITMS). The city also aims to expand its high quality BRT network by 30 km and improve access to transit by creating 75 km network of footpaths and cycle tracks.

To facilitate easy interchange between Rainbow BRT and other buses, a transit hub is proposed at Anudh Baner Balewadi, Pune, along the lines of the Kiwale terminal pictured above.

In keeping with its NMT policy, Chennai aims to develop ‘Complete Streets’ and build footpaths to cover 80% of its major roads. A city-wide cycle sharing system with 3000 cycles and an IT-based parking management system are also expected to give a major thrust to walking and cycling while restricting private vehicle use.

Better NMT facilities are proposed in T. Nagar, a commercial and retail hub of Chennai.

Non-motorised transport is a key focus for Coimbatore as well, where the city aims to create NMT infrastructure along 75 percent of its primary and secondary road networks before 2020. A 30 km network of greenways connecting major lakes in the city is expected to improve quality of open space for its residents. The city also aims to increase mode share of public transport from 42 percent to 60 percent by modernising and expanding public bus services.

Congratulations to these cities, and all the selected Smart Cities, for the exciting work preparing India’s cities for a more sustainable, brighter future.

Chennai Celebrates Walking at the Sustainia Award Ceremony

4th February 2016 by admin

For the past several years, the city of Chennai has been taking bold, rational, and consistent steps towards a sustainable future. New footpaths are making walking more accessible for city residents. The Corporation introduced new capacity building programs for municipal engineers. A new Car Free Sunday initiative is engaging more residents to explore their city on foot. And the progressive non-motorised transport policy adopted by the city, which allocates 60% of transport funding for non-motorized transport, has inspired many national and international cities to adopt similar policies.

For this comprehensive approach to improving sustainable transport, the Corporation of Chennai has been recognized with the 2015 Sustainia Award, presented by the Danish think tank, Sustainia. The Sustainia Awards identify innovative and demonstrated sustainable solutions from across the world. Chennai’s Street Design Project was selected as the best solution of 2015 for transforming Chennai from a car-centric to a people-friendly city and addressing safety concerns and air pollution in one go.

The award was originally presented on December 6^th at the Paris Climate Conference, and was received by ITDP CEO Clayton Lane on behalf of the city. Chennai officials were unable to attend the event, as they were responding to torrential rains that hit Chennai in early December 2015. ITDP has been one of the principal partners on the project. On January 23^rd, the Corporation of Chennai, ITDP, the Chennai City Connect, and numerous partners came together to celebrate the success of the project.

“The city has set a new example in the country by prioritising people over cars with the adoption of the non-motorized transport policy,” said Saidai Duraisamy, the proud Mayor of Chennai, as he received the award from Clayton Lane.

(Left) The Mayor of Chennai receiving the award from Clayton Lane (Right) Clayton Lane receiving the Sustania award on behalf of Chennai at the Paris award ceremony.

These new policies are necessary to combat the decline in walking and cycling in the city in recent years. “The mode share of vehicles and two wheelers have rapidly increased. Although this is a sign of economic development, it is also a matter of concern due to the rising level of pollution and road accidents. We need to work towards becoming a safer, healthier city,” stated Vikram Kapur, former Commissioner of Chennai, during whose term many projects promoting non-motorised transport were initiated.

The heightened risk of air pollution was further stressed by B Chandra Mohan, Commissioner of Chennai, who added that pollution is a problem that can wait no longer. To this end, Clayton Lane emphasized the major impact sustainable transport can have, citing ITDP research showing how “a considerable switch to walking and cycling can reduce these emissions in half.”

The speakers highlighted that the street design process needs to be balanced and include the needs of all stakeholders who are an integral part of the cityscape.

Everyone needs to come together to build a walkable Chennai, and the event brought together people who contributed to the cause in various ways—architects who assisted the city in street design, community agencies, academic institutions, media partners and the traffic police—who were felicitated at the event.

While Chennai has taken the first steps towards developing a people centric city, the next challenge will be addressing the encroachment onto footpaths by parked vehicles, and the stakeholders gathered for the Sustania Award celebration took some time to discuss best practices in parking regulation and management. “Parking is like a magnet that attracts more cars. Providing more parking is not the solution to tackle this problem,” asserted Shreya Gadepalli, Regional Director, ITDP India, as she presented some of the myths associated with on-street and off-street parking along with progressive solutions.

The panel discussion saw active participation from Kavitha Selvaraj, C.R.Narayana Rao architects; Rajesh Gurumurthy from JLL India; Dr. Sumanthran, executive committee member of Chennai City Connect; Vikram Kapur; and Clayton Lane; who all agreed on the importance of enforcing and regulating parking.

11118266_817170668372655_2901389873878963232_n

1 parking space occupies the same space as an affordable housing unit. What should we prioritize, parking or people?

Spurred on by the successes of the non-motorized transport movement, progress on new issues looks hopeful. With strong political will and a collaborative effort from different stakeholders and policy makers, Chennai looks all set to walk into a sustainable future.

Presentation on Parking Basics

More pictures of the Sustania event

Related News

October 21, 2014

August 18, 2015

March 10, 2015

Related News

April 20, 2016

December 23, 2015

October 21, 2014

Related News

October 21, 2014

April 26, 2016

August 25, 2015

Related News

November 5, 2015

October 21, 2014

January 28, 2013