ITDP India set to represent Pune’s Complete Streets success in Germany!

6th February 2019 by admin

ITDP India is excited to be invited as a panelist and a speaker at the International Conference of the Research Training Group KRITIS, at Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany. Pranjali Deshpande, Senior Manager of the ITDP India Programme, will showcase the progressive interventions implemented by Pune to bring back life to its car-centric streets.

City records show that as of 2016-17, Pune had 2.3 million two-wheelers and seven-hundred thousand four-wheelers, and ranked second in terms of vehicle density among Indian cities. City administrators soon realised that pre-emptive measures for urban mobility was the need of the hour, and that’s when Pune started to break new ground!

In-line with the National Urban Transport Policy, Pune aims to achieve its goal of reducing dependency on personal motorised vehicles from 50 percent to 10 percent by 2031. In 2017-18, Pune’s budget witnessed a paradigm shift in its transportation expenditure wherein over half of the city’s transport budget was spent on sustainable transport initiatives – in particular walking and cycling.

These streets are made for walking, and that’s just what they’ll do…

Pune footed the ambitious Complete Street scheme, with technical input from the ITDP India Programme, to transform over 100 km of streets that prioritise pedestrians and cyclists. This was based on a unique set of Urban Street Design Guidelines adopted by Pune in 2016.

The first phase—on JM Road and DP Road—was lauded across the country, even winning the Housing and Urban Development Corporation Award and the Volvo Mobility Award 2017. The redesign brought new life to Pune’s streetscape! Following on Pune’s footstep, even Pimpri-Chinchwad started the process of designing 75 km of street networks in the city.

JM Road, Pune

Maintaining its stance that Pune is for people and not for vehicles, the city administration heralded a new era of an efficient paid parking system in 2018. The Pune Parking Policy, for which the India Programme provided technical support, introduced an efficient paid parking system and a management cell to oversee implementation. The city awaits its implementation on-ground.

The success of sustainable transport projects in Pune is an ode to the efforts of the Pune Municipal Corporation and Pune Smart City Development Corporation Ltd., and their collaboration with organisations including ITDP India Programme, Parisar, Pedestrians First, Prasanna Desai Architects, and the Center for Environment Education.

The transition from a motor vehicle-dependent city to a people-friendly city is not easy without the support of citizens. To ensure success, the municipal corporation conducted several public consultation drives. And, the city continues to do so, ensuring that sustainable urban mobility practices are a continuous exercise and woven into the new people-first transport culture.

Tamil Nadu takes big steps in pursuit of liveable and sustainable cities

27th December 2018 by admin

Over the past two decades, cities of Tamil Nadu have seen a rapid increase in personal motor vehicles. This has been, in large part, due to the lack of investment in creating quality infrastructure for walking, cycling, and public transport, along with little or no regulation of motor vehicle parking.

Streets are getting more congested with every passing day and air is turning unbreathable. Road crashes and fatalities are at an all-time high; Tamil Nadu is at the top of the list in India. But now, a small revolution seems to be on the anvil: a state-led programme that aims to transform urban roads into ‘Complete Streets’ in cities across the state.

Earlier this year, the Tamil Nadu Commissionerate of Municipal Administration (CMA), with technical assistance from ITDP India Programme, initiated the Transforming Tamil Nadu project. ITDP began working with ten of the state’s most populous cities other than Chennai—Coimbatore, Erode, Madurai, Salem, Thanjavur, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tiruppur, Trichy, and Vellore —to create Complete Streets master plans.

Based on this, the state has now announced its intentions to raise financing of the order of Rs 20,000 crore to redevelop 1,700 km of urban streets to improve safety, accessibility, and liveability for all road users.

Why complete streets make cities smart

As of 2018, Tamil Nadu has around 25 million registered motorised vehicles and are growing annually at 2.5%, surpassing the state’s population growth. While personal motor vehicles—two-wheeled as well as four-wheeled—account for approximately 90% of the total vehicle fleet, they serve only 28% of the daily trips made by people of Tamil Nadu. In contrast, 67% of all trips are made on foot, cycle, and public transport—modes of transport that efficiently use limited street space and are environment-friendly. Yet, thus far, transport planning and the design of streets has been unfriendly to these modes.

Here is where concepts such as Complete Streets help cities meet these sustainable development expectations. Not only do they support sustainable transport modes such as walking and cycling, but the design standards also lay emphasis on equal access to streets—regardless of their age, gender, ability, or mode of transportation.

The main components of Complete Streets are the wide and continuous footpaths, safe pedestrian crossings, separate cycle tracks (where applicable), bus stops designed to enhance convenience, designated on-street parking, organised street vending, and properly-scaled carriageways.

These streets are designed to offer the best of convenience and comfort based on local needs and offer spaces for relaxation, recreation, and interaction. And in the process, ensuring safety through equitable allocation of space for all users, keeping emission levels at a check, and promoting sustainable means of transport among the community.

Getting things started on the ground

In April 2018, the ITDP India Programme, in association with GIZ Smart-SUT, conducted a state-level workshop on ‘Designing streets for walking and cycling’ on behalf of the CMA. Commissioners and senior municipal staff from all ten cities learnt about the need for Complete Streets and the way to plan and implement them.

Realising the transformative potential of Complete Streets, the CMA launched the Transforming Tamil Nadu project. The cities were commissioned to engage with ITDP India Programme to identify, map, plan, and implement city-wide networks of Complete Streets that prioritise walking, cycling, and access to public transport.

Over a period of nine months, the India Programme held ten workshops that saw participation by over 300 officials.

These workshops helped facilitate a joint discussion between various stakeholders—corporation engineers, Traffic Police, Highways Department, Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL),Tamil Nadu Water Supply And Drainage Board (TWAD), as well as civil society organisations—to work together to develop a joint vision for their city’s future.

Each of these interactions began with sensitising the officials, as most were naturally inclined to believe that motor vehicles dominated the paradigm of urban planning. They were presented with statistics that represented the present conditions. One such tidbit: a third of all trips in Tamil Nadu are made on foot! But how many footpaths are designed to cater to pedestrians or how many streets even have footpaths for that matter?!

This dialogue left a resounding impact on the audience.

Once the foundation to the concept was laid, officials were engaged in a participative mapping exercise to identify streets for redevelopment. This exercise allowed various authorities to work in collaboration, and deliberate upon conceptual walking and cycling network plans for their respective city. The data that came about, by means of this participatory session, was processed into GIS maps and analysed to understand block estimates about the streets available for transformation and tentative project budget.

As a result of this mapping exercise, officials from these then cities identified a network of 1,700 km of streets that could be transformed into sustainable, liveable spaces!

How things are shaping up

“Over the past two years, we’ve spent over Rs 20,000 crore in providing basic infrastructure with projects worth Rs 50,000 crore in the pipeline. In addition to that we require about Rs 20,000 crore for development of Smart Roads, which we are seeking from development banks,” said the state minister for Municipal Affairs and Water Supply (MAWS) and Implementation for Special Projects, Thiru SP Velumani, at a workshop held on 21 December 2018.

The workshop, conducted in partnership with Asian Development Bank, aimed to sensitise officials from urban local bodies on the Governance Improvement and Awareness Component (GIAC) of the Tamil Nadu Urban Flagship Investment Program (TNUFIP).

ITDP India Programme’s work with these ten cities helped in identifying a draft network of 1,700 km of city streets to be redeveloped into Complete Streets. Given the potential of this initiative, the Tamil Nadu government is reaching out to prospective funders. To set precedent, ITDP India Programme will work with GIZ Smart-SUT to create detailed city-wide plans for walking and cycling in three pilot cities which will then be scaled to the other cities.

As stressed upon by the CMA, during this workshop, these streets will have to be redesigned as per complete street design standards for underground utility and surface design, to gage a lasting impact on the liveability of the city.

As it is said, action speaks louder than words and Tamil Nadu’s action details its aspiration to become the walking and cycling capital of India. This giant leap by the state to create high-quality city-wide networks of Complete Streets for its citizens is commendable!

Written by Rohit James

Edited by Kashmira Medhora Dubash

Capacity Development Shapes Tamil Nadu Towns for Urban Tomorrow

14th December 2018 by admin

Tamil Nadu is urbanising and based on recent trends, the state is expected to be the most urbanised by 2030. With 11 Tamil Nadu cities being part of the Smart City Mission, it reflects the aspiration and potential that smaller townships hold to become urban centres. This is where capacity building and development exercises help bridge their aspirations with realistic and sustainable solutions.

At this point, many municipalities are growing faster than their projected trajectory, which has begun disrupting the established planning layout. To counter this spurt of growth, municipal officials on most occasions resort to quick fixes or knee-jerk solutions which in the future can further accelerate their woes.

Taking notice of this worrying development, the Commissionerate of Municipal Administration (CMA), in partnership with the Tamil Nadu Institute of Urban Studies (TNIUS) and the ITDP India Programme, commissioned the capacity building programme on urban planning. The program was structured to help prepare town planners and panchayat officials to create streets and public spaces which meet the standards of upcoming smart cities.

Shifting from streets for vehicles, to streets for all

In the midst of modernisation, a key component of civic planning that is often overlooked is equitable street design. To help towns and municipalities reimagine and structure streets, beyond just accommodating the rampant vehicle population, the India Programme was brought on board to share its expertise in creating complete streets which adhere to every road users need.

As part of the course, the India Programme designed and conducted capacity development sessions for over 240 town planners from about 100 municipalities that was spread across three months.

In absence of such interventions, town planners tend to sway to the tune of vehicle-centric planning; this at the expense of safe footpaths and cycling facilities. While carriageways only get broader and footpaths narrower! Hence, such developmental workshops help officials realise the need for equality and accessibility while laying out streets. Emphasis was put on creating and improving infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists—who account as the primary occupants of Indian urban roads.

Making sense of Complete Streets

‘What are Complete Streets?’ When asked to express their understanding of the concept, the responses from officials varied from ‘streets that are planned for better vehicular passage’ to it being ‘foreign/alien’ to them.

So, what are Complete Streets?

Complete Streets are street layouts that cater to all user groups—regardless of their age, gender, ability, or mode of transportation. They are designed with wide and continuous footpaths, safe pedestrian crossings, separate cycle tracks (where applicable), bus stops designed to enhance convenience, designated on-street parking, organised street vending, and properly-scaled carriageways. These streets are designed to offer the best of convenience and comfort based on local needs and offer spaces for relaxation, play, and interaction.

Understanding the essence of Complete Streets

Since motor vehicles have been dominating every square inch of our urban infrastructure and design plans, the sessions began with a bit of a reality check. Participants, including town planning inspectors, executive officers, and town planning officers, were introduced to general facts such as modal share, infrastructure inadequacies, misconceptions regarding road infrastructure planning, etc.

This turned out to be an important step in the process, as it helped expose the misbelief that motor vehicles transport more people than any other transportation mode. Walking and cycling accounts for 40-50% of the total modal share, and just a quarter of urban trips are on personal motor vehicles.

To further quash the fallacy, officials were shown multiple images of vehicle-centric design plans which were riddled with flaws—unusable or absent footpaths, rampant on-street parking encroachments, haphazard pedestrian crossings, etc. On realising the potential threat such single-pronged plan would generate, more officials realised why streets need to designed for all users than just vehicles.

Providing the tools for change

Understanding the flaw is just one part of the solution, the next step required acceptance and gumption to resolve it. Hence, the following session looked to tackle the incessant argument claiming, ‘Our town streets aren’t like cities, they are too small to adopt such measures.’

By sensitising officials to multiple examples of Indian streets, each reclaimed and refurbished according to best practices, many of the skeptics were won over by the effectiveness of the Complete Street programme. For example, the redesign of JM Road and DP Road in Pune; which has been lauded across the country, even winning the Housing and Urban Development Corporation Award and the Volvo Mobility Award 2017.

Further on, the basic components of Complete Streets were broken down and each element was interactively explained to officials.

To further enable their understanding of the concept, ITDP’s resources—such as Footpath Fix and Footpath Design for designing and constructing standardised footpaths and Parking Basics and Park it Right for creating means for a parking management system—were discussed and later shared with the participants for further reference.

At the pace towns are developing in Tamil Nadu, 2030 does not seem like a distant future. Therefore, such capacity development sessions go a long way to instil concepts of sustainable and equitable mobility culture right at the grassroot levels. In essence, preparing these townships to meet their aspirations and ensure it is done for the people and not vehicles.

Written by Rohit James

Edited by Kashmira Medhora Dubash

[Webinar] How can Indian cities construct a future for walking

10th August 2018 by admin

Join our webinar to hear how Indian cities can construct safe and attractive footpaths that are accessible by all. The webinar will introduce our publication – Footpath Fix – that provides guidance on footpath construction details, especially that of different utilities.

Many Indian cities have begun to acknowledge the fundamental role of walking in everyday life but are stuck at getting the details right. This short guide is more of a cheat-sheet for urban designers, municipal engineers, and contractors on how to implement footpaths in complex urban environments. Everyone who has seen it is raving about it.

Download your own FREE copy!

Register to RSVP

Date and time: Thursday 16 August, at 6pm IST
Speaker: Nashwa Naushad, Research Associate – Urban Development, ITDP India
Pranjal Kulkarni, Research Associate – Urban Development, ITDP India

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.

Our Cities Ourselves

1st June 2018 by admin

Over the recent decades, the impact of our city’s population growth has lead to a whole slew of transportation issues that we as citizens experience daily. Car-centric approaches continue to fail, and the need for solutions that improve people’s freedom to move is the dire need of the hour. Cities across the globe were provided the opportunity to not only shape their future — but to design it for its people.

Our Cities Ourselves: The Future of Transportation in Urban Life, kicked off a world-wide tour to exhibit the vision of ten major global cities along with the world’s leading Architects. The exhibit focused on eliminating the 21st century car-dependant model of urban sprawl by replacing it with a more sustainable, equitable, and liveable urban future with walking, cycling, and public transit.

Organised by ITDP to commemorate its 25th anniversary in 2010, the exhibition addressed urban solutions for ten major global cities: Ahmedabad, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Dar es Salaam, Guangzhou, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Mexico City, New York City and Rio de Janeiro. The various approaches offered distinct takes that were shaped to fit the city’s different urban cultures.

In Ahmedabad, where the Indian edition of Our Cities Ourselves was launched, in partnership with Environmental Planning Collaborative and six leading Architects, initiated conversation about the city’s future over a four-month engagement. ITDP, along with its partners facilitated discussion on visioning Ahmedabad by organising an advisory committee of ten members from various local sectors.

The result – a vision that embraced the unique character of Ahmedabad and seeked a more equitable and environmentally sustainable future.

To bring this vision to life, the Architects—Kamal Mangaldas, Parul Zaveri & Nimish Patel, Rajeev Kathpalia, Bimal Patel, Aniket Bhagwat, and Apurva Amin—re-designed six sites across the city to transform them into streets and public spaces that were safe, comfortable, and accessible by all members of the society.

Central to the Our Cities Ourselves programme were the principles of transport in urban life: walk, cycle, connect, transit, mix, densify, compact and shift. These principles guided the design and the overall vision of the city. The designs were also prepared in consultation with a Citizens Council formed by a group of eminent Ahmedabad residents, to reflect what the people of the city desired.

Visioning of a city is incomplete without the views of its citizens. Awareness and engagement of citizens can mean the difference between a city that withers under the presence of growing traffic & pollution and one that approaches these challenges with a proactive, determined response.

In this regard, the Our Cities Ourselves exhibition was a grander affair that showcased life-sized renderings of the six re-designed sites to reflect the vision of urban Ahmedabad. Thousands flocked to CEPT University to not only witness, but also be part of this journey that would change the face of their city.

The month long exhibition included a series of activities to engage with local citizens, Architects and Planners, and civic bodies. The exhibition included a series of activities: day-long design charrette with local architects, workshops on envisioning ‘a better Ahmedabad’ with key stakeholders such as Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority, cycle-day for school student, a painting competition for school kids, and a movie night on street films.

The success of the exhibition was unparalleled, and resulted in two key wins for the city: the underlying principles and the vision of the city informed the revision of Ahmedabad’s Master Plan 2021, and it led way for citizen engagement for the much awaited Sabarmati Riverfront Project – the pride of the city.

Furthermore, the exhibit inspired decision-makers from many cities like Pune, Chennai, and Indore to initiate such thought-provoking discussions in their cities and kickstart various sustainable transport projects. With the widely positive response, the programme drove home the Our Cities Ourselves motto: ‘Livable today, sustainable for the future.’

Cities like Ahmedabad have started off well to meet the challenges of sustainability because “we simply can’t sustain the sort of automobile-dominated transportation systems that we have today”, Walter Hook, former Chief Executive Officer of ITDP. The successful city of the 21st century is one that is replete with travel choices, including walking, cycling, and public transit. These cities will leap ahead of others by attracting people who demand a healthy and culturally rich lifestyle.

Tamil Nadu to plan a clean, green and healthy way of moving its people: 10 cities take the lead

25th May 2018 by admin

Tamil Nadu is at the cusp of turning into the most urbanised State in India. With over 48 percent of its population living in urban areas, the cities of Tamil Nadu recognise the need to provide a clean, green, and healthy way of moving it’s citizens—walking and cycling.

To set the wheel in motion, ITDP India programme in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu Commissionerate of Municipal Administration (CMA) and GIZ Smart-SUT organised a day long workshop on ‘Designing streets for walking and cycling’.

The dearth of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure undermines our basic civil right. But, undeniably people of Tamil Nadu rely heavily on commute by foot; more than a third of all trips are made on foot!

Cities of Tamil Nadu now have a second chance at reclaiming space for its primary users—pedestrians and cyclists. The workshop paved way for the Transforming Tamil Nadu: Creating walking and cycling-friendly cities programme that aims to transform urban cores to liveable, safe cities.

The Programme brings together 10 Tamil Nadu cities — Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, Thanjavur, Vellore, Tiruppur, Tirunelveli, Tiruchirappalli, Thoothukudi and Erode — selected under the National Smart Cities Mission. These cities have been allocated approximately 2500 crores towards the transformation of 500 km of streets, in total.

The 10 cities will be assisted by ITDP India programme, over a nine month period, to identify, plan, and implement city-wide walking and cycling networks. Of these 10 cities, three will be identified and assisted in creating detailed network plans by ITDP India programmed in collaboration with GIZ Smart-SUT. These network plans aim to boost economy, promote healthy living, and reduce the environmental impacts of our transport choices. In a nation where cars are a status symbol, it is commendable for these cities to envision an increase in the use of cycles and the ease of walking.

The Programme, that is now commissioned by the CMA is attributed to the efforts of sensitising and inspiring city officials over the last two years. Coimbatore, with support from ITDP India programme, kick-started the sustrans crusade by evangelising the Greenways and Lake Restoration Project, which includes a 30 km network of exclusive walking and cycling infrastructure connecting eight water bodies across the city. The city’s vision has had a bandwagon effect across the State.

The 10 cities have also been inspired by the seamless design and execution of Pune’s Complete Streets. ITDP India programme, with the support of the State Government, organised study tours for over 50 Commissioners, Engineers, and Project Management Consultants to explore Pune’s work on-ground that has set world-class street design standards in India.

TN delegates assessing the public bicycle sharing system on a site visit to Pune

As cities were already sensitised to embrace the walking and cycling paradigm shift, the participants—Commissioners, Engineers, and Project Management Consultants—were extremely receptive of catalysing change.

During the workshop, presentations by Shreya Gadepalli, South Asia Programme Lead (ITDP), and Aswathy Dilip, Senior Programme Manager (ITDP India programme) struck a chord among participants to ensure that our cities put people before cars. In effect, all citizens should be able to walk and cycle safely, and easily access jobs and services via quality public transit.

Shreya Gadepalli, South Asia Programme Lead (ITDP), presenting on sustainable urban transport

Jan Rickmeyer, Transport Policy Advisor for GIZ Eschborn, presented case studies from Leipzig to demonstrate how cities can transform into cycling utopias. Similarly, Juergen Baumann of C40 Cities Finance Facility, presented Bogota’s story of designing 25 km of cycle highway through low, middle, and high income neighbourhoods to ensure socially inclusivity.

At the workshop, peer-to-peer learning, through group exercises, was organised by ITDP India programme and GIZ to ensure that cities were equipped with the right skill-set to translate their learnings into implementation projects. Mapping existing transport opportunities and constraints of the city has helped determine the selection of streets that will be redesigned and transformed into walking and cycling networks.

Groups mapping existing transport constraints to identify potential walking and cycling networks

Transformation through design is the underlining key to success. In this regard, the Commissioner of Municipal Administration requested cities to adopt the model Request for Proposal (RFP): Appointment of a Technical Consultant for Planning, Re-designing and Monitoring of Smart Roads Development, prepared with the support from ITDP India programme, to appoint qualified designers to execute these network plans.

The Transforming Tamil Nadu: Creating walking and cycling-friendly cities programme that is now set in motion owing to the success of this workshop, will see through 10 smart cities wherein walking and cycling will form the backbone of their transport system. ITDP South India team will collaborate with these cities to make their dream a reality.

Walking is a basic human instinct, and cycling is a healthy and sustainable choice. They are unparalleled forms of transport. With clear vision and direction from the State, the cities of Tamil Nadu are on a resolute path to embrace a future where cities are designed to be enjoyed on foot or by pedal.

Watch this space as we embark on a journey to assist 10 cities of Tamil Nadu transform into people-oriented cities.

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!

Nashik’s Students Call for Better Streets, for a Better City, and a Better Life

27th April 2018 by admin

“The design solutions suggested are customised for Nashik’s streets—and they’ve come from the city’s youngsters no less!” Mrs. Himgauri Adke, the Chairperson of the Nashik Standing Committee.

Whom does the road belong to? This question formed the foundation of a public exhibition held in Nashik for a week from 13th April. The open-air exhibition explored the need to design streets that cater to all roads users, yet focusing on pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport commuters. Pedestrians and cyclists remain the most vulnerable road users and suffer severe consequences in road accidents since they are unprotected against the speed of vehicles and poor quality of infrastructure.

ITDP, in partnership with students of Nashik District Maratha Vidya Prasarak Samaj’s College of Architecture (also known as NDMVP) and Nashik First Foundation, a local NGO, organised the exhibition. The exhibition was based on a year-long collaboration with the students on designing safer streets for the people of Nashik. Lokmat, a leading local newspaper, was the media partner for the event.

Students of NDMVP explaining their street design proposals to citizens

The response to the exhibition was positive! The introduction of concepts like “more parking induces more traffic” proved to be thought-provoking for passersby. A major highlight of the event was the visit of the Chairperson of the Nashik Standing Committee, Mrs Himgauri Adke, who was enthusiastic about the students’ proposal and showed keen interest in understanding modern street design concepts!

Nashik Standing Committee chairperson, Mrs Adke, and BJP City President Mrs Naidu visited the exhibition on April 18

ITDP collaborated with the students of NDMVP in 2017, over two semesters, to conceptualise and redesign the streets of Nashik, within a particular study area. Each group also suggested a PT-NMT network plan for the study area, based on their vision of mobility in the area.The redesign focused on changing the way people experienced life on streets—a playground for kids, walkers, cyclists and all other users. The proposed designs formed basis for the exhibition, to develop awareness amongst citizens and decision-makers in the city. The proposals of the NDMVP architecture students emphasised on the following, based on the Better Streets, Better Cities Manual by ITDP:

- Allocating road space for pedestrians, bus stops, cycle tracks, street utilities, landscape, parking – in that order;
- Designing safe at-grade crossing opportunities on streets with traffic-calming elements;
- Implementing efficient Mass Rapid Transit solutions like Bus Rapid Transit (also known as BRT) on mobility corridors.

Students discussing their conceptual work prior to the exhibition

Even if rapid motorisation plagues Nashik, the exhibition has shown that innovation and resourcefulness toward sustainable urban transport is not scarce in the city. The spirited preparation of the event and the committed response it has received indicate that Nashik is on its way to truly becoming ‘a city for its people!’