Public bicycle sharing: Ranchi’s big move to being a cycle-friendly city!

25th April 2018 by admin

“At the end of the day, I head to a nearby store for vegetables and other items before walking home,” explains Shivani, a native of Ranchi who commutes to work by shared auto rickshaw. Her shuttle isn’t uncommon in a city that’s growing rapidly despite the lack of formalised public transport system. However, she needn’t fret – the city’s ‘go-ahead’ for a public bicycle sharing system (commonly known as PBS system) aims to improve last-mile connectivity.

In Jharkhand’s first step toward cycle-friendly streets, Ranchi city has begun construction of its PBS system stations this month. ITDP assisted the State Urban Development Agency (SUDA) in preparing the feasibility of PBS in Ranchi that proposes to see 1200 cycles distributed in the state capital. ITDP also provided technical assistance for the tender document and review of bids in the process.

Construction of PBS stations underway in Ranchi

A PBS system is a flexible form of personal public transport. Cycles are stored in a closely spaced network of stations. With a smart card or other form of identification, a user can check out a cycle from a station and return it to any other station. The system offers the convenience of cycling without the burden of ownership, and the flexibility to accommodate one-way trips.

PBS stations are being built in high-density commercial areas

With the finalisation of the operator, the system is being implemented in two phases: 600 cycles will be rolled out by May and the remaining 600 by July. The cycle stations provide access to notable public destinations in high-density commercial activity zones like Main Road and Lalpur Road, institutional areas and residential neighbourhoods.

The implementation of the system will not only enhance the image of cycling in Ranchi, but also reduce congestion and improve air quality by attracting private vehicle users. Ranchi’s endeavour to reclaim streets for people will bring them a new experience: a city that can be enjoyed on cycles!

Pune inspires Tamil Nadu cities to reclaim streets for people

6th April 2018 by admin

“Smart cities are equivalent to glamorous buildings where policies and guidelines form a strong foundation”, Mr. Kunal Kumar, IAS, Commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation. Over the years, our streets have been reduced to battlefields as people try to grapple with traffic congestion, lack of footpaths, and air pollution. One city that has taken bold, applaudable measures to rectify this chaos is Pune. Pune has been and continues to be an inspiration for many Indian cities that strive to reclaim streets for its people.

To explore Pune’s accomplishments, ITDP organised and facilitated a study tour for Tamil Nadu city officials – Corporation Commissioners of Erode, Madurai, Salem, Tiruppur, and Vellore, accompanied by engineers from the office of the Commissionerate of Municipal Administration. The study tour was conducted in collaboration with Pune Smart City Development Corporation Ltd. (also known as PSCDCL) and Pune Municipal Corporation, in February. The one-day programme aimed to sensitise participants on the best practises of designing complete streets – streets with quality footpaths, segregated cycle tracks, safe pedestrian crossing and managed parking.

Delegates interacting with PSCDCL team at the Smart City Operations Centre

The delegates visited the Smart City Operations Centre that seamlessly integrates management and monitoring of the smart city operations. To the extent, “this system also oversees the energy consumed by streetlights in the city and alerts us when any light stops working”, explained Mr. Manojit Bose,Chief Knowledge Officer, PSCDCL. The team from Tamil Nadu marvelled at the Centre’s resourcefulness at data collection and efficiency in maintaining the city’s public infrastructure.

This was followed by a roundtable discussion, facilitated by Mr Kunal Kumar, Commissioner, Pune Municipal Corporation. Mr Kumar highlighted three guiding principles for a smart city: adopt policies that guide it’s existing and future transportation requirements, leverage multiple sources of funding, and build internal capacity. Pune has launched a two-year programme with Singapore Land Transport Authority to enable 120 engineers from five departments in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad to acquire the knowledge and skills required for the projects.

Mr. Kunal Kumar interacts with the Tamil Nadu team and shares his recommendations for the success of the smart city projects.

The discussion was followed by a site visit to Aundh-DP road to observe the seamless execution of Pune’s complete streets. Mr. Vikas Thakar, Pavetech Consultants, gave an insight into the implementation of high quality streets and detailed the design process of DP road. The delegates took the opportunity to experience Pune’s public bicycle sharing (PBS) system first-hand by cycling along the dedicated cycle tracks on DP Road. Pune’s dockless PBS system was proposed under the city’s Bicycle Plan which piloted 275 bicycles of the proposed total of 13,100 docked bicycles. The system received a great response from the delegates.

Tamil Nadu delegates testing Pune’s dockless PBS system

The delegates also visited a transformed public amenity space at Baner. Pune’s vision of creating recreational spaces has been revolutionised. Gone are the days when parks were the only public open spaces in the city. Underutilised and derelict parcels of land have been acquired by the Corporation and developed into theme-based amenity spaces. The two pilot projects in Baner are perfect examples of how cities can explore and catalyse the versatility of urban spaces.

Amenity space developed on the theme of ‘Art and Culture’ in Baner

Although smart cities are often synonymous with information and communication technologies, a city has to invest in human and social capital for improving the quality of life and achieving sustainable economic development. That is when it can truly become a smart city. And, after the exposure visit to Pune, it can be safely said that this is what cities in Tamil Nadu are aspiring for!

#PressforProgress: Cities must measure sexual harassment in streets and public transport

8th March 2018 by admin

Cover Image by Adam Cohn
Written by Sonal Shah

Over the last decade, there has been acknowledgement in mainstream media on the sexual harassment faced by women and girls in urban public transport and on streets around the globe. The fear of crime is widely recognised as a barrier to public transport use. Yet, our mobility plans continue to remain gender blind, as they do not measure the level and extent of harassment faced by women and girls. The normalization of harassment puts the onus of safety on women and girls, thereby restricting their behaviour and mobility. The role of transport planning in alleviating or exacerbating sexual harassment and violence has not yet percolated within mainstream discourse and in the minds of policy and decision makers. This is a lost opportunity as the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that US$28 trillion would be added to the global economy by 2025, if women were to play an identical role to men in markets.

While mainstream media has focused on gruesome incidents such as rape, violence against women and girls also includes groping, molestation, staring, stalking, stealing, cat calls and acid attacks. In Delhi, a 2010 study with over 5000 men and women showed that over 95% of the women had experienced harassment in the past year and public transport, buses and streets were identified as the most vulnerable spaces. While women of all ages faced some form of violence or sexual harassment, school and college girl students in the 15-19 age-group were the most vulnerable. In Mumbai too, 95% of the women respondents reported sexual harassment, 46% reported facing harassment inside buses and 23% while waiting at bus stops.

Sexual harassment is prevalent and underreported, both in developed and developing countries. In New York City, it is estimated that 96 percent of sexual harassment and 86 percent of sexual assaults in the subway system are unreported. Similarly, in Baku, Azerbaijan, while 80 per cent of 200 women surveyed had faced sexual harassment in the metro, none of them reported it to the appropriate authority. In Brazil, it is acknowledged that more than half a million women suffer some sort of sexual violence, every year.

The nature and form of harassment is context specific. According to a research by the Women Empowerment Link, the three most prevalent forms of violence against women and girls in Kenya who use public transport are: use of derogatory language by the matatus crews, coercion of passengers to board public service vehicles against their wish and unwelcome touching of female passengers. Other common forms include contemptuous treatment of women, stealing from and stripping of women passengers.

Creating safer streets and public transport systems will require coordinated actions in infrastructure, service improvements and behaviour change arising from progressive legislation, law enforcement and social norms. While the prevalence of sexual harassment in streets and public transport is known, this data has predominantly been collected by civil society organizations. Cities need to collect gender disaggregated data and measure sexual harassment on their streets and in four legs of the public transport journey (Figure 1) to develop clear actions. These can range from reserved seats, permitting women, girls and the elderly to board or alight from buses in between stops in the night, providing real time information on the arrival of public transport vehicles amongst others. The gender disaggregated quantitative data from travel surveys must be complemented with focus group discussions to understand men and women’s perception and experience of the public transport journey across socio-economic groups.

Figure 1: Four legs of a public transport journey

Gender safety audits must be mainstreamed in the assessment of transport infrastructure. Safety audits evaluate the physical and social aspects in creating safer streets. For example, Safetipin, a phone application scores streets and neighbourhoods on 8 parameters: lighting, openness, visibility, presence of people, security personnel, condition of walking paths, availability of public transport and gender diversity. The ninth parameter allows users to rate how they feel – from comfortable to being frightened. With women and girls who do not have access to smart phones, safety audits can be conducted with them by walking through their neighbourhoods to identify and evaluate spaces along the above parameters. The safety scores provide valuable information to improve the quality of walking infrastructure and crossings, continuous and consistent street lighting, access to facilities such as public toilets, increasing “eyes on the street” (through police personnel, patrolling vans, men or women street vendors) and designing streets that encourage use by diverse groups.

Image 1: Jungli Maharaj Road, Pune (India)

Transport service providers, bystanders and police personnel must be interviewed to understand their awareness of the frequency and causes for sexual harassment and their role in preventing or addressing it. Behaviour change is a long process involving progressive legislation, law enforcement and change in social norms. However, cities can create standard operating procedures along with gender sensitization workshops to train the police and transport workers / operators to prevent and address sexual harassment. Cities can create campaigns to communicate a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment, encourage women and girls to report incidents of sexual harassment and bystanders to intervene

Women need to be at the centre of the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of transport policies and projects as partners, professionals and as decision-makers.

Creating safer streets and public transport systems is not a one-time activity involving installation of CCTV cameras, panic buttons and GPS devices. It will require continuous and coordinated actions by multiple stakeholders – transport and urban development departments, police, commuters / bystanders and women’s groups. But cities must measure the contours of sexual harassment as part of their mobility plans, along with other dimensions of gendered travel – trip chaining, mobility of care, affordability, accessibility, comfort, convenience, forced mobility and immobility. #Pressingforprogress involves making women and girls visible as active users of streets and public transport.

Pune soon to become a cycling haven: Bicycle Plan approved

30th December 2017 by admin

“I would gladly leave my motorcycle home and cycle at least thrice a week if roads were made safer!”, said Deepti Gokhale, a working woman in Pune. Granting her wish and that of many others in the city, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) General Body has approved a Comprehensive Bicycle Plan which envisages safe and convenient cycling conditions for existing and future cyclists in the city.

To transform this vision of a cycling haven into reality, the Plan provides several recommendations including the creation of a city-wide cycle track network, a public bicycle sharing system, design guidelines for cycle-friendly infrastructure, bicycle parking facilities and strategy for awareness campaigns. Its vision for integration with public transit prompts Pune’s citizens to use cycling for last-mile connectivity. With the Pune Bicycle Plan, PMC aims to improve the city’s share of cyclists from its current 3%[1] to 25% by 2031.

Today cycling constitutes a mere 3% of the city’s trips

Not long ago, cycling was a widely popular mode of transit, favored by most school and college students. However, today cycling constitutes a mere 3% of the city’s trips owing to congested, unsafe roads with over 500 motorized two-wheelers and cars being registered every day. In an effort to make Pune a cycle-friendly city again, the Comprehensive Mobility Plan, prepared in 2008, set an ambitious goal that “by 2031 at least half the trips in Pune i.e. 50%, should be by walk or cycle”[2]. To meet this goal, PMC set out to create a Bicycle Plan for the city, with support from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and encouragement from Parisar, a non-profit organization lobbying for sustainable transport.

The Corporation appointed a team of consultants, including iTrans, Prasanna Desai Architects and Centre for Environment Education (CEE), to create the plan. The consultants surveyed over 11,000 people from various backgrounds for their travel patterns, views about cycling, willingness to shift, etc. A Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) was formed to oversee the progress of work, with regular cyclists and concerned citizens as key members. ITDP India Programme was also a part of the BAC and helped in periodically reviewing the Plan. Two rounds of public consultation took place before the drafted Bicycle Plan was submitted to the General Body for approval.

The fear of riding on roads with mixed traffic deters people from cycling regularly

One of the primary objectives of the Pune Bicycle Plan is the creation of a 300 km network of bicycle tracks in the city. The fear of riding on roads with mixed traffic deters people from cycling regularly. Segregated, user-friendly cycle tracks, like the one recently constructed on JM Road, will help put them back on their bicycles.

A key component of the Plan to support the cycle track network in the city is the Urban Cycling Design Guidelines for cycling infrastructure, like the physically segregated cycle tracks in high-speed roads, the visually segregated cycle lanes in medium-speed roads, shared use of cycles and motorised traffic in low-speed roads, and appropriate vegetation. The Plan details the width and material requirements to enable comfortable conditions for cyclists.

The public bicycle sharing (PBS) system proposed under the Plan aims to serve as another mode of transport for commuters and provide efficient last-mile connectivity for public transit users. The Plan suggests 388 stations and 4700 bicycles in the first phase, with a proposed total of 13100 docked bicycles. A dockless PBS system, recently piloted with 275 bicycles in three different areas of the city, has received great response from residents and four vendors dealing with dockless systems have recently signed an MoU with PMC.

Apart from the policy and design changes, the Plan also recommends awareness and outreach programmes to rejuvenate the culture of cycling in the city. As part of these programmes, several discussions have been conducted with multiple stakeholders such as schools and colleges, RTO, Traffic Police, various NGOs, cycle shops and corporate staff (as a part of their CSR initiative).

The year 2018 will see various measures for the implementation of the Cycle Plan

The year 2018 will see various measures for the implementation of the Cycle Plan, like the setting up of PMC’s Bicycle Department, re-construction and retrofitting of select existing cycle tracks, and the development of a training facility for cycle mechanics. With many such steps in place – and in the pipeline – for the improvement of all sustainable transportation modes, Pune is becoming an incredibly ‘smart’ city indeed!

[1]“The mode share of cycles, elicited from the household survey carried out in 2016 for the Pune Cycle Plan is 3%. This is a much smaller proportion as compared to the modal share of 2012 from Pune Metro DPR study which shows 9% of cycle as a mode share.”- Comprehensive Bicycle Master Plan, 2017
[2] Currently, walking and cycling constitute 32% of the trips made in the city

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!

#WomenOnTheMove: Women and Transport in Indian Cities

15th December 2017 by admin

“Ultimately, transportation is the fulcrum that allows women to participate in the workforce; a societal shift to transform the entire world economy.” – Sonal Shah, Senior Manager, ITDP India Programme

Centred around this idea, ITDP and Safetipin have released a policy brief on Women and Transport in Indian Cities. The draft was released on 13 June 2017 at a roundtable discussion on Gender and Transit, organized by ITDP, Safetipin and UN Women with participation from 30 women’s groups, international organizations, professionals and academic institutions.[1]

A roundtable discussion on Gender and Transit was organized by ITDP, Safetipin and UN Women with participation from 30 women’s groups, international organizations, professionals and academic institutions

The coming decade will be a defining moment for India as its urban areas are estimated to constitute around 40 per cent or 600 million of its total population by 2030. According to the High Powered Executive Committee (HPEC), around INR 23 lakh crores is required over 2015–2030 for India’s urban transport infrastructure. The national government has initiated missions and schemes to invest in urban transport and infrastructure; and created indicators and service level benchmarks to establish a city’s baseline and goal for improvement. The recently announced Green Urban Mobility Scheme (GUMS) expects to invest around INR 70,000 crores over 2018–2023 on sustainable transport.

“The defining characteristic of violence against women is its normalization and ordinary and continuous nature.” – Kalpana Viswanath, Co-founder & CEO, Safetipin

While there is momentum by different levels of government in addressing women’s safety in public transport, urban transport investments are largely gender blind with a limited understanding of the interrelationships between gender and transport. Sustainable urban development will remain elusive without integrating women and girls in urban transport.

Women and girls are close to 50 per cent of our urban population. They comprise only 19 per cent of “other workers”, 84 per cent of their trips are by public, intermediate public and non-motorized modes of transport (Census 2011)[2]. While 73 per cent of trips by “other workers” in urban areas are by sustainable modes of transport, women and girls’ share is only 14 per cent. Ultimately transportation will help women access economic and social opportunities. In the next few years, cities will need to make a concerted effort to improve women and girls’ experience of sustainable modes of transport to achieve a target of 40 per cent of all trips. The policy brief fills this gap by providing a framework to integrate technical and social, quantitative and qualitative approaches for enabling this transition.

In Section 1, the brief underscores the need for a policy brief focusing on women and transport in Indian cities. Section 2 describes the scope of the brief. The gendered dimensions of urban transport are covered in Section 3, with a focus on trip chaining and purpose, modal shares, trip distances, time poverty, sexual harassment and employment in the transport sector. Section 4 proposes urban transport indicators and service level benchmarks for comprehensive mobility plans. Recommendations to improve women’s modal shares and experiences of walking, cycling, public and intermediate public transport, and engendering public transport authorities, are highlighted in Section 5. Since urban transport is not the responsibility of one ministry or department, gender inclusion will require interventions at multiple scales and coordination with a number of ministries and departments. Section 6 identifies such ministries and departments and their potential role in mainstreaming gender.

Women’s access and use of urban transportation will play a key role in achieving India’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) and ensure women’s right to the city and its public spaces. To quote Shreya Gadepalli, who leads the ITDP India Programme, “When we create cities – their public spaces and transport systems – that are responsive to the needs of women, children and the elderly, they become great cities for all!”

Download the policy brief here.

List of organisations that participated in the roundtable: Akshara Centre, Asian Development Bank, Azad Foundation, Breakthrough, Centre for Urban Equity (CUE), Confederate of Indian Industry (CII), Columbia Global Centre, Cornell University, CORO, Centre for Policy Research (CPR), Centre for Road Research Institute in India (CRRI), Centre for Women and Development Studies (CWDS), Delhi University, DIMTS, Hindustan Times, iTrans, Jagori, Janki Devi Memorial College (JDMC), KfW, Manas Foundation, Oak foundation, Oasis Design, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Plan India, Sushant School of Art and Architecture, Ansal University, Tata Institute for Social Sciences (TISS), Toji Communication Consultancy, TRIPP-IIT Delhi, UBER, UITP, UNDP, UNICEF, World Bank, World Resources Institute (WRI)
This data is likely to under represent women and girls’ mobility as their care trips are not measured.

Vibrant Pune: City’s streets transform into vital public spaces

17th August 2017 by admin

By Nashwa Naushad

“On our firm course towards sustainable transportation, we are also transforming Pune into a great city for the people, with numerous initiatives to encourage walking, cycling and the use of public transport”, said Mr. Kunal Kumar, IAS, the commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation. Indian cities are gradually taking greater efforts to improve the quality of life for its citizens, especially in terms of transportation. Pune has come to be a pioneer in this regard.

Among the host of people-oriented initiatives being undertaken by the city, Pune has been working to improve its pedestrian and cycling environment by redesigning its arterial roads as Complete Streets. 27km of streets have been identified for redesign, in the ABD (Area-Based Development) area as part of the Smart City proposal, and 100km under the city’s annual budget. The first phase of these street design projects has already transformed Aundh’s DP Road and JM Road into more vibrant public spaces.

The Jangli Maharaj or JM Road bustles with people and activity – a vibrant street indeed

Complete Streets are those that cater to all user groups – designed with wide and continuous footpaths, safe pedestrian crossings, separate cycle tracks where applicable, conveniently placed bus stops, clearly designated on-street parking, organised street vending and properly-scaled carriageways. With the Smart Cities Mission encouraging the improvement of non-motorised and public transport infrastructure, cities across India are now developing networks of complete streets. Pune has gone over and beyond the Smart City proposal, by setting over twice that target with the Corporation’s own budget.

As the first step towards redesigning the 100km network, Pune Municipal Corporation has empanelled 4 nationally acclaimed architecture and urban design firms – IBI Group Inc., HCP Design, Planning and Management Pvt. Ltd., Oasis Designs Inc. and Design & Planning Counsel. The network has been equally divided and allocated to the designers. Each firm thus gets a ‘package’ of streets, ensuring uniformity in design language and better integration on ground.

Following PMC’s footsteps, Pune Smart City Development Corporation Ltd. is also allotting the 27km network in the ABD Area as 3 neighbourhoods to the empanelled designers. 9km of streets in 1 neighbourhood, including DP Road in Aundh, has been contracted to the IBI Group in partnership with Prasanna Desai Architects.

DP Road in Aundh has been redesigned with dedicated spaces for different users

The first phase of reconstruction under the Smart City Mission has commenced on DP Road. The 1.5km stretch is being remodelled by the designers, kickstarting 520m on the ground. The 3.5m wide footpath on either side of the street has been streamlined to dedicate spaces for different users.

The numerous existing trees that line the stretch have been fundamentally incorporated in the design, with care taken to demarcate soft areas around them to allow for growth, and the perimeter forming seating. In addition, benches have also been provided along the footpath, complementing the shops and making the stretch more vibrant. Art installations, including the attractive casing that has been used to cover up the junction boxes, spruce up the space. Other features such as life-sized snake & ladder boards on the footpath further augment the character of DP Road.

Design features on DP Road: (clockwise from left) Art installations with recycled material; attractive casing covering up the junction boxes; play area for children

Similarly, JM Road, being revamped by Oasis Designs Inc., has also been kicked off on a 300m stretch as part of the first phase.Streamlining the haphazard parking has helped reclaim space for the people, enabling a wider footpath and cycle track. Green spaces serve as buffers to segregate the two speeds of walking and cycling. Bus stops have been located so as to allow for smooth flow of pedestrians and cyclists.

Vendors now have dedicated spaces, as do children – play areas with rubberised soft flooring have been designed at regular intervals between the green buffers. Frontage of the shops spillover to the wide footpath, adding life to the street. Better signage, street lighting and seating are other features that collectively make JM Road a stellar example of street design in the country.

Green spaces serve as buffers to segregate the two speeds of walking and cycling. Bus stops have been located so as to allow for smooth flow of pedestrians and cyclists.

Backing these design changes in the city, are institutional reforms that help enhance the capacity of the government. A dedicated Street Design Cell has been set up with professionals such as urban designers and urban planners to oversee general maintenance of streets and work done by design consultants & contractors, in addition to designing neighborhood streets. The Corporation has also developed a unique set of Urban Street Design Guidelines (USDG) which give clear priority to walking and cycling.

Streets are vital public spaces which go beyond serving as mere channels for the movement of vehicles, but are crucial to the very identity of a city. Acknowledging this fact, Pune is remodelling its streets to respond to the multitude of activities and functions they host. The city thus continues firmly on its course towards becoming more people-friendly by the day.

Santiago: Winner of STA, Host of MOBILIZE 2017

3rd June 2017 by admin

Santiago, the Chilean capital with an urban population of five million, and a metro area population of over seven million, is a beautiful old-world city enjoying a modern day renaissance. Despite the city’s attempt to improve transport for its people through its BRT Transantiago in 2006, it had been lagging behind other cities in the region on cycling and walking.

However, between 2015-16, non-motorised (walking and cycling) and public transportation in Santiago underwent significant development, transforming the city into a haven for its citizens. Santiago was thus announced as the winner of the 2017 Sustainable Transport Award (STA). The city will be hosting ITDP’s annual sustrans summit MOBILIZE between June 28 – 30, 2017.

Our Indian government also aims to implement such people-friendly mobility initiatives through the Smart City Mission, and can draw on the lessons of Santiago at MOBILIZE. Amongst other attendees from India, Sameer Sharma, Additional Secretary & Smart City Mission Director, MoUD will also be at the summit. As a speaker, he will be sharing his thoughts on how a city can be made inclusive through principles of mobility and access.

Car ownership has soared in Chile over the past decade along with the economy, with the number of cars bough increasing each year from 2003 to 2014. Greater Santiago is now home to seven million people, and four million cars. However, the last few years have seen considerable changes. Owing to the significant improvements in transit, cycling & walking, and the overall public realm, as a result of the city’s Integrated Mobility Plan, more Santiaguinos have shifted to these modes to get around their city.

Santiago’s Calle Aillavilú, in the central market of the city, has been transformed from a derelict, car-congested and unregulated parking lot to a pedestrian-friendly oasis. The street was repaved, lighting improved, new trees were planted, and most importantly, cars were removed. Except for the scheduled delivery of goods, no motorized traffic is allowed. Calle Placer, one of the busiest pedestrian streets during a popular weekend market, is now completely closed to cars on the weekends, with a 2.2 million USD investment by the city for improved sidewalks, lighting, and sanitation.

On Sunday mornings, cars are banned from 40 kilometers of Santiago’s roads. Around 30,000 people take to those vehicle-free streets on bikes, skateboards, rollerblades, or simply on foot. The Car-Free days in many Indian cities have also been highly successful and can be scaled up, learning from Santiago.

The redesigned Plaza de Armas in the city centre, to prioritise pedestrians

Other public space improvements include an investment in 100 sqm. of new green spaces in historic residential neighborhoods, revitalizing a previously abandoned area, and the re-design of the Historical Center’s main streets, featuring more sidewalk space, improved lighting, beautification, and a “complete streets” redesign for public transport exclusive corridors in the most active pedestrian zone in the country.

Cycling mode share has doubled since 2006, with the number of cyclists on major routes growing by 25 percent a year for the past two years. The City has backed up this achievement with new sustainable transport policy changes and education programs. In April 2015, the National Ministry of Housing and Urbanism created a detailed standard of design for high quality cycle lanes, even piloting it in a major street near the presidential palace. The policy redistributes road spaces to create more space for cyclist. This standard was quickly adopted by Santiago, and the city has managed to increase cycling trips from a negligible 150 per day to over 5000 per day.

Cycle Lanes in Santiago

This number is expected to further rise with the growing popularity of BikeSantiago, the city’s bike share program, which accounts for 50 percent of the increase. Santiago also gave support to BMov Trici, a free bicycle taxi in the historic city center operated by a private company, supported by advertising, that encourages cycle use and provides a non-motorized alternative to taxis.

The city has also adopted a pilot program of cycling games in kindergarten to help introduce cycling early in life and a traffic education program at primary schools to create better cyclist behavior.

The cycling games program intends to familiarize children with cycling culture and safety

With all these efforts to improve the quality of life for the people, Santiago won STA 2017 and will be the site of Mobilize 2017, ITDP’s annual Sustainable Transport Summit, supported by the Volvo Research and Education Foundations. This event will give international transportation researchers and professionals an opportunity to experience this emerging city as a learning lab for best practices in sustainable transport. For more information, visit mobilizesummit.org

Coimbatore’s sustrans initiatives lauded by international experts

28th March 2017 by admin

“Sustainable change through transport is something that needs to be discussed at length. However, what is missing from these conversations is the participation of actual commuters. Those who use public transport, those who walk, those who cycle. Here in Coimbatore, though, actual users of public spaces and public transport are very involved in these discussions,” says Mr. Clayton Lane, CEO of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, sharing how thoroughly impressed he was at the level of community involvement in Coimbatore.

Inspired by livable cities across the world, Coimbatore has kicked off various sustainable transport (sustrans) initiatives, and these changes in the cityscape are being brought about with incredible public support. The city’s sustrans initiatives include — the Model Roads project to design safe streets for all, encouraging more walking and cycling, and the Lake Eco-restoration project to rejuvenate eight lakes in the city and create a 30km eco-mobility corridor around them.

To discuss Coimbatore’s transformation through sustrans initiatives, experts from the field were at Coimbatore on March 18, 2017, to add their inputs as well as learn about the process that has been initiated.

Picture showing a 10m pilot stretch on DB Road that is being constructed as part of the “Model Roads” initiative

Picture showing a cross-section through the underground ducts of a 10m pilot stretch on DB Road that is being constructed as part of the “Model Roads” initiative

“It all started with the Car-free Sundays initiative”, said Dr. K. Vijayakarthikeyan IAS, Commissioner of the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation, during the round-table discussion. He explained how the car-free Sundays event helped create awareness about the need for walking and cycling infrastructure, becoming a milestone in Coimbatore’s journey towards sustainable mobility. “If we could make streets safe for pedestrians and cyclists for 3-4 hours every weekend, why not at all times? This was how the idea of the Model Roads project was conceived!”

Coimbatore’s commitment to launch car-free Sundays and follow through with their plans on Model Roads led to its selection as a Smart City. The proposals for the Smart City Mission were created with inputs from the people. “We Coimbatoreans have big dreams as to how our city should be. And our dynamic Commissioner and Corporation support our dreams. They encourage all of us including NGOs to take part in the action towards sustainability”, said Mr. C.R.Swaminathan, President of the Residents’ Awareness Association of Coimbatore (RAAC).

Under the Smart City mission, the primary demand from the people including organisations such as Siruthuli and RAAC, was the rejuvenation of the 8 lakes in the heart of Coimbatore. The city is blessed with a series of lakes, that have been neglected and polluted. The citizens wanted the lakes restored and a 30km eco-mobility corridor linking them . The Lake Eco-restoration project has been tendered out and the consultant for the same will be selected by the end of March, 2017.

A visit to the sites of the Model Roads initiative, as well as the Lake Restoration initiative proved fruitful as experts feel that Coimbatore is on the right track in its sustrans journey.

A visit to the sites of the Model Roads project, as well as the Lake Restoration initiative proved fruitful as experts feel that Coimbatore is on the right track in its sustrans journey.

In a city that is so willing to reduce its carbon footprint, there is much potential for a transition away from fossil fuel-driven personal motor vehicles, especially to low-emission electric vehicles. Mr.Leonardo Lacerda, the Environmental Programme Director of the Oak Foundation advocated this shift during the meeting, given that Coimbatore is home to the popular e-vehicle production company, Ampere.

While discussing other ways and means to reduce the city’s carbon footprint, members of Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore put forth the following points with the aim of shifting people away from private vehicles to public transport:

Implementing a modern IT based parking management system
Strengthening and improving the existing public transport services
Integration of public transport with with a well-connected rapid transit system

The discussion was peppered with many feasible suggestions and one of the bigger ideas that captured everyone’s attention was the need for a Transit-Oriented Master Plan for the city. Representing the urban planning community of Coimbatore, Ar. Arun from Arun & Associates stressed the need for planning to focus on creating more transit near people, and bringing people near transit.

“There are many mid-sized cities in Tamil Nadu”, said Ms. Shreya Gadepalli, Director – South Asia, ITDP. “Chennai, being a large metropolitan area, is generally seen as a higher standard for them to reach. On the other hand, Coimbatore owing to its similar size is inspiring these cities to work for SusTrans changes. ‘Coimbatore is doing it, we would also like to try’, is the mantra that is driving sustainable transformation in cities like Madurai. Kudos Coimbatore, for showing the right way forward!”

Click here for the exclusive with Mr. Clayton Lane, published in the Times of India on 20th March, 2017.

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!