The People Near Transit (PNT) report establishes the levels of urban transit services in Pune Metropolitan Region and the accessibility gaps that affects its residents.
People Near Transit, Transit Near People
The Bikeshare Planning Guide
A resource for cities to design, plan, implement and measure the success of a bikeshare system
Over the past decade, bikeshare has contributed significantly to sustainable mobility in cities: providing first-last kilometer solutions, replacing short trips made by car, and offering a unique way for residents and visitors to explore their surroundings, among other benefits. As bikeshare continues to evolve- integrating pedal assist e-bikes, dockless bikes, and multi-operator models- cities have to understand the opportunities and risks such innovations present, as well as how to define success and measure system performance over time.
The Bikeshare Planning Guide provides in-depth guidance to city officials, practitioners and other stakeholders about planning and implementing a successful bikeshare system. The Guide encourages cities to position bikeshare as a critical piece of their transportation network, and plan- and expand- systems that prioritize transit integration, equity, and a high-quality user experience.
[Webinar] How Can Indian Cities Construct a Future for Walking
Description: In this webinar, the speakers discussed on how Indian cities can construct safe and attractive footpaths that are accessible by all. This webinar gives a brief introduction to 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.
About the speakers:
Nashwa Naushad is a Research Associate – Urban Development with ITDP India and works out of the Chennai office.
Pranjal Kulkarni is a Research Associate – Urban Development with ITDP India and he works out of the Pune office.
The webinar recording can be found here.
Footpath Fix
The Footpath Fix is a step-by-step guide on footpath construction detailing for urban designers, municipal engineers, and contractors. Cities across India now acknowledge that walking plays a fundamental role in everyday life. Thereupon, good quality footpaths must be provided to make walking safe and attractive.
Basic footpath design standards such as the optimal height, adequate width, continuous and obstacle-free surface are detailed in the first volume of the Footpath Series – Footpath Design.
Attention to construction details, especially that of different utilities is articulated in this second volume – Footpath Fix. Several footpath projects have failed due to improper construction and execution; thus, this guide aims to highlight the steps, in a chronological order, from pre-excavation to above-ground construction. It also features necessary precautions, drawing from experience on-ground, that must be taken into consideration at each stage of construction.
Five Ways to Win at Dockless Bikeshare
Dockless bikeshare, a mode of transportation that emerged in China only four years ago, needs to be regulated and integrated into urban mass transit systems rather than exist as a separate private entity to reach its potential, according to a new policy brief from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP).
ITDP has outlined five key elements for a successful dockless bikeshare system, and has found that a number of cities have already embraced these best practices.
The policy brief and accompanying publicity materials identify five key components of any system: Five Ways to Win at Dockless Bikeshare. A growing number of cities have prospered by implementing these elements, while other cities have experienced more disruption than smooth travels due to minimal oversight of dockless bikeshare. For example, without clearly communicated guidelines on how best to park the bicycles, dockless bikes have raised ire for blocking rights of way and other public spaces.
Coimbatore Street Design & Management Policy
Too often, transport planning has concentrated on infrastructure, traffic, costs, and benefits, with environmental factors limited to engineering consideration. However, mobility planning now focuses on the movement of “people, not vehicles’, a goal clearly expressed in the 2006 National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP).
In keeping with this approach, the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) aims to create a policy environment that supports increased accessibility by prioritizing the use of walking, cycling, and public transport. CCMC has thus adopted a Street Design & Management Policy to ensure the implementation of high quality transport systems.
The Policy seeks to achieve a more equitable allocation of road space by incorporating a focus on non-motorised transport (NMT) and public transport (PT) in the planning, design, managing, and budgeting stages.
Pedestrianisation in India and Across the Globe
Cities across the globe are acknowledging the importance of the pedestrian. The activity of walking, either as part of one’s transit, fitness regime or for leisure, is being increasingly associated with a city’s social life. The measures a city takes for the safety of its pedestrians is now becoming a deciding factor in its popularity. Some cities have gone on to completely cut off access to vehicles from some of their streets, converting them to pedestrianised areas.
Although the idea of creating pedestrian-only streets seems modern, it has been tested and tried out in various cities several times in the past and continues to work well. Despite initial resistances, many of these projects have proven to be great successes.
Pedestrianisation in India and Across the Globe aims to learn from the best practices in pedestrianisation across the world.
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InFocus: Reclaiming streets for people
April 17, 2015
Footpath Design: A guide to creating footpaths
Walking is fundamental to urban life. It is a healthy and pollution-free form of mobility and recreation. Pedestrian trips account for a quarter to a third of all trips in many Indian cities. However, the poor quality of pedestrian infrastructure sends a message that pedestrians are not welcome in the urban environment.
Fortunately, street design practice in India is beginning to recognise the integral role of walking in any sustainable transport system. Increasingly, engineers and planners are emphasising the need to design “complete streets” that make walking safe, comfortable, and convenient. Reflecting this changing outlook, the Indian Road Congress’ (IRC) First Revision of the Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities represents a significant departure from traditional traffic engineering practice, which focused on maximising personal motor vehicle speeds at the expense of other street users. The Guidelines emphasise the need to design streets for all users and activities, including the social and economic activities that make Indian streets so vibrant.
This quick reference guide highlights key concepts from the IRC Guidelines, including footpath design standards. The guide also draws from local and international best practice for some themes not covered in the IRC publication.
Better streets, better cities: A guide to street design in Urban India
Better Streets, Better Cities: a guide to street design in urban India illustrates ways that good design can help create safer streets and more livable public spaces. Current street design practice in India is often based on a vision of high-speed motorized mobility that does not take into account the variety and types of activities that actually take place in Indian streets. While streets are often designed from the centerline outward, Better Streets, Better Cities urges planners to explore an alternate approach that prioritizes the needs of pedestrians and cyclists.
The guide begins with a discussion of sixteen street elements, such as footpaths, cycle tracks, medians, and spaces for street vending, covering the importance of each element as well as implementation challenges and design criteria. While existing NMT infrastructure in Indian cities is implemented with good intent, design shortcomings resulting from a failure to account for the practical needs of pedestrians and cyclists often mean that these facilities remain unused. The guide indicates how these pitfalls can be avoided.
Next is a library of design templates for various rights-of-way, followed by sample intersections. The final section describes the process of street design—from data collection, surveys, and analysis to the preparation of final plans—using a real-world example of an urban intersection to explain methodological issues.
The guide can serve as a reference manual for municipal governments, practitioners, design consultants, and academic institutions. While the guide was developed considering Indian conditions, applicability in other countries can be explored.
This guide is available in both English & Gujarati.
Public cycle sharing systems: A planning toolkit for Indian cities
Maintaining high quality standards and excellent customer service will be critical to the successful roll-out of cycle sharing in India over the coming years. Public cycle sharing systems: A planning toolkit for Indian cities introduces the key ingredients of best practice cycle sharing systems. The toolkit draws from lessons learned from cycle sharing projects around the world while presenting adaptations to administrative structures and transport system typologies found in the Indian context.
Modern cycle sharing systems employ information technology systems to ensure security, provide real-time customer information, and facilitate the redistribution of cycles. These IT features enable the operator to ensure that cycles are available when and where users need them. IT systems also provide a way for the implementing agency to monitor system status and ensure that the operator meets service level standards. A combination of good engineering and constant oversight on the part of the government will ensure that cycle sharing systems can attract a diverse set of users.
The toolkit was developed on behalf of the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, as part of India’s National Public Bicycle Scheme. The toolkit reflects the input of numerous stakeholders during a series of public consultations in 2011 and 2012. ITDP wishes to thank the Chairperson of the working group, B. I. Singal, Director General of the Institute of Urban Transport, and all those who provided input and support for the preparation of the document.
