The Times of India 25.08.2010
Comprehensive parking policy the need of the hour’
PUNE: The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) is planning to come up with a comprehensive parking policy for the twin township area.
Expressing the need for such a policy, municipal commissioner Ashish Sharma on Tuesday said that pedestrian safety issues need to be considered comprehensively while planning for road traffic and transportation projects.
Sharma, who was speaking at a symposium on land-use and transporation in Pimpri on Tuesday, said that the present approach regarding parking policy is ad hoc and that there is an urgent need to come out with a comprehensive policy.
Stressing on proper planning for pedestrian facilities, Sharma said that proper footpaths should be provided on all roads. While planning for footpaths the preference should not be on vehicles. Ways and means should be found out to prevent the encroachments that often result due to wider footpaths.
Issues like whether footpaths should be at the road level or at a higher level, need to be addressed, he said. The symposium was organised jointly by PCMC, Pimpri-Chinchwad New Town Development Authority (PCNTDA) in association with Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) and GEHL associates.
Speaking at the symposium, Hening Thomson, senior advisor, Gale Associates said walking, cycling and using public transport are beneficial for everyone and it also helps in streamlining the traffic and communications in the city.
“The planning of traffic and communications is cars and automobiles centric. Instead, priority should be given to walking and cycling. Separate footpaths and cycle tracks should be created. It will control the pollution as well as reduce the possibilities of accidents,” he said
PCMC’s deputy director of town planning, Avinash Patil, dwelt on the planning efforts of the Municipal Corporation and the PCNTDA in the last 15 years.
