This week, the Chennai Corporation has begun a topology
survey of major roads, to help it identify which ones need to be
re-designed for the construction of better footpaths.

The
roads, all of which are bus routes, include Greams Road, Road, Binny
Road, Thiru Vi Ka Road, Valluvarkottam High Road, Sterling Road, Ethiraj
Salai, Pantheon Road and Gandhi Irwin Road among others.

Funds
have been allocated for the survey, which, in a first of its kind, will
use the geographic information system and other technology.

The
process includes a study of the roads’ geometric properties, spatial
relations and the impact caused by the continual change of shapes and
sizes of various structures on roads.

The survey is
technology-intensive and is likely to be completed quickly in a few
days. All the 71 bus routes, identified a few months ago for development
of 48 km of additional footpaths, will be covered in the survey.

The
footpaths, officials said, will be designed with granite kerbs and
slabs. Efforts are being taken to make them obstruction-free and
user-friendly, and also to make them accessible to the disabled.

Their
design will be based on data collected about trees, streetlights and
existing drains on the roads. The civic body is planning to complete
constructing the footpaths in four months and expects them to ease
pedestrian movement in heavily-congested areas such as Egmore, the
official added.