The Times of India              20.12.2013 

Civic tenders will include design code for urban roads

PUNE: The ministry of urban development has urged cities to follow a new code of practice for design of urban roads it has prepared in consultation with experts. The code lays importance on standards and norms related to road markings, road signages, traffic calming methods, road cross section design and intersection design.

The focus is on requirements of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users. "It is possible to design pedestrian, bicycle and public transport friendly roads in cities. The guiding principle for such a design is meeting their needs. Use of alternative transportation systems, bus priority systems, open and green landscapes and pedestrian only areas are being seen as an opportunity to revive the city," the detailed note on the new code of practice, sent last month to all municipal corporations, said.

The new code should be included in the tender conditions for urban road contracts, the ministry said.

The Pune Municipal Corporation's road department chief Pramod Nirbhavane said while the new code of practice is yet to reach his office, the points mentioned in the code are significant. The civic body has formed a Standard Technical Advisory Committee for road construction. Nirbhavane said the new code will be discussed at the next meeting of the committee and the code will be included in tender conditions for road contracts.

The ministry has observed that the character and mix of modes of transport has changed vastly. The volume of traffic has also multiplied enormously. Currently, urban roads are being designed as per the codes of practice issued by the Indian Roads Congress (IRC).

While there are at least 15 such codes, these were issued in the beginning of 1962. The latest codes were issued about ten years back. Most of the codes were issued in the 1970s and 1980s.

The ministry felt that there was a need to review the existing codes to suit the changing situation in cities, and therefore prepared the new code of practice for design of urban roads.

The new code has been prepared through Institute of Urban transport, in association with Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme (TRIPP), and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.

While provisions of various IRC codes have been taken into account in the new code, there are two basic variations from IRC codes, based on latest research and practice around the world. The new code specifies that a road should be designed for the intended speed limit on the road. Also, the lane width has been linked to the speed limit of the road.

For road-users' safety