The Hindu 21.10.2013
Pedestrian is king
The seven Central Business District (CBD) roads of
Bangalore that have been identified for upgradation under Tender SURE
project will not only feature cycle lanes, but also accord “very high
priority for pedestrians”.
In the wake of the State
Cabinet’s recent decision to upgrade the roads in the heart of the city
at a cost of Rs 78.83 crore under Tender SURE, Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana
said the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) would soon float
tenders to invite bids.
“The pedestrian is at the
heart of the plan under Tender SURE,” said urbanist V. Ravichandar, who
is an executive committee member of Bangalore City Connect Foundation
(BCCF), which prepared the detailed project report (DPR) for upgrading
the roads.
In the hierarchy of road users conceived
under the project, pedestrians are followed by cyclists and public
transport, which is acknowledged as the necessary mode of sustainable
mobility, and lastly private vehicles. “Traditionally, pedestrian lane
(footpath) width allotment is based on what’s possible after the motor
vehicle needs are taken care of.
in the plan,” he said and added that footpaths may measure up to three
metres while a cyclists’ path will be wide enough to accommodate two
bicycles.
Another trait of city roads is the varying
width for motor vehicles depending on land availability. Under Tender
SURE, the motor vehicles get lanes of uniform length of around three
metres throughout the road stretch. The surplus land area is used to
provide islands, bus bays, hawker zones, etc.
The
Mayor said there would be no deviation from concept of Tender SURE while
upgrading the roads. “Also, all roads will be asphalted”, he said.
No road cutting
Meanwhile,
referring to the road cutting menace, which has become rampant across
the city, Mr. Ravichandar said the Tender SURE design provides for
underground ducts for various utilities saving the huge expenditure
incurred on maintenance and repairs.
He said the
storm water drains are planned alongside the roads and the guidelines
suggest cylindrical drains over the traditional box drains.
Under
Tender SURE, all utilities are part of the apex project team and the
tender is a unified one where there will be a lead contractor (roads and
footpath) with sub-contractors specialised in laying utility lines.
Mr.
Ravichandar said the first experiment with Tender SURE project was
carried out during the 2009-10 upgrading of 300 metres stretch of Vittal
Mallya Road, which has now become one of the best roads in the city.