PIMPRI CHINCHWAD: Giving priority to people's safety and comfort, Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has proposed to design streets based on the
National Urban Transport Policy, which envisions better facilities like walking and cycling tracks.
Civic officials told TOI that the civic body aims to usher in the design change through the Pimpri Chinchwad Complete Streets Mission (PCCSM) that will aim at creating equitable, livable and non-motorized transport streets.
"All streets need to have safe pedestrian space. This can be provided in the form of a footpath or a slow-speed shared lane. On roads with high public transport density, dedicated bus lanes for public transport should be demarcated. All spaces, including footpaths, refuge islands and pedestrian crossings, should be accessible to differently abled persons," civic officials said.
To turn this vision into reality, the civic body proposes to appoint a consultant who will focus on the needs of all road users, including pedestrians, cyclists, bus commuters and private vehicle users.
The consultant would be required to improve and work on the existing transport. He will also take into account land use plans while conducting survey of pedestrian facilities, traffic and parking. "Streetlight designing and mapping of existing utilities like underground cabling, water supply, among others, will also be the focus areas of the contractor. He will also take into consideration the environmental and social aspects," the officials added.
For land use plans, mapping should be done for shopping areas, theatres and housing development projects, they said, adding that the consultant should also carry out a public
space survey, detailing all informal site activities along the roads.
When it comes to pedestrian facilities, the consultant will have to document the quality of existing amenities. "He will also document width of the footpaths (if present) and the number of encroachments. The
traffic survey should record volumes of all private vehicles, non-motorised vehicles (cycles) and pedestrians," the officials said.
They added that the consultant will identify the most suitable, cost effective and green plans, including LED and CFL lamps and solar panels, for efficient lighting on the streets.
For parking, the consultant should demarcate parking areas around each road. "Three peak-hour parking surveys should be conducted in each zone. It should record the number of parked vehicles at each hour, details of double parking, haphazard and illegal parking," the officials said.
Finally, the consultant will also need to collect data on traffic accidents over the past three years from the traffic police, PCMC and other organizations to identify major accident-prone spots (black spots) and the measures to be put into place to avert mishaps.
