Corpn seeks French assistance for walking solutions on narrow lanes

CHENNAI: Greater Chennai Corporation has asked solutions from French officials and experts to make narrow roads of the city more accessible for walking and cycling. Some of the stretches they plan to study are V R Pillai Street in Triplicane and Thambu Chetty street in Parry's.
Corporation commissioner Dr J Radhakrishnan on Thursday met the consul general of France in Pondicherry & Chennai, Lise Talbot Barre, and sought solutions on how to make narrow streets pedestrian and cycling friendly. "French banks are funding us in various projects. In Paris, even the narrowest street is made walking friendly. So, we sought solutions from them, and also gave some example streets in the city," he told TOI.
"Even in places like Old Paris, the narrow streets have been turned modern. We want to have knowledge transfer in such parts and plan to conduct studies here to make it work," the commissioner said, adding that making the city walking and cycling friendly is one of his main ideas. He said the French were already supporting the GCC in developing select corporation schools and it has shown good results.
Officials said possibilities of restricting heavy traffic on smaller streets and preventing thorough-fare for motor vehicles of non-residents are some options to be explored.
Aswathy Dilip, managing director, Institute of Transportation and Development Policy, said this initiative must be augmented with livable neighbourhood streets. "Street elements such as traffic calming measures, balancing safe and continuous footpaths with organised parking, and planting a continuous tree line can make a dramatic difference for pedestrians and cyclists," she said. She added that with livable neighbourhood streets, connected by safe intersections on arterial roads with wide and continuous footpaths, integrated with a robust public transport network including buses, sub-urban rail and metro, Chennai will become a haven for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users.