With increasing motorisation, most Indian cities are grappling with managing and mitigating challenges posed by parking. Cities are trying to solve the problem by increasing parking supply through multi-level
The commuters in the core city will not be able to enjoy the much-awaited Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) as it will cover only surrounding municipalities and not the core city. Inadequate road width, presence of numerous religious structures in carriage way, several steep curves and lack of other technical requirements have forced the government to abandon the BRTS project in core city. Another main reason for the BRTS project going to surrounding municipalities is fear of a major public outcry. A large number of private properties would be affected to create exclusive and dedicated carriage way for the project. The government has already taken a substantial number of private properties for widening of roads in core city and it does not want to invite public wrath by going for land acquisition again. The GHMC additional commissioner (transportation and traffic), Mr N.V.S. Reddy, told this correspondent that though some parts of core city would also be covered under the BRTS, the project lines would mainly run through the surrounding municipalities. The BRTS envisages high capacity and customer-friendly buses, with line segregation and central alignment for the movement of buses flanked by pedestrian and other vehicular corridors on the roads. There is high scope for widening of roads in surrounding municipalities. Not many properties would be affected and a major public transport infrastructure can be created before the density of population goes up in municipalities, another official said.
The Impact On Urban Transportation By TATHAGATA CHATTERJI Thousands of sleek, little Tata-Nanos are likely to jostle for urban road space within a year. Nano boasts a brilliant design innovation for the all-weather travel requirements of the budget-conscious Indian family. However, the very affordability of the car has raised certain critical questions: If the roads are clogged by millions of new cars, will there be enough space to drive? How does one manage the legitimate aspirations of the Indian family in the urban context? The future of mobility in Indian cities, already teeming with bumper to bumper traffic and exasperated commuters, needs urgently to be addressed as the country moves towards an increasingly urban future along with the structural shift in the economy ~ from agriculture to industry and service. With 285 million people, urban India now accounts for 28 per cent of the country's population, 62 per cent of the GDP and the bulk of the car purchases. Between 1981 and 2001, on an average, the population in the six metro cities increased by 1.8 times but the number of vehicles rose six-fold. In the Delhi-NCR area, 420 million man-hours are lost every month because of traffic congestion, according to ASSOCHAM. With 1,421 cars per square kilometer, Kolkata now has a higher car density than the vastly more affluent Berlin. There has been a spatial shift as well with the IT and the IT-enabled sector emerging as the main factors of the urban economy and frequently locating to self-contained business complexes in the fringe areas of big cities. Such sleepy residential suburbs of the eighties as Gurgaon, NOIDA or Salt Lake, have now overtaken traditional business areas like Connaught Place or Dalhousie Square as corporate destinations of choice. This combined effect of "suburbanization' of the urban economy and the rising road congestion had compelled the state governments to construct highways and flyovers, replicating the American urban model of car dependent, low-density garden suburbs of the 1950s. However, as the Americans found out the hard way, by the 1970s, the ever-increasing freeways resulted in increased use of cars. This led to rising energy cost, pollution and travel time. Delhi is witness to a similar phenomenon today. Amongst the Indian cities, Delhi has the most extensive roadspace along with an elaborate programme of flyover construction. Over the past 10 years, road length increased by 20 per cent, but cars increased by 132 per cent. The ambitious Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway appears to have crossed the carrying capacity estimated for the year 2016 by the time it was inaugurated this year. The 32-lane toll plaza ~ supposedly the largest in Asia ~ has earned the sobriquet, "parking plaza'. Elsewhere, traffic moves fast on the flyovers but gets stuck in bottlenecks down the road. Compare this with New York, London, Paris or Singapore ~ the high temples of international finance ~ cities where people get around on foot, by taxi or via mass transit. Zurich, Melbourne, Copenhagen ~ which frequently tops the urban quality of living index ~ a sort of ATP ranking of the cities, have a dense urban core, pedestrian-friendly streets, a network of high quality mass transit and policies which discourage private cars in core areas. In parts of Tokyo, one cannot own a car unless one owns a private parking space. London introduced congestion charges in city centre areas in 2003. Since then the volume of traffic has been reduced by 21 per cent and delays shortened by two minutes per kilometer. The present gridlocked mess in India is the outcome of short sighted and uncoordinated policies on land use and transportation. According to a Centre for Science & Environment study, a bus carrying 40 passengers occupies about 2.5 times the roadspace than a car with one or two persons and, at the same time, pays 2.6 times higher tax as well. So the poor end up paying in terms of higher travel time and cost. The real estate costs are sky-high but a single parking slot that occupies 23 square metres costs only Rs 10 for a day, whereas a shop or desk space are charged full commercial rates. Diesel subsidies meant for the trucks and buses are gobbled up by chauffer-driven limousines. Public transport is chronically mismanaged and inadequate. The term
Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Thursday announced that work on two more corridors of the Metro rail will begin in four months and the government will explore sky rail and water transport options too to lighten the existing load on the local trains. He was speaking after inaugurating the first new generation rake of the Central Railway at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. The work on the first Metro rail corridor is going on. "The capacity of a 9-car rake is only 1,700 commuters, but during peak hours around 5000 people travel in such a rake. With the introduction of new rakes and the completion other works under the MUTP, things will improve. I hope that second phase of the MUTP will be approved soon,' he said. Talking about encroachments on railway land, Deshmukh said, "In line with the state government policy, the Railways should rehabilitate those who were staying on its land before 2000. Often, railway officials say that they cannot do so as their policy doesn't allow it. The Railways should change its policy according to the state's policy.' Deshmukh asked the Railways to construct tracks in remote areas so as to benefit the people. On Deshmukh's demand for rehabilitation of encroachers, Union Minister of State for Railways Narain J Rathwa, who was the chief guest, said: "We will have a meeting with Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and the state government officials, and will take a decision on the issue. Before that, no encroachments will be removed.' State Finance Minister Jayant Patil also attended the function. THE NEW RAKES HAVE FOR YOU * Colour and signage scheme designed by National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad * Air springs in secondary suspension for improved riding index. *n Recron thermal wadding coach insulation to reduce transfer of heat from atmosphere *n Fiberglass Reinforced Polymer (FRP) panelling for better 'aesthetics * Polyurethane cushion/poly carbonate seats in first/second class with stainless steel frame *n Stainless steel handholds & luggage racks * Bigger lift-up type windows with polycarbonate louvers * Stainless steel roof paneling, flooring and doorway partitioning * Powder coated aluminium doors with polycarbonate window DC-AC conversion According to the Railways, the DC traction system currently being used in the city's suburban train network, cannot keep pace with ever increasing number of commuters and the phenomenal expansion of the metropolis. Hence, the Railways has embarked on its ambitious DC-AC conversion plan. The conversion is possible only with the use of Electrical Multiple Unit (EMU) stock which can run both under DC and AC traction, the Railways said.
Constructing a 233-metre concrete bridge 17 metres above the ground with crush-packed local trains zipping past down below; constructing a viaduct at 7 metres above the Andheri flyover on Western Express Highway
It's official now. You can expect to take a monorail through the congested lanes of the Walled City or hop onto a tram running at road level to catch an event at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium during the C o m m o n we a l t h Games. The technical feasibility reports for Light Rail Transit (LRT) and monorail are in and both the modes have been found
Project design, measures for safety of motorists being questioned "Need for advance warning system for the commuters' Signal-length being reworked to ensure average delay of 40 seconds In spite of a general agreement on the need for a dedicated bus corridor to segregate traffic and ensure smooth flow, differences of opinion have emerged over the manner in which the Bus Rapid Transit Corridor project is being implemented in the Capital.
The Azadpur Gaon Welfare Association has urged the Delhi High Court to halt the project of building a mall-cum-Metro station by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) at Ring Road Azadpur as it is being built at the reserved green area. Puneet Mittal, counsel for the petitioner Rai Singh Rana said according to the master plan, the area where the DMRC is building its station is earmarked for the green belt and the private builders and public authorities have connived to violate all norms to obtain prior sanction before the construction.
The small car meets the aspirations of the consumer but may just compound the problems for the society he lives in. V.V. DESAI shows how.
The Haryana government has decided to constitute a committee comprising transport, urban development departments and Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) under the chairmanship of Haryana Chief Secretary for the purpose of formulating a traffic management plan for Gurgaon and other towns of the state.
There is some respite at last. Disturbed by the growing popular anger over the manner in which the Bus Rapid Transit corridor has been conceived and is being implemented, CM Sheila Dikshit is learned to have ordered the six other BRT corridors be put on hold until the first phase of the pilot project
