Pedestrianisation need of the hour: a case study of Fazilka town
Many people believe that nonmotorized modes (walking, cycling, and their variations) have an inferior right to use public roads compared with motor vehicles. This reflects the belief that motor vehicles are more important to society than nonmotorized modes, and that roads are funded by motorists. Pedestrians and cyclists are sometimes forbidden from using a particular public road to avoid delaying motorized traffic. Thats the reason transportation planning practices are often unintentionally biased toward motorized travel. A city is a social structure and not merely a physical structure. To quantify the benefits of nonmotorized transportation facility, 300m long stretch of Fazilka city local road was converted into Pedestrian Street. Case study was performed to quantify the direct and indirect benefits of Nonmotorized facilities within the city. Fazilka has an estimated urban population of 67,424 (2001) and registered motor vehicles 45000 (Appox.) This paper highlights the results of statistical analysis performed amongst the selected visitor of Pedestrian Street through random sampling and importance of nonmotorized facilities for the sustainable development of city.