[sustran] Re: A CYCLING TRANSPORTATION PLAN FOR ACCRA, GHANA

[Sujit Patwardhan]

11 February 2004



Dear Douglas,

Thank you for sending this. I've downloaded the documents and will read 
them with great interest as Pune (India) known as the city of bicycles has 
since the last two or three decades been going in the direction of our 
other growing cities that are dominated by auto vehicles.

Unlike Mumbai where the sea breeze helps to dilute the air pollution to 
some extent, Pune city is lies in a saucer shaped plateau 2200 feet above 
sea level. It is surrounded by hills on three sides which causes inversion 
of air pollutants specially in the winter.

Today Pune has more auto vehicles (in absolute numbers) than Mumbai which 
is more than 5 times its size. 80% of the auto vehicles are two wheelers 
(about one million scooters & motorcycles and about two hundred thousand 
other vehicles), against mainly one million 4 wheelers in Mumbai, and air 
pollution caused by their two stroke engines accounts for 78% of the 
pollution by auto vehicles in the city. A recent survey by the World Bank 
ranks Pune as the 5th most polluted city in Asia. Less than 25% of people 
use the public transport (an aging bus fleet of the PMT- Pune Municipal 
Transport, owned and run by the PMC- Pune Municipal Corporation). Yet the 
PMC, which has an Annual Budget of around $188 million is embarking on a 
$220 million "Integrated Road Development Project" which in simple language 
means road-widening, new roads, concretizing of roads presently in asphalt 
and about 20 flyovers, all of which will encourage even more (private) auto 
vehicles on the roads and seriously threaten the Natural and Built 
environment of the city.

As against this huge expenditure, the improvement of PMT (augmenting their 
fleet, depot improvement, education and training, rationalizing the routes 
etc) will cost a paltry $28 million, but the Pune Municipal Corporation is 
doing next to nothing in this direction.

Already there is a road in the river-bed (not river-side) which we have 
temporarily stopped through a court order. Proposals are under 
consideration for some roads on the hills. Some old (now abandoned) 
irrigation canals which were used by pedestrians and cyclists are being 
filled up and converted to roads primarily for the benefit of personal auto 
vehicles.

Your document will hopefully be useful to us in our efforts to get a 
sustainable traffic and transport system on the rails in Pune.

With regards,

--
Sujit Patwardhan

PARISAR
"Yamuna", ICS Colony,
Ganeshkhind Road,
Pune 411007
India





At 02:24 AM 2/11/2004, you wrote:
>Here is a plan i have recently published. I am trying to share it with
>those individuals and groups who have similar interests/goals. please feel
>free to add a link to any transportation site, but please let me know.
>hard copies available upon request.
>
>A CYCLING TRANSPORTATION PLAN FOR ACCRA, GHANA:
>TOWARDS AN AFFORDABLE, EQUITABLE, AND HEALTHY FUTURE
>
>Abstract:
>http://www.urbanbikes.net/THESIS%20-%20Abstract_web.pdf
>
>Complete document:
>http://www.urbanbikes.net/transport_page2.htm
>
>--
>Douglas M. Krisch
>Homepage: www.urbanbikes.net


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Sujit Patwardhan
PARISAR
"Yamuna", ICS Colony,
Ganeshkhind Road,
Pune 411007
Telephone: 255 37955
Email: <parisar81 at yahoo.co.in> or <sujit at vsnl.com>
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