[sustran] Car Free Experiment in Pune

[Sujit Patwardhan]

30 January 2006




On Saturday, 28th January, Pune joined the list 
of a very small number of cities that have taken 
the conscious decision to convert a road into a pedestrian plaza!

Although this is being done only on an 
experimental and temporary basis, and for a start 
only on Saturdays; with the enthusiastic response 
of citizens and most of the shopkeepers, there is 
little doubt that this will not only be a 
permanent feature but will eventually become a 
full time car-free street. A street, in Enrique 
Penalosa's words, "for people rather than for the automobile".

Reproduced below are two articles from the local 
media reporting that this transformation has been a BIG hit.

As a citizens' NGO working for a sustainable 
transportation policy in Pune for over 6 years, 
we are naturally thrilled by this development and 
look forward to seeing more streets losing their 
lethal baggage of auto vehicles and becoming more 
humane and pleasant for all people, young and 
old, male and female, rich and poor.

Thought I must share this with the SUSTRAN community.

Three Cheers!!!

--
Sujit Patwardhan



Sustainable Urban Transport
---------------------------------------------------
Sujit Patwardhan
Member

PTTF
Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum,
c/o Parisar, "Yamuna",
ICS Colony,Ganeshkhind Road,
Pune 411 007, INDIA

Tel: +91 20 25537955
Cell: +91 98220 26627
Email: <sujit at vsnl.com>, <sujitjp at gmail.com>
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You may as well call it WP now!
MG Road walking plaza trial proves a big hit

BY A STAFF REPORTER

PUNE: The much-talked-about trial of a walking 
plaza on the Mahatma Gandhi Road proved to be a 
resounding success yesterday with no major 
bottlenecks hinder­ing the implementation of the trial that began at 10 am.

The trial was a spectacle of veritable 
celebration with excited parents, and yelling 
children jos­tling for space to shake a leg with 
the Disney characters dancing to the racy tunes 
being belted out by DJ’s. from the Karma Group.

The entire road looked spick and span and was 
festooned with the PCB banners propagating the message of the walking plaza.

However, the trial evoked mixed reactions from 
the merchants. Whereas the Camp Merchants' 
Association had supported the trial, the Pune 
Camp Merchants' Association (PCMA ) registered 
their protest by waving black flags.

The entire stretch of this road from Aurora 
Towers to Mahavir Chowk was chock-a-block for the 
evening celebration, which was inaugurated by 
actress Rati Agnihotri. A highlight of the 
evening was watching Dr N B Grant and 15 members 
of the PRC, Khadki, enjoying a stroll on the M G 
Road. The PCB had pressed into service two PMT 
buses to ferry people from one end to another.


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Celebrating a walk on MG Rd
BY SASWATI SANYAL
<mailto:saswatis at sakalherald.com>saswatis at sakalherald.com

PUNE: What would be your first reaction if the 
busiest street near your house is converted into 
a walking plaza? It may range from confusion to 
surprise to simply a sigh of relief over the end of traffic woes.

That was what Puneites experienced yesterday as 
they enjoyed a leisurely walk on M.G. Road, the 
first day of the Walking Plaza experiment.

On a pleasant afternoon, the road had a lazy 
charm to it comparable almost to a park. Families 
and couples strolled along the road in a relaxed mood.

No bikers or heavy vehicles to spoil the moment, 
the air is heavy with expectation, like something about to happen.

Frankly, I had never noticed that the road dotted 
with so many shops, big and small, had an almost 
old worldly feel to it minus the non-stop 
honking, like time had suddenly decided to stand 
still and watch the antics of people.

Most shops were open as shoppers had a chance of 
dabbling in some window shopping.

Said a passerby, “I don’t know what is going to 
happen, but it definitely feels good to walk at a 
leisurely pace on this road without worrying when 
the next vehicle will hit you.

Doesn’t the road look amazing without the 
continuous smoke and noise, as if we are seeing 
it for the first time!” He almost voiced my 
thoughts. It sure does, pal, and it really makes 
you want to convert every other road into one like this.

But, with M.G. Road completely blocked off for 
traffic, it is quite a rude jerk back to reality 
when you move away from it. I see a couple 
smiling at the face I make when I try to call for a rickshaw.

As my voice gets lost in the milieu, I look back 
at them and realize that the feeling was mutual. 
Guess, we all should just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.

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Sustainable Urban Transport
---------------------------------------------------
Sujit Patwardhan
Member

PTTF
Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum,
c/o Parisar, "Yamuna",
ICS Colony,Ganeshkhind Road,
Pune 411 007, INDIA

Tel: +91 20 25537955
Cell: +91 98220 26627
Email: <sujit at vsnl.com>, <sujitjp at gmail.com>
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Sujit Patwardhan
PARISAR
"Yamuna", ICS Colony,
Ganeshkhind Road,
Pune 411007, INDIA
Telephone: +91 20 255 37955
Email: <sujit at vsnl.com>, <sujitjp at gmail.com>
Web Site: www.parisar.org
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