[sustran] Re: Right to Walk and Pollution in Hyd: Interesting read

[Sudhir]

Dear all,



Any argument which brings better pedestrian infrastructure is fine with
me. :-) (capacity, congestion .. if it gets the results).



1-2 decades back it was small isolated flyovers and now its elevated
roads and in  future......



(I would dream of best pedestrian and cycle infrastructure integrated with
eco-friendly mass transport systems implemented in cities :-))...



Cheers

Sudhir




On 21/08/2008, Sujit Patwardhan <sujitjp at gmail.com> wrote:

> *
> in response to Kanthi Kannan's mail*
>
> I don't see much difference between short term measures and the long term
> ones. Basically whether in the short term or long we need:-
>
> -- radically improved adequate, efficient and affordable Public Transport
> -- safe, attractive and adequately wide pedestrian footpaths (not the same
> as Skywalks)
> -- safe, comfortable (good surface) and citywide bicycle paths. These need
> not be exclusive or protected ones on all the streets, ie in congested areas
> sharing the street with motor vehicles should be possible provided traffic
> calming is introduced and rigidly enforced. City bike scheme like Velib in
> Paris after thorough planning
> -- appropriate TDM measures to discourage use of personal auto vehicle use
> at least during peak hours - the usual options are tighter parking control,
> higher parking charges, congestion charging, auto vehicle-free areas,
> pollution taxes etc
>
> One should avoid talking in terms of short term and long term strategies as
> this gives too wide an option to an administration that isn't really keen to
> do anything for sustainable transportation/new mobility but seems to be
> pre-programmed to build more and more facilities to reduce the problems for
> the auto vehicles. As a concrete example the Comprehensive Mobility Plan for
> Pune has a Trojan horse in form of a statement "flyovers may be built as an
> interim measure in view of many more people with higher incomes wanting to
> buy cars". In one of the meetings we asked the consultants if they were
> "interim" would they be demolished in a couple of years? The answer was of
> course a very uncomfortable smile (or a smirk)?? !!!!!
>
> Rest of the Mobility Plan talks the language of the National Urban
> Transport Policy (which said "People not vehicles" will be at the centre of
> mobility planning. It also said personal vehicles need to be discouraged and
> public transport pedestrians and cyclists given a boost).
>
> It's time to stop our city bosses from getting away with this kind of
> sabotage.
>
> --
> Sujit Patwardhan
> Parisar
> Pune
>
>
>
>
>
>  On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 7:37 AM, Kanthi Kannan <kanthikannan at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>>
>> http://www.epa.gov/ies/pdf/india/iesfinal_0405.pdf
>>
>>
>> The study in the link given above is a well documented effort by a US
>> agency
>> and an Indian agency about the various facets of pollution control.
>> Throughout the Study one of the major pollution reduction strategies
>> suggested is Separation of Vulnerable Road Users (Provision of Footpath).
>> I quote: "The intermixing of vehicles and pedestrian movements in the
>> absence of footpaths results in reduced speeds and increase in number of
>> accidents. The provision of footpaths and pedestrian crossings and can
>> reduce these conflicts to a great extent and increase the average speed."
>> The statistics given in support of the suggestion is interesting to check.
>>
>> In Hyderabad, the Right to Walk Foundation is trying to check with the
>> Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) as to whether any of these
>> recommendations have been adopted?
>>
>> Needless to say that widened roads are replacing the existing footpaths
>> because the authorities feel that widened roads are the solution for all
>> traffic problems.
>>
>> We definitely need to take a few short term measures and a few long term
>> strategies so that our city does not have the tag of the most polluted
>> metro
>> in the country.
>>
>> Kanthi Kannan
>>
>> The Right to Walk Foundation
>>
>> www.right2walk.com
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
>
> --
> ------------------------------------------------------
> Sujit Patwardhan
> sujitjp at gmail.com
>
> "Yamuna",
> ICS Colony,
> Ganeshkhind Road,
> Pune 411 007
> India
> Tel: +91 20 25537955
> Cell: +91 98220 26627
> -----------------------------------------------------
> Hon. Secretary:
> Parisar
> www.parisar.org
> ------------------------------------------------------
> Founder Member:
> PTTF
> (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum)
> www.pttf.net
> ------------------------------------------------------
>
>



-- 
Sudhir Gota
Transport Specialist
CAI-Asia Center
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