[sustran] Re: Bangalore shows the way!! Parking Fees to be Levied

[Sudhir]

Hi kanthi,

Its a very bad move. Its only 50 Rs for one month ( 1$/month) and it makes
the encroachment official in public roads.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/192168/tax-likely-parking-cars-along.html

regards
Sudhir

---
*Sudhir Gota,** Technical Manager (Transportation)*
*Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities Center (CAI-Asia)**
*
*Unit 3505 Robinsons Equitable Tower, ADB Avenue, Pasig City 1605
PHILIPPINES *
*Tel +63 2 395 2843 l Fax +63 2 395 2846 l sudhir at cai-asia.org
 l Skype: sudhirgota*
*www.cleanairinitiative.org l www.facebook.com/cai.asia*
*
*


On 25 September 2011 12:45, Kanthi Kannan <kanthikannan at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/pay-for-parking-outside-your-home/2117
> 69&cp
>
> Dear all
>
> Got the link just now from facebook
>
> Great Stuff!! Way to Go!!
>
> Kanthi
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: sustran-discuss-bounces+kanthikannan=gmail.com at list.jca.apc.org
> [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+kanthikannan=gmail.com at list.jca.apc.org]
> On
> Behalf Of Cornie Huizenga
> Sent: 25 September 2011 09:36
> To: Vinay Baindur
> Cc: Hu Gov; Hasire Usiru; Global 'South' Sustainable Transport
> Subject: [sustran] Re: Bangalore is a city that cares for cars, and not you
>
> Dear Vinay  and others,
>
> I was struck by the sentence: *"Pedestrians are mostly people who cannot
> afford cars* and have no voice when compared with the urban elite. Like a
> class of urban poor, which is voiceless and not organised enough to express
> its concerns, the pedestrians have not been able to shake or move the civic
> bodies to improve the conditions of the footpaths in the city."
>
> Being Dutch I grew up in a country where rich and poor are pedestrians in
> cities. Over the last 30 years I have lived about 20 years in Asia.  Out of
> these 20 years I had a car for 5 years from 1986-1991 in Pakistan. After
> that I have managed without.  Admittedly I do rely a lot on taxi's but I do
> think that I do walk a lot (and cycle).  Walking in Shanghai where I live
> now is a lot easier than in Manila where I lived for 11 years.
>
> Unlike the poor mentioned in the article, I do feel that I have rights and
> I
> generally am not shy to claim those on pedestrian crossings etc.  I am
> still
> struck by what was said a couple of years ago by the Minister of Urban
> Development in India who said that Transport Planning in India had been
> guided by class interest and that 90% of the road space was given to 10% of
> the users.  This was at a conference on technology choice for public
> transport in India (rail or BRT). The fascinating thing was that 90% of the
> participants in the meeting came to the Meridien hotel by private vehicles.
> Can people whose mind set is dominated by private vehicles really plan for
> those of us who prefer to travel on foot, by bicycle or by public
> transport?
>
> Compare this to large parts of Europe where a majority of transport users,
> planners and decision makers share the view that cities are nicer and more
> pleasant if cars play a secondary role compared to walking, cycling and
> public transport.  This is very much a historical tradition.  We should not
> forget that even in Europe we went through a phase in the '60s - 70s where
> NMT was in danger and where we saw a willingness to give over the cities to
> cars. Somehow, however, there was a realization (including by planners and
> decision makers) that this affected their own quality of life.
>
> Ultimately, the future of transport in Asian cities will depend on whether
> it is possible to bring the 10% who owns the cars on board of the
> sustainable transport agenda. Why is it that this same 10% is happy to
> travel to Paris, London and Amsterdam to enjoy the shared public spaces
> formed by streets, squares and side walks.  They are so pleasantly
> surprised
> to see cars stop at pedestrian crossings (even if there is no stoplight),
> yet when they are back home they immediately revert to their traditional
> behavior.
>
> It appears that what is needed is a political movement to reclaim the
> cities
> for people, rather than cars.  Yet, the way that local government politics
> operate in most of Asia it seems that there is little appetite to make
> transport planning an election issue. Where are the Asian Penalosa's and
> Lerners?
>
> I wonder whether the Indian initiative described yesterday in this Listserv
> on involving the courts through a public interest case to ban vehicles from
> city centers, or the case of the Philippines where an environmental lawyer
> is invoking the Local Government Code to have a more fair distribution of
> road space (http://roadrevolution.ph/2011/06/statement-of-attorney-oposa/)
> can help to tip the balance in favor of a more balanced approach in
> transport planning. Is this the way forward and should we aim to launch a
> series of coordinated civil suits in Asian countries where we demand that
> the interests of the majority dominate decisions on the way in which Asian
> cities are developed and functioning?
>
> One of the reasons, I think, that the European experiment to give more
> space
> to cars in the cities in the '60s and the '70s did not continue was the
> strength of civil society. The Cyclists Union in the Netherlands (
> http://www.fietsersbond.nl/english-info) has 130 branches and 35,000
> members
> and is a force to be reckoned with at the national level as well as at
> local
> level.  See
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb0QjASuuqI&feature=player_embedded for a
> great video how 5 million people in Holland make an estimated 14 million
> bicycle trips daily).
>
> I would be interested to hear from others how we can best overcome the
> class
> divide in transport planning in Asian cities.
>
> best regards,
> Cornie
>
> On Sun, Sep 25, 2011 at 2:46 AM, Vinay Baindur <yanivbin at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >
> >
>
> http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangalore-is-a-city-that-cares-for-
> cars-and-not-you_1590963
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Bangalore is a city that cares for cars, and not you
> > DNA / Merlin Francis / Saturday, September 24, 2011 11:17 IST
> >
> > There is nothing new about the poor condition of footpaths in Bangalore,
> > but
> > what stirs the mind is the silence of the pedestrian who is exposed to
> all
> > kinds of dangers, thanks to the bad pavements or the lack of it. *DNA
> > *takes
> > a look at why a Bangalorean remains a silent observer.
> >
> > Most people in the city are oblivious to the fact that by its very
> > definition, a road is incomplete without a proper footpath and that the
> > pedestrian is an important stakeholder in the footpaths and also has the
> > sole right to use them. The municipal corporation has failed to
> disseminate
> > information that a common man could use to voice his concerns.
> >
> > Kathyayani Chamraj of CIVIC says, "Pedestrians are mostly people who
> cannot
> > afford cars and have no voice when compared with the urban elite. Like a
> > class of urban poor, which is voiceless and not organised enough to
> express
> > its concerns, the pedestrians have not been able to shake or move the
> civic
> > bodies to improve the conditions of the footpaths in the city."
> >
> > Hasiru Usiru is one of the few groups actively organising programmes
> > expressing concerns and dangers that the pedestrians are exposed to.
> > Sridhar
> > Raman, who has been conducting a programme 'Come Cross the Roads' to
> > inculcate the righteousness of the pedestrian, says, "The biggest reason
> > pedestrians aren't voicing their anger is their failure to understand
> their
> > rights. The public, be it pedestrians or motorists, assumes that all road
> > infrastructure is meant first for vehicles. Pedestrians are assumed to
> come
> > much lower in the pecking order," said Sridhar Raman.
> >
> > He continues, "We see pedestrians scared to step down on to the road and
> > cross at a zebra-crossing, even though the right of way is with the
> > pedestrian. We see pedestrians giving way to motorists riding even on
> > footpaths; a vehicle has no right to be on the pavement. This lack of
> > awareness is the biggest reason behind the pedestrians not getting the
> > attention they deserve."
> >
> > If the public is made aware that the road and the footpaths belong to the
> > pedestrian first and foremost, more pedestrian voices will rise, added
> > Raman.
> >
> > "City municipal corporation should have made ward committees for ordinary
> > pedestrians. Right now, it is not clear as to who should one complain to
> > about the ill-maintained footpaths-the ward officer, the corporator or
> the
> > engineer?" says Vinay Sridhar from Hasiru Usiru, an environmental group.
> >
> > J Sreenivasan of Koramangala Matters echoed similar sentiments. "Who
> should
> > a pedestrian complain to? The BBMP? Forget it, it's a waste of time. All
> > the
> > pedestrian can do is to vent his anger and frustration and go back to
> > fending himself," he says.
> >
> > He also pointed out that Bescom's structures are the next biggest hurdle
> on
> > Bangalore roads, with low-lying transformers and electric poles erected
> > bang
> > in the middle of what may pass as a footpath. "There are helplines where
> no
> > one answers the call," Sreenivasan says.
> >
> > In defence to the flak concrete pavements draw, the BBMP's engineering
> > chief, BT Ramesh, says, "We had laid the pavements with the interlocking
> > slab system about eight years ago. But after receiving complaints from
> > people, we started laying concrete pedestrian walkways."
> >
> > Meenakshi Bharat, a citizen activist from Malleswaram, says, whatever is
> > left of pavements, is being taken away by civic officials. "Huge areas
> are
> > being dug around the tree to 'water' them."
> >
> > A bigger nuisance is people turning every foot path into 'pee land'. The
> > stench is so unbearable that people prefer walking on the road.
> >
> > Manvel Alur, of the RWA in Koramangala says, "Where are pedestrian
> > crossings
> > or pavements ever planned in the larger scheme of things? Koramangala,
> > Vasanthnagar, Adugodi, Vivek Nagar, Commercial Street are some areas
> where
> > there is hardly any footpath."
> >
> > "Motorists are given importance in our country and pedestrians are
> > forgotten, in spite of walking being a healthier, more energy and
> > environment-friendly option. The RWAs should work towards this in a big
> > way," she adds.
> > *URL of the article:*
> >
> >
>
> http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangalore-is-a-city-that-cares-for-
> cars-and-not-you_1590963-all
> > --------------------------------------------------------
> > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit
> > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss
> >
> > ================================================================
> > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred,
> > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries
> > (the 'Global South').
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Cornie Huizenga
> Joint Convener
> Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport
> Mobile: +86 13901949332
> cornie.huizenga at slocatpartnership.org
> www.slocat.net
> --------------------------------------------------------
> To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit
> http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss
>
> ================================================================
> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred,
> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries
> (the 'Global South').
>
> --------------------------------------------------------
> To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit
> http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss
>
> ================================================================
> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred,
> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries
> (the 'Global South').
>