[sustran] Uniform norms for nationwide urban roads on the anvil

[Vinay Baindur]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Uniform-norms-for-nationwide-urban-roads-on-the-anvil/articleshow/17578617.cms



*Uniform norms for nationwide urban roads on the anvil*
TNN | Dec 12, 2012, 03.51 AM IST



NEW DELHI: The Centre wants all towns and cities to create enough
facilities for pedestrians, cyclists and all other non-motorized transport
in urban areas. The Union urban development (UD) ministry has come out with
new guidelines for city roads, including signage and designs for crossings,
ahead of launch of the second leg of UPA's flagship urban infrastructure
upgrade scheme - the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (
JNNURM).

This is for the first time that such codes for urban roads have been
brought out, aiming to bring uniformity across all cities and towns and at
par with best global practices. Now, there are varying signage and
standards that Indian cities follow. The codes were released at the
Sustainable Urban Transport summit organized by the UD ministry.

Ministry officials said that the urban road design codes have been brought
out to bridge the gap between the current research on safe urban roads and
road design in cities. The documents released by government say that the
roads need to be "barrier free" and accessible by "all", including the
differently abled.

The guidelines focus on requirements for pedestrians, non-motorized vehicle
and public transport users in urban areas. It says that these three groups
form the basis of sustainable transport. "Despite unsafe conditions present
on the road these users on non-motorized modes continue to use these modes
because their socio economic conditions does not permit them to use
motorized vehicles...they are willing to defy the formal street design,
which is hostile to them," according to the document.

The new norms also address the concern of two-wheelers, which account for
70% of cities' vehicles. The documents mention that two-wheelers
(motorcycles and scooters) will continue to play a dominant role in medium
and small cities. Similarly, the para-transit vehicles like three wheelers,
tempos and rickshaws will continue to play an important role either as
feeder system to the formal public transport systems or as semi public
transport systems in small and medium size cities. "These guidelines are
revised to cater to their needs," the document adds.