From yanivbin at gmail.com Sat Mar 1 03:54:05 2014 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2014 00:24:05 +0530 Subject: [sustran] NTDPC report released Increase Investment in Transport to 3.3 Percent of GDP set up Metropolitan Urban Transport Authority Message-ID: http://pib.gov.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=104414 http://planningcommission.gov.in/sectors/index.php?sectors=National%20Transport%20Development%20Policy%20Committee%20(NTDPC) Increase Investment in Transport to 3.3 Percent of GDP set up Metropolitan Urban Transport Authority Rakesh Mohan Committee Report on Transport Development Policy Released The High Level National Transport Development Policy Committee (NTDPC), chaired by Dr. Rakesh Mohan, former Deputy Governor, RBI, emphasises the need for modernisation and expansion of all segments of the transport system. The Report is to be presented to the Prime Minister Dr.ManmohanSingh tomorrow. The NTDPC was set up in 2010 to assess the transport requirements of the economy for the next two decades in the context of the changes in economic, demographic and technological trends expected at local, national and global levels; and to recommend a comprehensive and sustainable policy for meeting such requirements. The Committee comprised of Secretaries of central ministries, private sector representatives, and eminent persons/experts from the transport sector. The Committee held consultations with State Governments in 2012-13 and also received technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank in its work. The Interim Report of the Committee was earlier submitted to the Government in April, 2012. The Report sets the conditions for a coherent system based transport strategy for the two decades beginning with the 12th Five Year Plan to the end of the 15th Five Year Plan. The Report represents new thinking on how to look at different sectors in an integrated fashion and suggests mechanisms and measures for carrying this approach forward in a manner that reduces the resource costs involved. To enable sustained high economic growth over the next two decades, investment in transport would need to increase from the current about 2.6 per cent of GDP to about 3.3 per cent in the 12th Plan, and then stabilise at about 3.7 per cent of GDP until 2032. Based on the macro modelling framework utilised, the projections envisage that with appropriate economic pricing and adequate regulation, sustainability can be achieved in the transport sector; and resources can be attracted from both private and public sectors. Moreover, the resource projections suggest that the country can become more ambitious in transport projects in the 13th Plan and beyond. While the Report addresses sectoral issues in detail, it addresses a number of wider issues that affect the transport system as a whole. Its focus is on cross-cutting themes underlying transport strategy and the resulting investment programmes. It is not so much about specific solutions, as it is about developing human resource capacity, and developing responsive institutions for achieving the overall strategy and outcomes envisaged. *Contd**...........2* One of the significant findings of the Committee is that there is lack of expertise within the whole transport system: from policy making to designing and execution. The Report thus focuses specific attention on developing research and human resource capacity at all levels, and developing responsive institutions for achieving the overall strategy and outcomes envisaged. It also proposes reform measures in regulation, rationalisation of fiscal regimes and embedding safety concerns in all transport planning and execution. Taking note of the weak institutional framework for policy, planning and coordination in transport at the central and state levels the Report argues for decentralised coordination keeping in view the federal nature of the country. To this end, the Report advocates re-aligning transport governance and proposes establishment of Offices of Transport Strategy at the national and state level within the 12th Plan period. The Report also recommends a unified Ministry of Transport at the centre, with similar merger of transport functions at the state level. At the metropolitan city level it advocates the formation of Metropolitan Urban Transport authorities. These institutions should be embedded with adequate technocratic capacity in both quality and quantity. In its vision for a modern transport system for the country, the Report also takes cognizance of the probable growth rate of energy usage in transportation and its impact on environment, and has made several recommendations with regard to policy on emissions standards, pollution control, use of information and communication technology, and advocates a Life Cycle Analysis approach to transport planning. With regard to transportation of energy commodities, which is a greater challenge to the economy, the recommendations include concentration of investment in railways and proactive action in port development, including coastal shipping. The Report has devoted exclusive chapters for Transport Development in the North East and another on Promoting International Connectivity between India and the South and South East Asia regions. While the main section of this Report looks at these broader systemic issues and makes recommendations on how to achieve these goals, the second section, looks at specific sectors, and what needs to be done to take these to the next stage of development commensurate with our aspirations as a nation. These are: Railways Road and Road Transport Civil Aviation Ports and Shipping Urban Transport The Executive Summary and the full report of the High Level Committee on National Transport Development Policy can be accessed on the official website of the Planning Commissionhttp://planningcommission.nic.in/ ************** *KSP/NNKaul/SR* From navdeep.asija at gmail.com Sun Mar 2 15:04:23 2014 From: navdeep.asija at gmail.com (Asija, Navdeep) Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2014 11:34:23 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Fwd: Sustainable living should be part of political agenda: Navdeep Asija In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Vineet Gill, TNN | Mar 1, 2014, 01.51AM IST GURGAON: Navdeep Asija is an expert on road safety and sustainable transport who currently works as the technical adviser for the Punjab government's transport department. Having made his way from Chandigarh to Gurgaon last Sunday, Asija was among the many Raahgiri Day participants. He spoke to TOI about the impact this event has had on the general mindset, and about how sustainable development may soon become a talking point for politicians. *How important is it to have dedicated stretches for non-motorized transport on urban roads today?* Actually, this comes under the fundamental rights. There is a court judgment from the '80s which talks about 'right to healthy living.' The latest National Transport Policy also talks about this in pressing terms. Right to walk, to cycle, and to breathe clean air is a constitutional right. It was only recently, in the year 2010, that the Punjab and Haryana high court issued a directive to both these neighbouring states, asking them to have at least one car-free street in each of their cities. So authorities in Gurgaon, sooner or later, are bound to pay heed to these directives, even if they seem a little reluctant as of now to fully embrace the new sustainability agenda. *What, according to you, explains this reluctance on the part of the local civic agencies?* I found that they are very pro-motorized transport in some way, which is very sad. Since our policy makers travel in cars, all they basically want to do is facilitate the movement of cars on the roads. And this is why we still keep getting those grand 16-lane highways in big cities. *You recently attended an edition of Raahgiri Day in Gurgaon. Do you think this event has played a positive part in changing the mindsets and creating a demand for non-motorized infrastructure?* Raahgiri Day has indeed proved that such events and experiments are excellent in order to generate public opinion in favour of sustainable development. It has acted as an important advocacy tool. In my opinion, we should have a Raahgiri Day in every city, because this can be of direct help to the civic agencies also. By showing that there is a demand for NMT infrastructure, it simplifies the task of the authorities. *So what should be the next step for Raahgiri campaign?* People of this city have given their mandate. Now it is the duty of the civic officials to live up to the expectations by delivering what is being demanded - an upgrade of the NMT infrastructure here. I am also hopeful that in this election year, sustainable development will become part of the political agenda. In fact, all political parties should include this in their manifestos. Flyovers cost hundreds of crores. A little attention to sustainable living costs close to nothing. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/Sustainable-living-should-be-part-of-political-agenda-Navdeep-Asija/articleshow/31188069.cms From sutp at sutp.org Mon Mar 10 17:46:32 2014 From: sutp at sutp.org (sutp at sutp.org) Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 08:46:32 +0000 Subject: [sustran] =?utf-8?Q?SUTP_Newsletter=3A_Issue_01/14_=E2=80=93_JAN_?= =?utf-8?Q?-_FEB=2C_2014?= Message-ID: Dear All, Please find the attached document containing GIZ-SUTP Newsletter for the month of January-February, 2014. Best Wishes, SUTP-Team -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: NL-SUTP- January-February'14.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 701933 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20140310/d2b66cb2/NL-SUTP-January-February14-0001.bin From jsm at greenleaf-publishing.com Wed Mar 12 22:26:18 2014 From: jsm at greenleaf-publishing.com (Rebecca Macklin) Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 13:26:18 -0000 Subject: [sustran] Second International Symposium on Sustainable Mobility, Beijing - Deadline for abstracts 28 March Message-ID: <014d01cf3df6$b5e18a60$21a49f20$@greenleaf-publishing.com> *Apologies for cross-posting* I hope this finds you well. I am writing to let you know about the Second International Symposium on Sustainable Mobility on Sustainable Mobility in China and its Implications for Emerging Economies, 28-29 May 2014 Conference Centre, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. The symposium is currently accepting papers for presentation and all accepted papers will be considered for publication in the Journal of Sustainable Mobility (JSM). The deadline for abstract submissions is 28 March 2014. The symposium is the home of the Journal of Sustainable Mobility (www.greenleaf-publishing.com/jsm) published by Greenleaf in association with Nottingham Trent University, UK, Cranfield University, UK, and the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), China. The inaugural issue of JSM will be launched at the symposium in Beijing. Please find the call for papers detailed below and do contact either myself or the consulting committee should you require any further information. Please feel free to circulate this information to any colleagues who may be interested. Best regards, Rebecca Second International Symposium on Sustainable Mobility: Sustainable Mobility in China and its Implications for Emerging Economies 28-29 May 2014 Conference Centre, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, China Introduction After three decades of rapid economic growth China became the world?s second largest economy in 2011 after the United States of America. Along with the prospect of lifting millions out of poverty and improving living standards, China is facing yet new challenges of rapid urbanization. Recent research findings show that in 2012 urbanization rate was 52.6% in China (Lacy et al., 2013). It is predicted that by 2020 the number of megacities in China with an urban population of more than 10 million will increase to thirteen. Along with the increase in urban population and living standards there has been rapid increase of car ownership in China. It is estimated that there are more than five million cars in Beijing (Cheng, 2013; Economist, 2013). Large cities and prefecture-level cities already contributed 89.6% of China?s total industrial CO2 emissions. One day in January 2013 air in Beijing was heavily polluted to a level of toxicity (smog) forty times the standard safe level set by the World Health Organization (Economist, 2013). At the international level, transport contributed 61.5% to world petroleum consumption and 22.3% to global CO2 emissions in 2010 (IEA, 2012). While the overall level of CO2 emissions in developed economies is stabilizing and in some cases declining, the levels in the developing and emerging economies are increasing. Large emerging economies with megacities will imminently become the major concerns of transport-related CO2 emissions. Without strategic innovations in the automotive industry and transport management system the current state of China?s transport sector is not sustainable. The long-term sustainable solutions are likely to emerge from the interplay of economic, environmental, social and technological factors. Following a successful conclusion of the Inaugural International Symposium on Sustainable Mobility held in Nottingham, UK we are organizing the Second International Symposium on Sustainable Mobility in Beijing, China. The symposium will focus on the issues of developing policies and corporate strategies to help the automotive industry, transport management systems, and urban planning to embark on a sustainable path to future growth and development (WBCSD, 2007; World Bank, 2008). It is envisaged that critical debate and research findings of the symposium will shed light on future research and practice on sustainable mobility in emerging economies in general and that in megacities in particular. The symposium will critically debate themes and topics, but not limited to the following: * Regional development and urbanisation in emerging markets * Socio-economic analysis of sustainable mobility * Low-carbon vehicle technologies including battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs), fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), biofuel vehicles (BFVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) * Low-carbon intelligent transport systems * Energy market and policy analysis * Design and management of intelligent transport systems * Corporate sustainability and sustainable mobility * Global supply and value chains for sustainable mobility * Venture capital and the development of low-carbon vehicles Symposium programme (to be updated and distributed): Day 1: Paper presentation Day 2: Company visit in the morning and Great Wall tour in the afternoon Symposium fee: ?100 or 1,000 RMB yuan Included in the delegate fees, apart from services of coffee/lunch/dinner, are pre-arranged transport from airport to hotel, company visit and Great Wall tour, delegate pack with symposium proceedings, plus the inaugural issue of the Journal of Sustainable Mobility. Venue Direction and maps will be circulated to delegates Hotel accommodation Around ?30 for a standard room and ?60 for a standard suite, booking through the Organising Committee Visa issues The Organizing Committee will provide delegates with invitation letter for visa application upon request Abstract An abstract of 300-400 words (English only) needs to be submitted to one of the three members of the Organizing Committee: Dr Michael Zhang at michael.zhang@ntu.ac.uk Dr Stefano Longo at s.longo@cranfield.ac.uk Dr Lingling Zhang at zhangll@ucas.ac.cn Important dates Abstract submission deadline: 28 March 2014[1] Abstract acceptance notification: 10 April 2014 Registration and fees: Before 28 April, ?100 or 1,000 RMB yuan After 28 April, ?150 or 1,500 RMB yuan Once accepted four types of full-paper submissions are invited: research papers, policy debates, case studies, and research notes. We encourage submissions from academics with a research-orientation from both social and engineering sciences and business practitioners and policymakers from the private and public sectors. Consulting Committee Professor Siwei Cheng, Dean, Management School, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China Professor Baback Yazdani, Dean, Nottingham Business School, UK Professor Francis Assadian, Head, Department of Automotive Engineering, Cranfield University, UK Prof Steve Leeb, MIT, USA Organizing Committee Dr Michael Zhang, Reader in International Strategy, Nottingham Business School, UK Professor Minjun Shi, Deputy Director, Research Center on Fictitious Economy and Data Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Professor Hong Zhao, Deputy Dean, School of Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Dr Stefano Longo, Department of Automotive Engineering, Cranfield University, UK Professor Lingling Zhang, School of Management, and Vice Director of Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Further information about the Journal of Sustainable Mobility can be found at: www.greenleaf-publishing.com/jsm. Rebecca Macklin Publisher Greenleaf Publishing Aizlewood Business Centre, Aizlewood's Mill, Nursery Street, Sheffield, S3 8GG Tel: +44 (0) 113 386 9278 website: www.greenleaf-publishing.com blog: www.greenleafpublishing.wordpress.com twitter: @greenleafbooks _____ [1] Due to limited space late submission will not be considered. From yanivbin at gmail.com Mon Mar 17 01:51:08 2014 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 22:21:08 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Less than 10 seconds to save your life / // Disappearing sidewalks of Peenya /// Bengaluru City's 'pedestrian' footpaths Message-ID: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/392337/less-10-seconds-save-your.html Less than 10 seconds to save your life Prashanth G N, Mar 15, 2014, DHNS : [image: PTI file image for representational purpose] *Not able to cross the road comfortably is a perennial problem all over Bangalore. You have to save your life from speeding vehicles by running faster than usual and if you don't make it, expect death, no less.* The most glaring examples of difficult road crossings are in the central business district. Try the one between Bishop Cottons school and St Joseph's College junction on Residency Road. The ends have pedestrian crossings, but in between there's none, no subway, no skywalk. You see scores of people in front of Sweet Chariot restaurant trying to cross over to the IBM building on the Konark Hotel side. You get less than 10 seconds to cross. Two-wheelers charge at almost 50-60 kms per hour, followed by autorickshaws and buses. People are unable to cross first time, even the second time and third. In less than 10 seconds, the light turns green for traffic coming from St Marks Road onto Residency Road. Then again, Residency Road traffic is given green, again in less than 10 seconds. This is a repetitive process at very frequent intervals that doesn't permit relaxed crossing in the middle of Residency Road. If you rush, trip and fall, there's no saving the person from certain death. Thirty-year-old Mohammed Siyam, a software engineer, agrees Bangalore's most pressing problem is traffic. "In the central business district, there's very little time to ?ross roads. People risk their lives to do so." A section of the traffic on Residency Road turns towards Museum Road. Crossing Museum Road a little away from the pedestrian crossing is near-death experience. As soon as vehicle flow from Residency Road is over, in less than four seconds, vehicles from Hosur Road converge on Museum Road at great speed leaving just two to four seconds for people to cross the Museum Road. The situation is no different on St Marks Road. There is again less than four seconds to cross the road near the SBI junction. The only saving grace is a road hump which slows down traffic to enable pedestrians to cross. Apart from the hump, there is no signal to stop traffic. People have to walk all the way till St Marks Road and MG Road junction to cross. Typically people don't walk all the way from SBI junction to Anil Kumble Circle to cross over. Twenty-six year-old Akhilesh Chetty, software engineer, agrees road crossing is difficult in Bangalore. "The cause is our attitude problem. In Sri Lanka, motorists stop, let pedestrians pass. They respect walkers, we don't." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.deccanherald.com/content/392339/disappearing-sidewalks-peenya.html *Disappearing sidewalks of Peenya* Niveditha Jain , Mar 15, 2014, DHNS : [image: POOR MAINTENANCE: Pavements are in bad shape even in the city's Central Business District. Broken tiles, potholes and filth are everywhere.] *Residents and pedestrians in Peenya face a tough time walking on the foothpaths as they are in bad shape and at most of the stretches, they do not exist. * For Umesh Kumar, walking on the footpath near Peenya 4th Phase, 3rd Main Road is a nightmare. Pointing towards the busy lane, he says, "It is a two- way road wherein vehicles come from Shivajinagar, Majestic and go towards Peenya 2nd stage, 1st stage and surrounding areas. Similarly, on the other side of the road, vehicles from Peenya area go towards Majestic, Hebbal, KR Puram, Jalahalli Cross and other places. Either a skywalk needs to be built or the road needs to be widened." The stretch from Peenya 2nd Stage to Jalahalli Cross via Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF) Circle also has a similar problem. Subhash Shetty, a resident of Nagasandra, complains about lack of any footpath in Peenya 1st stage, 10th cross and Tumkur Road, MEI Factory. "A few months ago, I wrote a letter to Peenya Traffic Police Station and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to make provision for zebra crossing and traffic signal lights at Tumkur Road, NH-4, Nagasandra. It is a service road and moreover, the ongoing project of Peenya-Nagasandra Metro line has left the lane even more messy. Especially, children and women face problems while walking on the road as there are no footpaths," adds Shetty. *According to the Peenya traffic police, skywalks should be immediately built at Jalahalli Cross signal and 8th Mile, Hesaraghatta Road since these are the most congested junctions in Peenya. * Here's what a traffic police official from the area had to say: "It takes more than 15 minutes for a person to cross Jalahalli cross signal during peak hours. For pedestrians, it is a risky affair as there are no footpaths. There is a footpath along 100 feet road towards NTTF, but it is in dilapidated condition. In fact, the footpath has turned into an autostand. We have written letters to officials including those of the BMRCL, BBMP and NHAI, but they do not seem to care." Evening peak hours between 4 pm and 8 pm is when the traffic congestion peaks at Jalahalli Cross signal and also at 8th Mile. The nightmare for the pedestrians only gets worse then. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.deccanherald.com/content/392343/city039s-039pedestrian039-footpaths.html City's 'pedestrian' footpaths Rasheed Kappan, Mar 15, 2014, DHNS : [image: RISKY CROSSING: Senior citizens find it extremely tough to cross the roads. Traffic constables are rarely seen helping them get to the other side safely.] *Crossing the streets is a walkers' nightmare, as dangerous as risking a stroll on the chaotic, encroached, uneven pavements.*Zebra crossings there were none. Seventy-year-old Keshav Rao had no option but to climb that towering skywalk. Out of breath and struggling, he slowly descended on the other side. Two metres away, unseen by him on that dark, ill-lit pavement lay a gaping hole. Blinded by the beam of an oncoming bike, he inched closer... Danger lurks at every turn for lakhs of Bangaloreans risking a walk on the streets. For the civic agencies focused on hi-speed, signal-free roads, the uneven, potholed, thoroughly encroached and narrow footpaths aren't a cause for concern. They are a No-Man's zone, an area worthy of shocking neglect, an immensely dispensable piece of land sacrificed for every road-widening project. So it is no surprise when global urban mobility expert, Gil Penelosa finds that pedestrian-related casualties in Bangalore are over three times the world average! If globally, only 14 per cent of road-accident victims are pedestrians, it is between 30 and 40 per cent here. The accident picture of Bangalore over the last three years is shocking enough. Of the 647 accident casualties in Bangalore last year till December, 330 (40 pc) were pedestrians. In 2012, as many as 358 of the 755 people who died on the roads were just walking! A year before that, 367 pedestrians died and a whopping 1,750 were injured. If these startling figures don't goad civic agencies such as BBMP and BDA into action, what will? Fancy road projects rarely talk about ways for the pedestrians to cross the roads. There are no alternatives proposed to the widely underused skywalks and underpasses. *Walkers as victims * Most accident victims, as the traffic police confirm, are women and the elderly hit by vehicles while crossing the road or walking on the periphery. Since pavement width reduces every time a road widens, pedestrians are forced to walk on the road, severely jeopardising their safety. Architects and urban planners point out that Bangalore roads are rarely in sync with the rules for pedestrian facilities specified by the Indian Road Congress (IRC). For instance, IRC is clear that the minimum width of a footpath should be 1.5 metres, and if the number of pedestrians per hour on a particular road is high, the sidewalk should be four metres wide. In shopping areas, this width should be increased by another one metre (considered as dead width). When the footpath is adjacent to buildings or fences, the dead width should be 0.5 metres. Pedestrians' concerns had pushed the city traffic police to launch the "Sugama Safewalk" programme in November last year. The objective was clear: To focus on pedestrian safety through better designed roads and junctions, and by raising awareness among drivers and pedestrians. The city's Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), B Dayananda had acknowledged the acute vulnerability of the pedestrians in Bangalore. *Footpath riding* Poorly designed traffic junctions have meant extreme chaos at these intersections. To get around the long line of vehicles, motorcyclists often get onto the footpaths, triggering problems galore for the pedestrians. The traffic police are finding it very tough to arrest this rising trend. Peak-hour traffic completely stumps the walkers on the road. This couldn't be more apparent than at Marathahalli, where there are no signs of any zebra crossing for over a kilometre on Old Airport road, flanked by busy commercial zones. After 4.30 pm every day, the road is packed with vehicles between the city and Whitefield, ruling out any possibility of crossing. As Chandan Sharma, a consultant, observes, not a single traffic constable could be seen to assist pedestrian-crossing. People are forced to wait for long periods before attempting to rush across the road. Struggling to negotiate the uneven footpath with a walking stick, 72-year-old Venkata Kotaiah knew he would need enormous luck to get a brief respite from the traffic to cross. "I think I will wait for a traffic jam, and make my way between the vehicles," he finally decides with a sigh. Rakesh Roshan is much younger than Kotaiah. But he too wished there was a cop to halt the passing vehicles before the elders could get to the other side. If crossing at the Marathahalli bridge is next to impossible, the alternative is to walk a kilometre on either side for a junction. "The cars parked on the road in no-parking zones also contribute to the pedestrians' problems. Often these vehicles block the view for crossing pedestrians, leading to accidents," notes Roshan. For Harsh Srivastav, who works at an IT firm near Doddanekkundi, the drivers' lack of any concern for the pedestrians is most problematic. They need to be cautious and lower speeds, especially when passing through busy areas. But poorly lit streets mean drivers too find it tough to spot people crossing the road. As for the motorcyclists riding on footpaths, Srivastsav suggests use of CCTV cameras to spot them and penalise them heavily. *High-risk spots* Hundreds of roads in the city are way below acceptable levels of safety for the pedestrians. The city traffic police, taking into account parameters such as narrow, uneven or damaged roads, one-ways and visibility, had identified seven spots as high-risk for the pedestrians: Trinity Circle, Siddapura Junction to 10th Cross, Madiwala police station junction to Aiyyappa temple junction, Lalbagh West Gate junction, Havanoor junction, Yeshwantpur junction and the area around Esteem Mall close to Yelahanka. A panel comprising the zonal traffic assistant commissioner of police, architects, traffic experts, representatives of residents' welfare associations and NGOs was formed to address issues of pedestrian safety in each of these areas. If walking on the city's roads is tough for the able-bodied, it is scary for the physically challenged. Bangalore's disability infrastructure was rated the lowest (24 out of 100) in nine parameters set by the global NGO, Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities. Here's the unenvious implication: Absence of ramps, lifts and tactile pavements, coupled with uneven surfaces make the city roads extremely unfriendly for the disabled, including the visually challenged and the wheelchair-bound. From yanivbin at gmail.com Tue Mar 18 03:26:39 2014 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 23:56:39 +0530 Subject: [sustran] 'Poor footpaths = uncivilised society' Message-ID: http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalore/civic/Poor-footpaths-uncivilised-society/articleshow/32023240.cms *Poor footpaths = uncivilised society'* By Niranjan Kaggere, Bangalore Mirror Bureau | Mar 15, 2014, 02.00 AM IST Gil Penalosa, the creator of 'Ciclovia' concept, is shocked by the disrespect for pedestrians in a city like Bangalore G il Penalosa is a former parks commissioner of Bogota, Colombia. He is celebrated for his unique concept of Ciclovia, or 'Open Streets' on Sundays. It was a huge hit in Colombia and many countries have emulated the same. *As he told Bangalore Mirror, "During Ciclovia, we close streets for cars and open it to the public for 10-12 hours, and they can do whatever they want. Bogota is almost the size of Bangalore and on every Sunday, about 7 million people occupy about 121 km of open street and just walk, skate, or cycle around. Having concepts like these would change the mindset of our leaders and bureaucrats." * Currently working as executive director of Canadian NGO 8-80 Cities, Gil was in Bangalore for a conference organised by Embarq India. Gil spoke to Bangalore Mirror on the sidelines of the conference, about the importance of safety for pedestrians in Bangalore. What is your impression of Bangalore? Bangalore is a great city, but I must say that there is no respect for pedestrians. This is something very bad and shocking. Are you aware that Bangalore hardly offers footpaths (free space) for citizens to walk around? Oh yes. There are many pedestrians killed in Bangalore. Between 30 to 40 per cent of the traffic deaths are of pedestrians. The world average of pedestrian related casualties is about 14 per cent. But in Bangalore, it is more than three times the world average.You cannot have a civilised society where you cannot walk safely. You cannot keep building Bangalore for 30-year-old athletic people. You need to build Bangalore for everyone. Have we deliberately let down pedestrians? The major problem is that pedestrians are not united. You go to any city around the world. There are at least five to six different groups for cyclists, who may constitute only 1-2 per cent of the population. But you will not even see a single group for pedestrians. Despite everyone walking during some part of the day, there's no platform for walkers. This is where the media plays a crucial role in raising awareness. I congratulate Bangalore Mirror for its 'Footpath? My Foot' initiative. You need to be applauded for taking up the cause, and creating awareness among both the general public as well as policy makers. How do you dispel the notion that only the poor walk on roads? As I told you, whether you are rich or poor, all of us walk. In a rich city like Copenhagen, 38 out of 100 trips of an individual are done on bicycle. Walking and cycling are the only individual mobility option for many people, particularly children and youth. Is building or widening roads or subways the only solution to help pedestrians in a city like Bangalore? I have seen people who are stuck in traffic jams in Bangalore complain that the government must build more roads. But it is impossible. There is no city in the world of the size of Bangalore which moves through private cars alone. That is why you see cars parked everywhere in Bangalore, including pavements. Last year in India, about 3.8 million cars were put on the roads. Assuming that each of these cars require about 10 metres of space just to park, you need to create 38,000 km of roads just to park these many cars. This is, like, 19 times the distance between Bangalore and New Delhi. It is like mission impossible! Even if you have the funds, is that the best way to invest money? Better to invest in building parks, schools, and hospitals, and have a public transport system. Some want to do subways thinking they are going to run the same people on the ground and below the ground. But I think subways are not that nice and it is where usually the rats go. People have to go above the ground. You need to decide whether we are going to build 20 km of subway or 200 km of rapid transport system. Do you think politicians or the system would agree? Whether you agree or not, many other cities around the world are lowering the speeds of vehicles to eliminate the massacre of pedestrians on streets. No one should speed more than 30 km per hour. On the big or arterial streets, let them go beyond 40 or 60 km per hour.