20 March 2006 I was present at the meeting and after the presentation by CIRT (Central Institute of Road Transport) expressed clearly and perhaps loudly the fear that several "observations" from CIRT's presentation would be misinterpreted by our friends from the media who as a group are still more familiar with outdated traffic solutions such as building more roads and flyovers. The observations I cited were:- -- the city has very little land area devoted to transport (which can mean space for public transport bus depots, bus workshops, space to enable bus lanes etc BUT the media reporters may wrongly conclude that CIRT is recommending more, more and more roads!!!!). THE ACTUAL FIGURE FOR ROAD AREA IN THE PRESENT PUNE CITY IS AROUND 10% AND WE INSIST THIS IS LARGE ENOUGH FOR AN EFFECTIVE BUS BASED PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM SUPPLEMENTED BY CYCLING AND WALKING FACILITIES. NEWLY ADDED AREA FOR THE CITY CAN HAVE MORE SPACE FOR ROADS PROVIDED THERE IS A BUILT-IN PROVISION TO ENSURE THAT ADDED SURFACE IS NOT USURPED BY PERSONAL AUTOS BUT MADE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT. -- there is extreme and growing pressure on parking (this can be seen to be a good thing as it can ultimately and effectively do more than half hearted vehicle restrain measures imposed by spineless administrators or politicians 's not wanting to displease the growing population using personal vehicles due to worsening (through neglect) public transport performance OR it can lead to policies that make available more space for parking usually by grabbing the meagre open spaces, lung areas, river-beds, canals, and hills which ideally should be kept safe from the hungry gaze of the auto vehicles and used for walking or cycling.) -- vehicle ownership per household (many see growing auto vehicle ownership as a sign of advancement.... India is becoming rich and prosperous, so that's a good thing. BUT if we only look at Singapore and European cities like Zurich, Copenhagen, Amsterdam etc it becomes clear that less auto vehicles on roads and more space for walking, cycling, car-free zones makes for a far more vibrant and liveable city, offering more scope for parks, gardens, tourist sites, and safe spaces for children and the elderly). We don't have to go through the cycle of .... --growing auto domination - reduction in liveability, mobility and healthy environment - reducing auto domination through expensive measures instead we can leapfrog and try to make our cities more liveable BEFORE they are run over by more and more roads and autos) There were more points but this will get too long. Unfortunately it happened as I had feared. Lee was misquoted by one of the papers and even if they print his clarification it will not fully undo the damage. This is why sometimes measured and cautious presentations by "experts" and "academicians" need to be combined with "loud" and even disruptive interventions from NGOs and activists. But of course this is easier said than done. -- Sujit Sujit Patwardhan Parisar/ PTTF Pune <div>On 3/20/06, Lee Schipper <<a href="mailto:SCHIPPER@wri.org">SCHIPPER@wri.org</a>> wrote:<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> I have a slide submitted with the Xian report I will try to dig out. basically the numbers are 15-20%. I think the 20-22 includes lots of parking etc.. >>> <a href="mailto:Alan.Howes@cbuchanan.co.uk"> Alan.Howes@cbuchanan.co.uk</a> 3/20/2006 5:58:16 AM >>> Lee's comments where? 4% of urban area devoted to transport does indeed seem low, but 20-22% sounds excessive.  Has anyone got comparative figures for a raft of other cities? Alan -- Alan Howes Associate Transport Planner Colin Buchanan 4 St Colme Street Edinburgh      EH3 6AA Scotland email:  <a href="mailto:alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk"> alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk</a> <mailto:<a href="mailto:alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk">alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk</a>> tel:      (0)131 226 4693 (switchboard)            (0)7952 464335  (mobile) fax:     (0)131 220 0232 www: http:/www.cbuchanan.co.uk/ _______________________________ ________________________________ From: sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=<a href="mailto:cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc.org"> cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc.org</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc">sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc</a>. org] On Behalf Of Eric Britton Sent: 20 March 2006 10:44 To: <a href="mailto:sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org">sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org</a> Subject: [sustran] Experts for more roads in city (See Lee Schipper commentson this) Experts for more roads in city Express News Service <<a href="http://www.expressindia.com/about/feedback.html?mailto=vvdeshmukh@expre">http://www.expressindia.com/about/feedback.html?mailto=vvdeshmukh@expre </a> <a href="http://ssindia.com">ssindia.com</a>> Pune, March 17: EMBARQ, a World Research Initiative Centre for Transport and Environment, stressed on the need for the city to increase the percentage of land use for transport from 4 per cent to 20-22 per cent to stem the traffic problems. Presenting the findings before Municipal Commissioner Nitin Kareer on Friday before, EMBARQ's director of research, Lee Schipper suggested that more roads are necessary for tackling the traffic problems. Funded by Swedish Institute of Development Authority, EMBARQ has been studying traffic woes of Pune, Xian in China and Hanoi in Vietnam under the project Partnership for Sustainable Urban Transport in Asia (PSUTA) to suggest ways of coping up with increasing traffic. Schipper said that compared to the other two cities, Pune's traffic comprises two-wheelers, autorickshaws, buses all plying on narrow roads in downtown parts. ''Pune has less vehicle speed (12 km/hr) in comparison wih the two cities and the traffic fatality is minimum here.'' He said that Nalstop and Swargate chowks have higher traffic density compared to Bhosari - an industrial area. EMBARQ study revealed that around 60 percent, is directly exposed to air pollution. Advocating Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in the city, Schipper blamed the city planners for failing to undertake any impact study to calculate the improvements done after implementations of projects. Experts from Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) underlined fifty indicators for ascertaining a sustainable transport system and recommended monitoring the indicators by conducting frequent trend analysis to ensure transport in the city. [eb: We'd like to see (a) that list and (b) how Pune fared in it. Can anyway get this to the group????] Source: <a href="http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=174140">http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=174140</a> ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). Because of the history of the list, the main focus is on urban transport policy in Asia. </blockquote></div> -- ------------------------------------------------------ Sujit Patwardhan <a href="mailto:sujit@vsnl.com">sujit@vsnl.com</a> <a href="mailto:sujitjp@gmail.com"> sujitjp@gmail.com</a> "Yamuna", ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007 Tel: 25537955 ----------------------------------------------------- Hon. Secretary: Parisar <a href="http://www.parisar.org">www.parisar.org</a> ------------------------------------------------------ Founder Member: PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) ------------------------------------------------------