[sustran] Car Free Experiment in Pune
Sujit Patwardhan
sujit at vsnl.com
Tue Jan 31 01:35:06 JST 2006
30 January 2006
On Saturday, 28th January, Pune joined the list
of a very small number of cities that have taken
the conscious decision to convert a road into a pedestrian plaza!
Although this is being done only on an
experimental and temporary basis, and for a start
only on Saturdays; with the enthusiastic response
of citizens and most of the shopkeepers, there is
little doubt that this will not only be a
permanent feature but will eventually become a
full time car-free street. A street, in Enrique
Penalosa's words, "for people rather than for the automobile".
Reproduced below are two articles from the local
media reporting that this transformation has been a BIG hit.
As a citizens' NGO working for a sustainable
transportation policy in Pune for over 6 years,
we are naturally thrilled by this development and
look forward to seeing more streets losing their
lethal baggage of auto vehicles and becoming more
humane and pleasant for all people, young and
old, male and female, rich and poor.
Thought I must share this with the SUSTRAN community.
Three Cheers!!!
--
Sujit Patwardhan
Sustainable Urban Transport
---------------------------------------------------
Sujit Patwardhan
Member
PTTF
Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum,
c/o Parisar, "Yamuna",
ICS Colony,Ganeshkhind Road,
Pune 411 007, INDIA
Tel: +91 20 25537955
Cell: +91 98220 26627
Email: <sujit at vsnl.com>, <sujitjp at gmail.com>
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You may as well call it WP now!
MG Road walking plaza trial proves a big hit
BY A STAFF REPORTER
PUNE: The much-talked-about trial of a walking
plaza on the Mahatma Gandhi Road proved to be a
resounding success yesterday with no major
bottlenecks hindering the implementation of the trial that began at 10 am.
The trial was a spectacle of veritable
celebration with excited parents, and yelling
children jostling for space to shake a leg with
the Disney characters dancing to the racy tunes
being belted out by DJs. from the Karma Group.
The entire road looked spick and span and was
festooned with the PCB banners propagating the message of the walking plaza.
However, the trial evoked mixed reactions from
the merchants. Whereas the Camp Merchants'
Association had supported the trial, the Pune
Camp Merchants' Association (PCMA ) registered
their protest by waving black flags.
The entire stretch of this road from Aurora
Towers to Mahavir Chowk was chock-a-block for the
evening celebration, which was inaugurated by
actress Rati Agnihotri. A highlight of the
evening was watching Dr N B Grant and 15 members
of the PRC, Khadki, enjoying a stroll on the M G
Road. The PCB had pressed into service two PMT
buses to ferry people from one end to another.
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Celebrating a walk on MG Rd
BY SASWATI SANYAL
<mailto:saswatis at sakalherald.com>saswatis at sakalherald.com
PUNE: What would be your first reaction if the
busiest street near your house is converted into
a walking plaza? It may range from confusion to
surprise to simply a sigh of relief over the end of traffic woes.
That was what Puneites experienced yesterday as
they enjoyed a leisurely walk on M.G. Road, the
first day of the Walking Plaza experiment.
On a pleasant afternoon, the road had a lazy
charm to it comparable almost to a park. Families
and couples strolled along the road in a relaxed mood.
No bikers or heavy vehicles to spoil the moment,
the air is heavy with expectation, like something about to happen.
Frankly, I had never noticed that the road dotted
with so many shops, big and small, had an almost
old worldly feel to it minus the non-stop
honking, like time had suddenly decided to stand
still and watch the antics of people.
Most shops were open as shoppers had a chance of
dabbling in some window shopping.
Said a passerby, I dont know what is going to
happen, but it definitely feels good to walk at a
leisurely pace on this road without worrying when
the next vehicle will hit you.
Doesnt the road look amazing without the
continuous smoke and noise, as if we are seeing
it for the first time! He almost voiced my
thoughts. It sure does, pal, and it really makes
you want to convert every other road into one like this.
But, with M.G. Road completely blocked off for
traffic, it is quite a rude jerk back to reality
when you move away from it. I see a couple
smiling at the face I make when I try to call for a rickshaw.
As my voice gets lost in the milieu, I look back
at them and realize that the feeling was mutual.
Guess, we all should just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.
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Sustainable Urban Transport
---------------------------------------------------
Sujit Patwardhan
Member
PTTF
Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum,
c/o Parisar, "Yamuna",
ICS Colony,Ganeshkhind Road,
Pune 411 007, INDIA
Tel: +91 20 25537955
Cell: +91 98220 26627
Email: <sujit at vsnl.com>, <sujitjp at gmail.com>
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Sujit Patwardhan
PARISAR
"Yamuna", ICS Colony,
Ganeshkhind Road,
Pune 411007, INDIA
Telephone: +91 20 255 37955
Email: <sujit at vsnl.com>, <sujitjp at gmail.com>
Web Site: www.parisar.org
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