[Urbanstudy] Pedestrians oppose Chennai Corporation road widening schemes

[Vinay Baindur]

http://straphanger.wordpress.com/2008/03/06/pedestrians-oppose-chennai-corporation-road-widening-schemes/
Pedestrians
oppose Chennai Corporation road widening
schemes<http://straphanger.wordpress.com/2008/03/06/pedestrians-oppose-chennai-corporation-road-widening-schemes/>

Straphangers United demands that the Chennai Corporation stop its planned
programme of road widening, because it is against the interests of
pedestrians and violative of the National Policies of the UPA Government on
people-friendly development of cities.

 Chennai Corporation Zones Five and Ten have advertised works in The Hindu
today, along with those of Zone IV, seeking to widen roads in Divisions 152
in Zone Ten (Sastri Nagar First Ave, First Main Road, Besant Nagar 1st and
2nd Cross Streets, Durgabai Deshmukh Road, Division 155 (Tiger Varadachari
Street) and so on. The advertisements are found in the print edition of
today's The Hindu.

Put together, the value of these works comes to tens of lakhs of rupees in
the three Zones. As this blog has pointed out in the past, road widening is
an anti-people concept affecting the rights of pedestrians. To make it sound
politically correct, the Corporation talks in some cases of forming
new footpaths.

This is contrary to what the civic body does on the ground. In most cases,
the so-called new footpaths do not meet the stipulation of the Indian Roads
Congress, do not have a standard kerb height and are hostile to pedestrians,
particularly the handicapped and the aged.

Also, pedestrians have to compete with commercial interests on such
footpaths (see photos). The Chennai Corporation is obliged to uphold the
rights of pedestrians, as it is seeking funds from the Centre under the
Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission; the Metropolitan Transport
Corporation hopes to augment the fleet using funds available under the
National Urban Transport Policy.

By failing to follow the norms stipulated in these policy documents, the
Chennai Corporation and where applicable the State Highways have forfeited
their claim to Central assistance. Straphangers United demands that the
Ministry of Urban Development at the Centre and the World Bank suspend all
funds to the Corporation and the MTC, until these agencies implement the
policy formulations in letter and spirit.

Pedestrians have lost much of the space that they had, historically
speaking, for safe movement over the last two decades; unabated cornering of
their space by commercial interests, and by the car and motor-cycle lobbies
cannot be accepted.

Neither the Corporation nor the Highways Department has spent a paisa to
create new walking facilities and safe road crossing points, although
they derive revenues from pedestrians by way of State and civic taxes.

Not one new pedestrian subway has been constructed by the Chennai
Corporation in more than a decade despite massive investments in shopping
and commercial real estate. It has failed to invest in approach roads and
street lighting for railway stations including the new MRTS, and for better
access to bus stops and bus stands.

The pictures here speak for themselves on the loss of pedestrian rights in
the City of Chennai. The scenes show:
Kodambakkam Station View Road - Free space for commerce on the footpath. No
space to walk to the Railway Station.
A cycle shop functions practically on the footpath on Station View Road,
Kodambakkam.
Just off Anna Road, next to MRTS Chintadripet Station: The Tamil Nadu
Electricity Board has appropriated the entire pavement for a transformer
pushing pedestrians to the road.[image: Free space for commerce. No space to
walk to the Kodambakkam Railway Station]
------------------------------
[image: A cycle shop functions practically on the footpath on Station View
Road, Kodambakkam]
------------------------------
[image: The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board has appropriated the entire
pavement for a transformer at Chintadripet, pushing pedestrians to the road]

(All photos taken with Nokia 3500c and edited with open source freeware
GIMP)

Tags: Chennai Corporation <http://wordpress.com/tag/chennai-corporation/>,
Footpaths <http://wordpress.com/tag/footpaths/>,
GIMP<http://wordpress.com/tag/gimp/>,
Nokia <http://wordpress.com/tag/nokia/>, Nokia
3500<http://wordpress.com/tag/nokia-3500/>,
World Bank <http://wordpress.com/tag/world-bank/>
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