JOIN USPerhaps for the first time in India, Bengalureans have been exposed to a pedestrian-first approach to road-building. But despite the controversy triggered by wide footpaths on one TenderSURE road, 50 more such streets are to be given a similar makeover. The road-widening model that invariably had only the motorists in mind, suddenly seems out of vogue!
The high priority given to pedestrians has been unprecedented in its intent, and at least in the case of St Mark’s road, dramatic in execution. This approach has definitely taken time to sink in. Long used to widened roads at the cost of shrunken footpaths, motorists cried foul at the vehicle lanes pruned to ensure uniformity. Yet, many have came around to the view that the improved footpaths would get the walkers back.
The change in public perception, though slow, has pushed civic agencies and urban architects to scale up the first TenderSURE experiment that covered only seven roads. Several showpiece city roads are now lined up for a much-needed upgrade. The list include M G Road, Brigade Road, Cubbon Road, Indiranagar 100ft Road, SC Road, Raj Bhavan Road and many more.
Once the State cabinet approves the proposal, the 50 roads will be in line for much-improved footpaths, uniform-laning, street furniture, junctions and streetlights. But more importantly, the chaotic sewage, water, OFC and electric cable lines under these streets will get shifted to permanent underground utility lines. However, the entire process, including design, planning, tendering, utility shifting and execution could take upto a year.
MG Road included
The inclusion of M G Road in the TenderSURE list could be an indication that the earlier plan to upgrade it as a Metro corridor is shelved. BBMP and the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) were to jointly share the cost of developing the road. MG Road was to be part of a larger 5.5 km stretch covering the rest of the Metro stretch roads from Trinity Circle till Baiyappanahalli.
A Detailed Project Report (DPR) prepared for this multi-agency work featured an upgraded footpath from Queen’s Statue Circle to Trinity junction on MG Road. Sources associated with this proposed project say it never saw the light of day due to fund-sharing issues. The TenderSURE listing just might revive the plan in a new avatar.
Besides their pedestrian-focus, the TenderSURE roads have a strong emphasis on long durability compared to traditional tarred roads. As urban architects point out, the permanent underground utility ducts ensure that the roads are not frequently dug up for various maintenance works.
The design also incorporates cycling tracks, bus bays, parking spaces and dedicated hawkers’ zones wherever space permits.
Church Street, dining zone
But on Church Street, part of the second package under the original TenderSURE project, the focus on walkers is particularly pronounced. Naresh Narasimhan, an urban design specialist, explains that this Street requires a different treatment. “Church Street is more of a food and dining place with lot of scope for leisurely walkers. We have to do the detailed drawing first, taking into account the present utilities there. It needs to be mapped elaborately,” he explains.
The paucity of data on the roads is likely to delay the process. Records of old sewage pipelines are tough to obtain. “Understanding what is underground is critical. Eighty per cent of the cost of a road is underground. The black topping constitutes only 20 per cent.”
Commercial Street too requires a treatment similar to Church Street, but with a shared focus on shopping. Both these streets have long been candidates for pedestrians-only zones. However, traders on Commercial Street and Brigade road contend that lack of parking spaces under the proposed designs would drive away customers. A compromise is likely to be worked out, with marginal parking spaces and single-lane motorways.
But mobility experts such as V Ravichandar wonders why shopping and walking cannot be synergised for mutual benefit. He feels the shopkeepers are myopic in their opposition to TenderSURE. Superior footpaths would actually make the experience of the shopper that much more better, he contends. Yet, traders insist on parking solutions.
Parking has remained a huge problem across Bengaluru. With an estimated 1,200 to 1,500 new vehicles added to the city roads every day, the issue could only get worse.
“It is humanly impossible to solve this problem. People should realise that walking is a mode of transport. If we have pedestrian-friendly roads to Brigade road and Commercial street, people can get off the Metro and walk to these locations easily,” explains Ravichandar.
Metro route to Commercials
The Metro, once the first phase is commissioned, could also be the best way to reach another key shopping destination, the Indiranagar 100 Feet Road. Having emerged as a High Street of global brands, this route has been included in the new list of 50 TenderSURE roads for upgrade. But, as another urban expert points out, for any upgrade to work, all vehicles currently parked on the 100ft road footpath should be removed. Parking, he says, should not be considered their birthright!
Architects, planners and urban designers are confident that eventually, a network of TenderSURE roads will make the rides and walks smoother. They hope that the seven roads being executed now and the 50 more proposed to be done within a year, could vastly transform the commuters’ experience.
But there is one condition: The roads should have a sequential logic. A St Mark’s Road or a Commissariat Road with fancy footpaths and street furniture should not remain as designer islands, unconnected to each other but linked to chaotic, badly planned roads all around. An upgraded Residency Road, St Mark’s Road, Church Street, Brigade Road and Cubbon Road could eventually complete a network. That could then serve as a model for emulation across the City.