Motorists can take a walk, no rethink on road width

By Bharath Joshi

BENGALURU: There will be no rethink on the width of carriageways and footpaths on St Marks's Road, Cunningham Road, Museum road and Vittal Mallya hospital road, the government has said. These roads are currently undergoing a makeover under the Tender SURE (Specifications for Urban Road Execution) project.

"What has started cannot be undone," the Bengaluru district in-charge minister Ramalinga Reddy told ET. He was reacting to questions being raised on narrowing of carriageways on these roads following widening of footpaths and bicycle lanes. "Pedestrians are as important as motorists in a city like Bengaluru. We expect vehicle traffic volume to increase in the future and we need footpaths for pedestrians as well. We need to strike a balance," he said. Reddy is expected to meet the BBMP Mayor N Shanthakumari, Commissioner M Lakshminarayana and engineers on this issue.

Seven roads have been identified under the . 200-crore public-private first phase of the ` Tender SURE project, which envisages wellplanned roads with spaces defined for pedestrians, cyclists, public transport and motorists in that order of preference, while utilities such as OFC cables, storm water drains and streetlight cabling would run in ducts on either side of the roads.

Tender SURE, the brainchild of the Bangalore City Connect Foundation, was mooted in 2010. Following a hue and cry over "shrinking space" for motorists, indications are that Richmond road, Residency road and Commissariat road could see a change in design. A government official revealed to ET the present line of thinking: "Something like this would work if there is disciplined traffic and proper lanes akin to western countries. Where is the traffic discipline here?" Sources said the government would modify the project before undertaking works in the future.

That the government is rethinking the project is "something I am well aware of," V Ravichandar, the foundation's evangeliser who was involved in conceptualising the project, told ET. "The way I see it, there are people trying to protect their turfs. The project challenges existing ways of doing roads and this has threatened the traditional repeated-spending model in awarding road contracts," he said, urging citizens and the state to wait for the results of the project.

Doubts about the project came from unexpected quarters. No less than the co-author of the TenderSURE document and Invicus CEO Vivek Menon seems to agree. "What I've always suggested is a robust design that is context-sensitive. Pedestrianisation is important, but it needs healthy balance.You cannot force people to stop using their own vehicles, when our mass transit has no last-mile connectivity," he told ET.

Lokesh Hebbani from the Centre for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning of IISc, treaded the middle path. He lauded the project's intent while suggesting the government "to spend more time on studying feasibility on roads where the project can become successful."