To gain clarity about current conditions for pedestrians and cyclists in the city, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) have jointly undertaken a survey of the city, specifically looking at the existing traffic conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles with 11 major roads selected for the survey.
The survey is titled ‘Pune Walking and Cycling Assessment’ and a detailed report of the same, complete with findings and solutions, will be submitted to the PMC on December 11 which is also celebrated as ‘Pedestrians’ Day’. The study aims to understand the current condition of pedestrians and cyclists on the streets of Pune and provide immediate and long-term solutions to create safer and more accessible streets.
Pranjal Kulkarni, ITDP manager, said, “This detailed assessment comprises three types of surveys; design (how is the street designed), observation (how is the street being used) and perception (what are the citizens’ opinions). The data from these surveys will have a certain scoring matrix to have a rating system as one of the final outcomes. The study was carried out from September and is still underway and will provide specific recommendations to improve ‘ease of movement, safety and accessibility for walking and cycling on the selected streets’.”
“Every year, we work and conduct surveys on the occasion of ‘Pedestrians’ Day’ on various issues related to road traffic and what people are facing. In Pune, apart from the potholes and waterlogging, there are major issues that pedestrians and cyclists face daily while travelling through various parts of the city. So, we decided to take up this issue for this year’s survey and with the help of PMC engineers and our team, we are now carrying out the survey. As said earlier, three major parameters are being considered. Under the design survey, we look at the actual work on footpaths as per the guidelines given by government agencies. In the observation survey, we look at what all is wrongly done vis-à-vis what is correctly done,” Kulkarni said.
{{/usCountry}}“Every year, we work and conduct surveys on the occasion of ‘Pedestrians’ Day’ on various issues related to road traffic and what people are facing. In Pune, apart from the potholes and waterlogging, there are major issues that pedestrians and cyclists face daily while travelling through various parts of the city. So, we decided to take up this issue for this year’s survey and with the help of PMC engineers and our team, we are now carrying out the survey. As said earlier, three major parameters are being considered. Under the design survey, we look at the actual work on footpaths as per the guidelines given by government agencies. In the observation survey, we look at what all is wrongly done vis-à-vis what is correctly done,” Kulkarni said.
{{/usCountry}}Welcoming the survey, Kalpana B, a senior citizen, said, “We go out for walks on Karve road daily and there are footpath patches that are broken as well as encroachments and many times, elderly people fall on slippery footpaths. If this survey helps to find out the flaws in the infrastructural works and the same are repaired or improved upon by the PMC, it will be a great service to the citizens.”
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The streets selected for the survey include: Raj Bhavan road, Sinhagad road, Karve road, Vishrantwadi road, Nagar road, Satara road, Shankarsheth road, Pune Solapur road, Magarpatta - Mundhwa road, J M road and Pashan road.
The ITDP team plans to submit the “Pune Walking and Cycling Assessment” report on Pedestrians’ Day on December 11.