Page 113 - HUDCO BEST PRACTICE AWARDS

Year 2014-15

inner city reVitaliSation and conSerVation – chennai Street design

project by corporation of chennai

n June 2012, Corporation of Chennai adopted a radical approach towards redesigning Management Consultant to monitor, supervise and execute the footpath project so that
Iall of its bus route roads in their flagship initiative - Chennai Street Design Project. This every minor detail could be taken care of with the utmost precision and professionalism.
project which promotes non-motorised transportation, lays emphasis on designing Lastly, the Corporation strongly agreed that the entire project would be futile if no measures
streets for all users and activities. It primarily prioritises safety, comfort and convenience were taken to maintain these high-quality footpaths. Via a public-private-partnership,
of pedestrians by developing wide and continuous footpaths on all bus route roads. The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) was appointed
Corporation aims to redesign all its 471 bus route roads under this project. to maintain the completed footpaths, which included daily maintenance like sweeping and
Despite poor pedestrian and cycling infrastructure in the city, over six million trips are made cleaning, as well as minor repairs, as and when required.
on foot and cycle everyday in Chennai—one third of all trips in the city. Further, Chennai has
the highest road fatality rate in the country and pedestrians as well as cyclists are the most
vulnerable.
Streets are public spaces, whose designs affect the citizens residing along the project.
To understand the public concerns upfront, obtain inputs on the conceptual designs
evolved, build consensus towards final designs and avoid obstacles during construction,
the Corporation held various workshops and consultative discussions with different
stakeholders like Policy makers, Institutions, Architectural Professionals, Street Vendors
etc.,
In the planning and designing phase, the Corporation realized that maintaining the width of
the carriageway would be critical for smooth functioning of the street. The traditional design
process used maximum carriageway width and used the footpaths as mere road margins.
This had resulted in bottlenecks and traffic jams. By reversing this process, the footpaths
took on varying widths, which would then be able to accommodate outdoor furniture and
other elements in wider areas. During the construction phase, many challenges arose at
the site. Since many stakeholders were involved, there were occasions when responsibility
and complaints were passed around. Hence, the Corporation had decided to hire a Project Haphazard parking with narrow footpaths forced pedestrians to walk on the carriageway

Urban realm transformed with wide and continuous footpaths, and organized on-street Design workshop conducted to introduce the Corporation engineers to the latest principles
parking of street design

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