Somewhere in Chennai....

In a couple of months, TTK Road, Radhakrishnan Salai and Chamiers Road are likely to have pedestrian-friendly footpaths and benches for people to relax on. The corporation is in the process of re-designing and upgrading 11 roads in the city to “world-class standards”, as a step towards moving the focus away from cars and making walking and using public transport more convenient and comfortable. Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy told reporters that the cityscape will undergo radical changes. “In a few months, this land will look completely different,” he said. The 11 roads will be part of a pilot project as the civic agency has identified 60 roads for upgradation. “The final design will be presented to the mayor and the corporation commissioner on April 16. A tender will be put out soon,” said a source in the corporation. Work may start in two months, added the source. “Five roads, including those leading from Music Academy to Raj Bhavan and Fort St George, will have flyovers. Most of these are used by the chief minister regularly,” he said. The plan to improve roads was floated soon after the assembly elections last year. “The idea is to make roads people-friendly and move the focus away from just cars,” said one of the designers working on the project. They are also looking to utilise the space under flyovers. “We are thinking of having public toilets or maybe even turn them into spaces for cultural activities. We are also looking at options to grow plants there. As of now, it is dominated by parked vehicles,” he said. Bollards or special parking barriers will be installed to prevent vehicles from parking illegally. Footpaths will be made continuous and comfortable to make walking easy, and tiles will be replaced by concrete. “Obstructions such as electricity junction boxes and signboards will be aligned properly so that they do not get in the way of pedestrians,” said a source. “By providing continuous and wide footpaths, 80% of the battle is won,” said a source. The space around trees will have gratings to allow water seepage. There will be inlets for stormwater to prevent clogging by leaves and other objects. Sources said there are no constraints on funding for the project. “Both the mayor and the chief minister are keen on getting this done as fast as possible. This will be a learning experience for us to implement the improvements on the rest of the 49 roads,” said the designer. Similarly, the highways department has also initiated steps to implement these changes on three of its major roads — Anna Salai, Poonamallee High Road and Inner Ring Road. The department has identified a Mumbai-based consultant. Last month, a meeting was held with representatives from Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Chennai Metro Rail Limited, traffic police and others to discuss the challenges of implementing such changes.