Come September 22, the Millennium City will observe car-free day every Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to encourage people to use alternative modes of transport.
Though the whole city will celebrate the initiative, four major corridors -- DLF Cyber City, Cyber Park area, Golf Course Road and Electronic City in Udyog Vihar-IV -- have been identified to focus on the campaign. The idea is to give an experience of car-free streets to the people and persuade them to use sustainable modes of transport. It will save an average of 2.6 kg of greenhouse gas emissions per person per day.
A meeting of all stakeholders was held this past week to decide on the course of action for the D-day. The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), the Municipal Council of Gurgaon (MCG), the Gurgaon Police and the Deputy Commissioner of Gurgaon came together in support of the initiative.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Bharti Arora told The Hindu that on Tuesdays the police would not allow on-street parking on the four corridors to ensure space for people to walk and cycle. This will encourage people to use public transport.
Ms. Arora pledged to walk to her workplace on the first car-free day which coincides with World Car-Free Day. She said several corporate houses had pledged support to the initiative and they would urge their employees to shun cars and try alternative modes of transport such as buses, metro or even car-pooling. The objective is to put across the idea that more cars could not be afforded on roads, said Ms. Bharti.
The MCG and a private company Shuttl.com have agreed to provide shuttle services on car-free days at major metro stations like HUDA City Centre, Sikanderpur, IndusInd Cyber City and Kapashera border for the major IT hubs. The MCG has promised to provide cycles while HUDA promised to repair all roads in Gurgaon.
As per estimates, 60,000-65,000 cars ply on Netaji Subhash Marg, Cyber City, Golf Course Road and the Udyog Vihar-IV every day. At least three lakh employees are working in Gurgaon's corporate sector.
