The City Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) has suggested slapping of congestion charges, introduction of multi-level park-and-pay interchanges and pedestrian and cycle precincts for upgrading the urban transport sector of the city.
These recommendations form part of the pre-feasibility study in the urban transport of Kochi.
The study will be presented before the Steering Committee on Monday.
Congestion charging is the strategy used to help manage congestion in the worst-affected areas of a city.
It requires the payment of a charge (usually daily) for the privilege to drive a private vehicle into and within a designated area.
The system encourages the use of public transport modes and discourages the use of private vehicles, the study said.
A notable example of the success of this system is London, United Kingdom, where the introduction of a congestion charge has had a dramatic positive impact on reducing the amount of congestion in the city, the report said.
For Kochi, according to the study, congestion charges have been suggested for Chittoor Road, Sahodaran Ayyappan Road, Marine Drive, Foreshore Road and Banerjee Road.
Multi-level park-and-pay interchanges have been proposed at areas like Kaloor, Thevara and Atlantis junctions and Sahodaran Ayyappan Road to provide adequate replacement parking facilities.
Pedestrian overpasses have been recommended at Edapally, across the bypass, Kaloor intersection, across Banerjee Road, Kacheripady Junction, across Banerjee Road, High Court Junction, covering Shanmugham Road, Banerjee Road and Vypin Road, Shanmugham Road to Marine Drive, at Menaka, across M.G. Road at Padma and Jos junctions in the city centre.
The report has recommended pedestrian precincts in a few city areas where vehicle entry will be restricted between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.at night
The areas identified are Church Landing Cross Road, Warriam Road, Dewan's Road, Paliyam Road, Justice K.T. Koshy Avenue, Thotekkat Road, Layam Road, Justice C.S. Menon Road, P.T. Usha Road and Naarakathara Road.
The Gopalaprabhu Road, East Sannidhi Road, Sreenivasan Mallaya Road, Post Office Link Road, Cloth Bazaar Road, Muslim Street and Basin Road, Vittappa Prabhu Road, Kovilvattom Road, P.K. Alexander Road, Canal Road and Syrian Church Road have also been identified for the system.
CDIA is in the process of formulating a sector-wide improvement strategy along with a package of high-impact physical investments for short and medium term implementation, said a note on the interim report.
