Walker-friendly amenities mooted

May 29, 2012 12:26 pm | Updated July 11, 2016 09:52 pm IST - VISAKHAPATNAM:

Along with three other cities, Visakhapatnam ranks as ‘A' category city for initiating measures for using non-motorised transport. The measures taken by the corporation like introducing ‘vehicle-free zones' and GVMC officials not using motor vehicles on Monday have been presented at a workshop on Institute of Transportation and Development Policy.

Three other cities implementing the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) project and ranked alongside Visakhapatnam are Kochi, Howrah and Ahmedabad.

The workshop was organised by UNDP, World Bank and the Union Urban Development ministry.

The workshop felt that use of motor vehicles should be reduced by 10 per cent from the present levels to reduce pollution. For this, use of bicycles, battery and solar-powered vehicles should be promoted, it was suggested. Municipal Commissioner B. Ramanjaneyulu who returned from the meeting said on Monday providing facilities for walkers in an effort to make people take up walking figured prominently in the workshop. Pedestrian rights should be protected by providing footpaths, water, benches and small parks to relax along the way.

It also was termed important in view of younger people lacking exercise, using motor vehicles for short distances and spending more time before TVs or computers. Also in schools, bicycling should be introduced as a physical activity, the workshop felt.

The World Bank had agreed, in principle, to extend assistance for a project on non-motorised vehicles. He said UNDP had already expressed readiness to support a low carbon mobility project for the city.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.