Coimbatore Corporation has come in for appreciation from the World Bank for the effort it took in December 2019-January 2020 to bring about a change in urban street design.
The Corporation had made some ‘tactical changes’ on Big Bazaar Street and Raja Street to give more space to pedestrians and regulate the flow of traffic.
Commissioner Sravan Kumar Jatavath said the Corporation’s tactical design, implemented on a pilot basis with assistance from the German agency GIZ, came in for the World Bank appreciation, which he conveyed to the Smart Cities Mission Director Kunal Kumar during a video conference he had on Thursday.
He also shared with Mr. Kumar the steps the Corporation had taken to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the people by organising the sale of vegetables through vehicles.
Mr. Jatavath said he shared with Mr. Kumar how the tactical design could also be looked through the COVID-19 prism to provide space for maintenance of physical distance.
In the video conferencing, Mr. Jatavath also explained the reasons why the Corporation had to push the deadlines for some of the Smart Cities Mission projects and the need for the Government of India to directly transfer funds to beneficiary cities.
