Walking. The simplest, extremely beneficial and the most sustainable mode of transport has become a luxury for Delhiites.
While in cities like London and Melbourne, people walk to work, the market or tourist destinations, walking in Delhi is a nightmare with its uneven or encroached pavements, haphazard parking, chaotic traffic and stray cattle.
The Delhi Traffic Police recently asked the Union Transport Ministry to include in the Road Safety Bill an encumbrance-free one-metre pavement along the city roads, considering that pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users.
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Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung also advocated walking space for pedestrians. Realizing the need to make Delhi pedestrian-friendly and promote the concept of walking or cycling to destinations, the Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) has conducted a study on the South zone of Delhi, which is bounded by all roads like Inner Ring Road towards the north, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road towards the south, Mathura Road in the east and the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway in the west.
The DUAC stressed the need to create pedestrian-friendly areas allowing commuting, shopping and recreation to promote idea of walkability.
The zone of study covers an area of 1,1958 hectares with a projected population of 13,17,441.
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The DUAC has attempted to link through trails and pathways Delhi’s commercial and district centres like Bhikaji Cama Place, Greater Kailash I and II, Kalkaji and Mehrauli, and markets like Green Park, Nehru Place and Lado Sarai. Institutions falling in the area include Delhi University (South), Safdarjung Hospital, the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Indian Institute of Technology, etc.
The objective of the study is “to connect South Delhi to Central Delhi by identifying existing natural systems like nullahs and greens, revitalising them and proposing uninterrupted networks along them to reach from one part of city to another”.
It also aims at connecting missing links between two destinations to create a walkable and cyclable stretch. The study proposes identifying potential spaces for accommodating walking and cycling.
The DUAC has proposed “a hierarchy of trails to create connections at different levels” like neighbourhood, regional, zonal, and connecting of all cultural, social, commercial or transport facilities. The monuments that are to be connected are the Qutub group of monuments, Bardari tomb, Tughlaqabad fort, etc.
For example, the study shows a stretch from Gulmohar Park to Hauz Khas metro station, where on-street parking makes it unsafe for pedestrians to walk. There is lack of legibility at forest entrances. The DUAC proposes a forest trail with signage and lighting, along with a dedicated track 2.5-metre track for cyclists. It also provides for parking, toilets, drinking water and dustbins at every 50 metre, and restaurants along the stretch.
At the regional level, prominent channels that can be considered for making trails include the nullahs at Barapullah, Kushak, Chirag Dilli, Pushp Viharand R. K. Puram. The nullahs can provide a continuous stretch of connectivity for pedestrians.
The study also proposes connecting metro stations with historical monuments. For example, it proposes connection of the Green Park metro station with Gulmohar Park at Siri Fort and Darwesh Shah Ki Masjid by creating a continuous pathway of 706 metre.