Three roads in the city will soon become smarter and the focus is on making them accident free and more secure.
US-based consultancy firm AECOM, which is the project management consultant (PMC) for smart city, is working on a design to convert three roads in the city as ‘smart streets’. And they are working with various departments like the City Police, APEPDCP and GVMC.
The roads selected include the road from Jagadamba Junction to Kurupam Towers, Jagadamba Junction to Naval Coastal Battery via the district Collector’s office and Naval Coastal Battery to Park Hotel. According to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP- Traffic) K. Mahendra Patrudu, the basic components of the smart city are health, hygiene and security.
All the three components will be covered in the smart street proposal. The three roads have been selected under a pilot project and all the other roads will be taken up basing on the success and outcome of the pilot project, said Mr. Mahendra Patrudu.
The ‘Smart Streets’ initiative will comprise components such as cycling tracks, pedestrian foot-paths, complete CCTV surveillance, uninterrupted electricity, good roads and underground cabling.
“If all the components are included, then the three main ingredients of smart city will be taken care off,” said the ADCP.
Right now opinions are being collected from the various departments concerned and based on the feedback and suggestions, the project will be taken up, he added.
It is learnt that to accommodate the smart street idea, re-engineering of the roads has to be taken up.
“All the roads will have cycling and pedestrian foot-paths, which will be lined by trees on both sides. Every 250 metres there will be a pedestrian crossing in table-top format, which will also act as speed breakers. Smart poles with LED lighting will be erected and the roads will come under elaborate CC TV network (advanced Pan-Tilt-Zoom-PTZ cameras), which will be linked-up to the Command Control Centre (CCC) in the police commissionerate,” said Mr. Mahendra Patrudu.
The traffic islands will also be redesigned, he added.
