Soon, city residents will have the option to walk to the nearest bus stop or railway station without relying on autorickshaws or other modes of transport.
The Corporation has begun work on footpaths on 71 bus routes in an initiative that is likely to help people cross small distances with ease.
The new footpaths will however be restricted to the eight zones of Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar, Anna Nagar, Teynampet, Kodambakkam, Alandur and Adyar.
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The Rs. 42.75-crore project is expected to be completed this year. “Better footpaths will motivate us to walk instead of using cars for covering short distances. After improvement of footpaths on Perambur High Road, I will stop using my car to reach the railway station which is just 500 metres away. I am forced to use my car now because I am scared to walk on the stretch in the absence of a good footpath,” said J.M. Ahmed Sirajuddin, a resident of Perambur.
A 900-metre stretch on Perambur High Road, from Cooks High Road junction to Chandrayogi Samadhi Street, is on the list of 71 stretches that will get better footpaths. The work on Perambur High Road will cost Rs. 99.89 lakh.
Most of the new granite footpaths on such roads will be two metres wide. The only other stretch that will get better footpaths in the Thiru.Vi.Ka. Nagar zone of north Chennai is Chooolai High Road. “More roads in north Chennai should have better footpaths. There are lakhs of people here too,” said Mr. Ahmed.
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As many as 21 bus routes passing through Teynampet zone will get 15.66 km of footpaths at an estimated cost of Rs. 13.65 crore. The area covered by the footpaths in Teynampet will be 62,620 sq.m., on Valluvarkottam High Road, Sterling Road, Sterling Avenue, Tank Bund Road, Mahalingapuram Main Road, Greams Road, Whites Road, Binny Road, Thiru-Vi-Ka Road, North Usman Road, Theagaraya Road and Luz Church Road.
A chunk of the footpaths will be in south Chennai.
Find the extensive BRR map here: >http://thne.ws/71BRR-pdf
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