From the Times Square in New York City to Sub-Saharan Africa, Tactical Urbanism has emerged as a global best practice towards making roads across the world a safer, shared space for all road users. The practice has now been customised to India and implemented in Nagpur in partnership between the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, the Nagpur Traffic Police, HDFC ERGO General Insurance and SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF).
Kalpana Talkies Square has been chosen as the first site for the trial. The stretch between the Regional Mental Hospital and Kalpana Talkies Square witnessed a total of 13 crashes between 2019 and 2022, five of which were fatal.
Tactical Urbanism (TU) trials are temporary, quick and relatively low-cost interventions that test out urban design, transportation planning and infrastructural changes for improving road safety for all road users, especially the most vulnerable such as pedestrians, cyclists and other non-motorised transport users. An essential component of these trials is road space redistribution to ensure modal equity, road geometrics modification, traffic channelisation, vehicular speed reduction, and addition of pedestrian and cyclist safety infrastructure. Once the interventions are proven, the relevant Government agencies are expected to make them permanent.
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, during his visit to the Kalpana Talkies Square TU Trial, said, “Road Safety remains a top priority for our government. This evening, I inspected the Tactical Urbanism Trial by SaveLIFE Foundation at Kalpana Talkies Square in Nagpur. I have asked for the final report to make the interventions permanent.”
With an average of approximately 6,800 pedestrians and approximately 1,20,000 vehicles using the intersection daily, this location experiences significant pedestrian footfall and vehicular movement. Its close proximity to the Mankapur Stadium and four major hospitals contributes heavily to the footfall and vehicular thoroughfare witnessed there. The Square is also a prominent hangout for youth and has many street vendors and eateries catering to them. Users of this Square primarily commute using two-wheelers, auto rickshaws, shared taxis, and buses.
The Tactical Urbanism interventions introduced at the Kalpana Talkies Square include provision of continuous crosswalks and public space with geometric corrections as well as the provision for pedestrian waiting spaces. Other interventions include provision of dedicated spaces for two-wheeler parking, an auto stand, designated dedicated pick-up and drop-off zones and organised vending zones with seating spaces.
Commenting on this, Piyush Tewari, CEO and Founder, SaveLIFE Foundation said, “Encouraged by the Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, we have explored the use of global best practices to save lives at the Kalpana Talkies Square. We have customised the global Tactical Urbanism concept to suit Indian road and traffic conditions to yield road safety results. We are grateful for the Honourable Minister’s presence here today as he inspects the interventions deployed to make the intersection safer for all road users.”
This redesigning at the Kalpana Talkies Square has led to a 16% reduction in the pedestrian exposure distance and a 48% increase in the public space available for pedestrians.
Share
Tweet
