By IANS,
Chandigarh : Punjab has taken the lead in the country launching a comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) for urban areas that have over two lakh population.
Industries and Commerce Minister Manoranjan Kalia, who also heads the local government department, Thursday announced here the plan and said it will cap unplanned traffic management in urban areas and give a blueprint for planned urban development.
Kalia said that the CMP is being prepared based on projections of population and traffic movement for 2021 and 2031.
“In the first phase, the cities with population of more than two lakh have been taken up. These cities are Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda and Pathankot. The plan for Ludhiana has already been entrusted to the government of India enterprise, RITES,” Kalia said.
Kalia said through the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC), the government has selected two reputed agencies for preparing the plans. They are the Consulting Engineering Services for Amritsar and Pathankot, and the Egis India Consulting Engineers will prepare plans for Jalandhar, Bathinda and Patiala.
He asked the consultancy firms to complete the exercise within six months. Both companies have executed similar studies in other states in India and countries abroad.
“The consultants will identify various kinds of traffic corridors like pedestrian facilities, bicycle tracks, provision of median, service road, carriage way widening etc., and suggest appropriate strategy and mode of transports. Study will suggest Inter-Mode Mass Transit System (IMMTS) providing various alternatives for Personal Rapid Transit Systems (PRTS), high-capacity bus system and regular bus system. This will help in detailed future plan for flyovers, underpasses, railway overbridges, canal bridges, traffic lights, public transport, bus routes etc.,” Kalia said.
The plan is aimed at providing comfortable transport and reduce the number of accidents, he said.
“Pedestrian pathways and non-motorised vehicles network will be provided throughout the city. The consultants will study model road network for new layout and will also suggest improvements to major road networks,” he said.
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