CP must be pedestrian-only zone, says Lt Governor

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Ruhi Bhasin: New Delhi, Jan 24 2013, 01:43 IST

Rule to be relaxed in peak summer to overcome any opposition by traders, NDMC says looking at ways to implement plan.

Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna has suggested that Connaught Place be turned into a “pedestrian-only zone” except during “extreme summer days”. The proposal to relax this rule during peak summer is to overcome resistance to the move by the traders there.

Of the view that all market areas should be pedestrian-only zones, Khanna has asked the NDMC and MCD to initiate action on the proposal.

The governing body of the Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre discussed this at a meeting on December 19. “Hon’ble L-G suggested all market areas in Delhi should be developed as pedestrian zones only. On the same issue, NDMC stated that traders associations have rejected the proposal for pedestrianisation on account of the extreme summer conditions of Delhi. L-G suggested that except for the extreme summer days, all other days, CP should remain a pedestrian-only zone,’’ state minutes of the meeting.

The plan to turn Connaught Place into a pedestrian-only zone has been in the works for a while. It was part of the redevelopment plan, which is still being implemented. This plan includes facade improvement work, construction of new subways and a service utility corridor in the middle circle.

“The pedestrianisation plan had been suggested earlier but we opposed it. No further discussion has taken place since then. The weather in Delhi is not conducive for such a plan. No one will be willing to walk

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Reader's Comments (1)| Post a Comment

That's a dumb idea.

Anup Misra | 24-Jan-2013Reply | Forward

Mr. Khanna will do well if he left urban and regional planning to the experts. He is neither. That's a given based on his politically motivated statements. As we have experienced in the west (I have lived in New York City for over 25 years and as an experienced architect/developer I can say this reasonable experience), pedestrian-only retail with limited mobility and access of service will limit the growth of that retail to the point of financial ruin. Many CBD/Downtowns in the west went broke after they were converted to pedestrian-only. As a result, saner minds approved the reconversion of those areas to a mix of pedestrian, bikes, cars and service-trucks. As I know the Connaught Place area well, the problem is not the vehicular traffic but the manipulation of the traffic flow and the multiple-variety of traffic types that causes restrictions in the flow. Think again Mr. Khanna and please leave such issues to planners who also have a background in finance and RE development. Thanks.