It is an urban dwellers dream. Reaching the destination without having to take an auto, two-wheeler, taxi or bus. Gliding over the city without even having to walk. This is no science fiction. It could soon be a reality.
A mass housing project in Karjat, the Tanaji Malusare City (TMC), is exploring this possibility. TMC is an affordable housing township project coming up on 100 acres with 22,000 homes and is projected to have a population of 70,000 when completed. Majority of them would be working in Mumbai and using the local trains. Instead of taking a any conveyance to the station, they can use the skywalk to get there. They do not have to jostle for space on crowded footpaths with hawkers and parked vehicles along the road. These pedestrians will use the elevated walkaway dedicated to them so it also decongests the roads.
These kind of skywalks are coming up in Mumbai, which has tried out the skywalk to decongest roads and offer safer passage for pedestrian traffic. The idea in Mumbai is to efficiently disperse commuters from station/congested area to strategic locations such as bus stops, taxi stands, shopping areas, off roads etc. and vice versa. This would help decongest the crowded streets. MMRDA has planned for 50 skywalks in and around Mumbai metropolitan region.
But what TMC is planning to do is something new. A unique first of its kind skywalk linking the township to the railway station is being considered. The township is around 1.8 km in length and 100 meters from the railway station, which will make it a 2 kms stretch. Pravin Banavalikar, CEO, TMC says they are looking at the possibility of automating this sky-walk to make it moving walkaway. The path will be conveyorised to transport people to the station and back and to other utilities along the way. TMC is currently evaluating this idea and has not worked out any estimates, Banavalikar said. But they are looking at making the skywalk an automated systems to speed up movement and make it more convenient.
Moving walkawys are mostly seen at airports (Charles De Gaulle International Airport, Paris, Changi in Singapore) and sometimes in metro stations, museums, zoos, art galleries in the US. But a civic application of this kind may be the first of its kind. But this could be an expensive proposition. TMC?s study will show if it will be viable to do it in India?s urban setting. If it works high-speed walkaways could move out of science fiction into our cities soon.