The government is working on a proposal to transform Shimla into a pedestrian-friendly tourist destination. The proposal will be implemented under the ‘Smart Cities Mission.’ A total of 209 Smart City projects with a cost of Rs 709 crore are underway in Himachal’s capital.
Recently, the capital city has been enhanced with a network of more than 20-km long pedestrian pathways mainly along the Circular Road in the city. The government has also planned to widen roads and construct more walkways to ease the congestion on roads.
Dedicated parking facilities will be built on the hilltops to ease traffic and facilitate locals as well as tourists.
The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has completed the 1.8-km long pathway from Bemloe Chowk to Hotel Holiday Home on the circular Road at an estimated cost of Rs 2.19 crore. However, due to the widening of road and construction of a retaining wall, an additional expenditure of Rs 1.31 crore took place.
A look at detailed project being done/completed under Smart Cities Mission:-
Pathway:
The space for pedestrians is shrinking day by day. This is due to the growing number of vehicles. Thus, the special focus was laid out to provide proper pathways through widening of roads and developing sidewalks. The Shimla Smart City Limited (SSCL) has a proposal to build a 600 metre-long skywalk between Vikas Nagar and Secretariat.
Around 20-km of pathways have been developed so far. Some of these are – (a) 2 km-long pathway connecting St Bede’s College in Navbahar to Sanjauli Chowk, (b) Widening of a 3 km-long road from Navbahar to the famed Jakhu temple, and (c) Pathway connecting Sanjauli Chowk to Indira Gandhi Medical College.
Multi-level parking facility:
The construction of six-storied multilevel parking is underway in Vikas Nagar. It will have a capacity of 150 vehicles for parking. In addition, the urban body has constructed around 40 large and small parking lots with capacity for around 5,000 vehicles.