Pune Municipal Corporation Road Department
The Pitch
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Road Department redesigned a popular pedestrian road, the Pashan Sus Link Road, to prioritize pedestrians and cyclists and create public spaces for interaction.
The Problem
Pune’s infrastructure was designed for motorized transport and had little space for pedestrians, cyclists and public gatherings.
The Process
- Redesigned Pashan Sus Link Road using Pune’s Urban Street Design Guidelines
- Sought public participation and input for the design process: They presented residents with design ideas and revised designs according to feedback
- Conducted traffic and pedestrian counts, speed studies, opinion surveys and hawkers’ surveys to collect data and assess public needs, incorporating all feedback and data into the redesign
- Implemented temporary modifications to evaluate their effectiveness before creating permanent infrastructure
- Built wide, accessible pedestrian pathways and infrastructure for people of all abilities including a bicycle lane, skating track, benches and public areas for interaction, an exhibition area and an open gym
- Celebrated the first “Pedestrians Day” in Maharashtra to inaugurate the new road and demonstrate PMC’s commitment to creating pedestrian-friendly spaces
The Impact
- Redeveloped 2 kilometers of Pashan Sus Link Road, creating 12,000 square meters of public space for non-motorized transport and tripling the number of people using this stretch of road tripled (its success spurred residents to request the remaining 5 kilometers of Pashan Sus Link Road to also be redeveloped)
- Provides safe, accessible, zero-emission, sustainable transportation options to residents
- Improves air quality and public health outcomes by encouraging non-motorized transport
- Increased the amount of public space available for resident interaction, building community cohesion
- Increased land value of property located along the redeveloped portion of Pashan Sus Link Road
- Was the first municipal corporation in the state to design its own pedestrian-oriented policies such as the Urban Street Design Guidelines, Pedestrian Policy and Speed Breaker Guidelines
- Spurred PMC to develop their own comprehensive bicycle plan and create new traffic calming policies
- Led to a partnership with MahaMETRO to develop all city roads for multi-model integration, adding the metro as an option for sustainable public transport
