Urban Pedestrian Urban Pedestrian Urban Pedestrian
The Urban Pedestrian
A Dissertation
Shijo Jose
Guide: Arpita Dayal
Coordinator: S
Manchanda
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
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Abstract
This dissertation is an analysis of the role and importance of a pedestrian
in an Urban Indian city. The primary analysis of this dissertation has been
limited to Delhi due to constraints of time. It is to be noted that
conclusions drawn for Delhi may not be true for another city.
Delhi is a large city. Since it followed a model of suburban sprawl in its
planning, the majority of work and residential areas in the city are
segregated. Thus, a pedestrian is often required to travel large distances
on a daily basis. Such a scenario requires an efficient public transport
network, with comfortable last mile connectivity. Being the capital city of
India, the city is not without the resources to provide the same but the
residents of the city seem to opt instead for private means of transport, as
suggested by the high levels of car ownership in the city. This has led to
high air and sound pollution levels in the city. The dissertation studies the
factors that goes into making a good pedestrian environment and
highlights the problems that hinder pedestrians in the city. The inferences
were arrived at through case studies of Kashmere Gate ISBT, SPA
Architecture Block, Kailash Colony and India Gate.
User surveys were taken which were then cross checked through visual
surveys. The data served as an empirical base for the conclusions. The
main hindrance to pedestrian movement is the lack of security and safety.
Blockage of pedestrian paths by vehicles and shops is another factor.
Key Words:
walking, comfort, security
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Declaration
The research work embodied in this dissertation titled ‘The
Urban Pedestrian’ has been carried out by the undersigned as
part of undergraduate programme in the Department of
Architecture, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi,
under the supervision of Ar. Arpita Dayal.
The undersigned hereby declares that this is his/her original
work and has not been plagiarised in part or full form from any
source.
Shijo Antony Jose
A/2371/2011
12 November 2014
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Acknowledgement
…I wish to offer my sincerest thanks to my dissertation guide
Ar. Arpita Dayal who has been a guiding hand throughout the
process of making this dissertation. She has given me several
of her working hours and I’m thankful for them.
I also wish to thank Dr. Jaya Kumar, Dr. S Manchanda, Ar. P
Sugga and Dr. Leon Morenas for their helpful comments on
each of my stage submissions which helped me in the
rectification of mistakes and made this dissertation look like
one.
Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family for their
support and for helping me in conducting and compiling user
surveys. You’re the best.
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Table of Contents
Abstract
…
Declaration
2
…
4
Acknowledgement
…
6
List of Figures
…
9
List of Tables
…
10
Chapter 1:
Introduction
…
11
1.1:
Objectives
1.2:
Scope of study
1.3:
Methodology of analysis
1.4:
Limitations
Chapter 2:
…
14
2.1:
The Modern Day
2.2:
Congestion
2.3:
Street as a Space
Chapter 3:
…
Usage and Activity Pattern
Richness of Experience
19
3.1:
Re imagination
3.2:
Restriction and Accessibility
3.3:
Urban Vitality
3.4:
Security and Comfort
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Chapter 4:
…
Sustenance
28
4.1:
4.2:
4.3:
4.4:
Chapter 5:
Cycling
Upkeep
Public Participation
Landscaping
Case Studies
…
33
Secondary
Kashmere Gate ISBT
…
34
Primary
Architecture Block, SPA Delhi
…
39
Kailash Colony
…
45
India Gate
…
49
Chapter 6: Conclusions
…
53
Chapter 7:
Appendix
…
54
7.1: References
7.2: Questionnaire
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List of Figures
Cover Fig: Ashram Chowk; Source: Author
Fig 2: Cycle Ban in Kolkata; Source:
www.downtoearth.org.in/dte/userfiles/images/20130731_20.jpg
Fig 3: Street Section of Delhi; Source: Guy Davis
Fig 4: Nanjing Road Shanghai; Source: http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/wpcontent/uploads/2010/04/shared-space-landscape-design-nanjing-streetshanghai.jpg
Fig 5: Stroget; Source: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/u7msphfYfPY/Tj8eAWuCkaI/AAAAAAAAHXk/dA1WQZSIko/s1600/stroget.jpg
Fig 6: Parking Rate Demographics;
Source: urbandemographics.blogspot.in/2011/07/parking-ratesworldwide.html
Fig 7: Informal Bus Stop; Source: Author
Fig 8: Eyes on the Street;
Source: https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/arch262/notes/images/site-security14.jpg
Fig 9: Pedestrian path, Moolchand Flyover; Source: Author
Fig 10:
London Cycling Campaign; Source:
s3.amazonaws.com/lcc_production_bucket/files/4116/in_content.JPG?
1320343689
Fig 11:
Street Transformation; Source: http://www.deconcrete.org/wpcontent/uploads/2011/05/Ciclopaseo-in-Quito_Cycling-Citizenship-inthe\City_Ximena-Ganchala.jpg
Fig 12: Map of Kashmere Gate ISBT; Source: here.com
Fig 13: Architecture Block; Source: spa.ac.in
Fig 14:
Map of Archi Bock; Source: here.com
Fig 15: Kailash Colony Metro Station; Source: en.wikipedia.org
Fig 16: Map of Kailash colony; Source: here.com
Fig 17: India Gate; Source: Author
Fig 18: Map of India Gate; Source: here.com
Fig 19: Pedestrian Crossing at India Gate; Source: Author
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List of Tables
Table 1: Bus Operation; Source: Thesis Report on Planning of Pedestrian Friendly
Design in Transit Areas by Ganguly, S., 2009
Table 2: Adjacent Roads; Source: Thesis Report on Planning of Pedestrian Friendly
Design in Transit Areas by Ganguly, S., 2009
Table 3; Passenger Distribution; Source: Thesis Report on Planning of Pedestrian
Friendly Design in Transit Areas by Ganguly, S., 2009
Table 4: Adjacent Roads; Source: Author
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Chapter 1:
Introduction
Delhi has grown by leaps and bounds in terms of development and
infrastructure. It is among the largest cities in the world and is also home
to large urban populations. Porosity is a major guiding factor in the design
of public spaces and provide character to an area. The experience of a
space can be severely affected by the ways its edges are treated, i.e. by
controlling how a person enters/exits the space Careful design increases
the aesthetic quality and the standards of safety and quality of living in a
city. Delhi has seen large scale transport infrastructure developments like
the metro rail and the world's largest CNG bus network. Yet, what was
once the thriving pedestrian city of Shajahanabad is now called the ‘Car
Capital’, with the highest levels of Car ownership in the country. (TERI,
2006). Till August 31 this year, 619 pedestrians have died on Delhi's roads.
This is over 46 per cent of those killed in fatal accidents last year. This
leads one to question the effectiveness of the public transportation
infrastructure in the city. Why are there so many cars? Is it difficult to be a
pedestrian on the streets of our Capital city? This begs for a critically
analysis of the infrastructures available to pedestrians in the city. Through
this dissertation, I seek to develop an understanding of the status and
importance of the pedestrian in the present day Indian scenario.
Aims
To develop an understanding of the status and importance of the
pedestrian in modern Delhi.
Objectives
To understand the concept of pedestrian friendliness in an urban
context.
Identify problems faced by pedestrians in pedestrian precincts.
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Scope
Delhi as an urban city provides a base for the collection of empirical
data
Since the study deals with modern day problems of traffic
segregation, it will focus on high footfall areas.
Limitations
The analysis of case studies will rely on opinion surveys of the
present day users which may not reflect earlier scenarios. Also,
varions depending on their social background and may thus affect
the analysis.
Different cities have different patterns with respect to their social
and street patterns. Observations and conclusions for Delhi may not
be valid for other cities.
Utilization of pedestrian space may have seasonal variations which
is difficult to map in the time frame of the research.
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Methodology
Understand the concept of
pedestrian friendliness – What
constitutes a pedestrian friendly
environment?
High footfall areas will be identified
Secondary Case Studies
Primary Case Studies
User surveys will be taken to
assess people’s perceptions
regarding pedestrian
movement
Visual surveys to verify
Secondary sources will be used to
study the area and to map pedestrian
infrastructure in the area.
Results will be analysed to learn the
effectiveness of pedestrian
movement
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Chapter 2:
Usage and Activity Pattern
A mapping of spaces and the people who use them – their activities and
movement with respect to time and space
The Modern day
Early morning, the Rooster crows everyone awake with the sun rise. Sadly,
for me and most others living in a metropolis, this is only a romantic ideal.
Vehicles have become the de facto means of transportation in Delhi and
have even become to be acknowledged as a basic necessity. It has
become a trend for households to buy multiple cars. Delhi had 7.2 million
registered cars as of 2011 TERI projects a rise of 45–60 million cars on our
roads by 2025 and in some cities more than 300 cars per 1,000 people.
Though this is still lower than car ownership rates in more developed
nations, it is a severe problem due to the considerably higher population
densities and thus the higher car densities in Indian cities. (City Mayor
Statistics, 2007) and calls for an even greater need for the encouragement
of pedestrian movement.
The presence of so many cars on the road results in mile long traffic pile
ups even on the expressways, the cars slandering to a snail’s pace, all the
while churning out their fumes into the city air. The ‘Car Capital’ has
alarming levels of air pollution. Air pollution can be measured in terms of
the PM 2.5 levels, a measurement of very small airborne pollutant
particles capable of penetrating deep into the lungs. As per the WHO, a
safe level of PM 2.5 is 25. But according to The Centre for Science and
Environment, a Delhi-based environmental advocacy group, during winter
of 2013, Delhi’s average daily PM 2.5 level was 240 and even crossed the
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500 mark 8 times during the first 2 weeks of 2014. And in 2013 study
found air pollution to be the fifth largest killer in India, causing more than
600,000 premature deaths — up six times from 2000. This is in stark
contrast to Paris, where alarm bells sounded as soon as the city breached
the 180 mark on the 11th of March 2014, enforcing car restrictions and
provision of free cycle services to contain pollution levels. Pollution levels
were down to 25 within a week. (Bowmik, N., 2014) Indian cities are in dire
need of similar policies. However, in the absence of proper architectural
planning, policies like the implementation of the BRT system in Delhi
backfired while Kolkata came up with the bizarre strategy of banning
cycles and
rickshaws on its
streets to tackle its
traffic woes. Cycles
were restricted
from plying on 174
major roads in the
city. This comes at
a time when cities
across the world
are trying to get
Fig 2: Kolkata cycle ban; Source: downtoearth.org.in/
people to take up
cycling. What
makes the decision even more ludicrous is that it is the only major Indian
city where the number of bicycle rides outnumber that of car trips, with
commuters making more than 25 lakh trips daily. (Tandon, R., 2013)
Congestion
Generally, congestion in a city happens in high density areas, which tends
to be in its core – the most ancient part of the city which has evolved over
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the years to form the modern day metropolis. Being the core, there tends
to be a lot of movement to and through it. Thus, roads originally meant for
animal and pedestrian movement increasingly come to be used for
vehicular access and parking until traffic bottlenecks occur, whereby the
roads are widened as necessary or by building by passes, thereby
transforming the urban character from the predominantly pedestrian pace
to the brash and larger scale requirements of vehicles (Choudhury, A,
1989). This will ultimately result in serious implications for energy security,
equitable allocation of road space, air and water pollution, road safety and
will also accentuate problems related to parking and congestion, which
many of our cities have already started witnessing. (Ghate, A. T., Sundar S.,
2014). This raises the question – of whether vehicles should be allowed to
ply on Indian roads. The preservation of areas is essential for the
retainment of the urban character of a city.
In September 2014, the Hindustan Times, in association with panel of
experts*, compiled an agenda titled ’10 ways to Unclog Delhi’, which
proposed to improve the city’s choked veins and arteries that make
commuting in the city an agonizing ordeal. They came up with the
following guidelines:
Better Transit: Delhi’s bus service is unreliable. Currently there are
less than 6,500 buses plying but there is a need for 15,000. Taxis
are few and autos overcharge.
Improve Last Mile Connectivity: The existing feeder service is
inadequate and unreliable. Cycle rental should be promoted.
Curb Illegal Parking: Multi level car parks required. Parking rates
should be area specific and based on market demand. Priced
parking can reduce car use by 10-30% if linked with transportation
choices, encouraging people to take use public transportation,
walking and cycling.
Act Against Traffic Violators: Currently, driving licences are easy to
get. Tests should be made stringent and steep penalties should be
imposed for violations.
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Discourage Private Vehicles: High parking charges and congestion
charges should be introduced to discourage use of cars. Levy taxes
on second vehicles and make personal parking mandatory for
anyone buying a car.
Free Up Roads, Remove Encroachment: Most shopkeepers and street
vendors encroach on footpaths, forcing pedestrians to walk on
roads. Civic authorities should coordinate with police to identify such
instances and free footpaths of encroachments.
Encourage Pedal Power: Almost 60% daily trips less than 6km can
be done on bicycles but lack of dedicated tracks is an impudent.
There’s a need to develop congested areas exclusively for
pedestrians and cyclists, build cycle tracks and promote cycle
sharing.
*Former DDA commissioner AK Jain, advisor to Centre for Science and
Environment and former UTTIPEC director Ashok Bhattacharjee, HOD of Transport
Planning Dept. at School of Planning and Architecture PK Sarkar, associate
professor at SPA Dr Sewa Ram, ITDP director Nalin Sinha and principal scientist
with Central Road Research Institute Dr K Ravinder.
The Street as a Space
Let’s delve into the 'street' as more than a medium for travel and rather
as an urban space to be experienced. Streets have always been an
important part of settlements. Traditionally, streets served as a hub of
activity and as a space for human interaction. They served as a
marketplace, a meeting place, a waiting place, community space, a social
space and even as a playground for children. It also served as a
supplement to living and working environments before modern city
planning created centralized residential and work areas and thereby a
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need for long distance travel. The streets came to be seen merely as a
transit zone rather than a place for human interaction. This in turn has
resulted in the transformation of streets into vehicle oriented roads.
Streets, like any other aspect of culture, reflect the process of adaptation
of culture to environment. India in particular has a lot of traditional culture
associated with streets. We need to recognize that modern methods of
urban planning and design that arose with the modern movement are
plagued with the same problems as modern architecture. They take on a
function oriented approach, blissfully ignoring the user as a living
breathing being and viewing streets as little more than a corridor for the
flow of traffic. Streets are a very integral part of urban environment. The
essence of street life is reflective of the urban character of the area. An
active street goes a long way in bringing life and liveliness to an area, and
attracting the public to come out on to it for what it offers. (Ajay Kala, cited
in Vats, N, 1992)
Our urban streets should not be seen as mere arteries for transport. That
will ultimately lead to deterioration. Chandini Chowk was once considered
a social paradise. During its prime, it was a carefully planned residential
and 'baazar' areas with a central water channel and velvet grassy lawns
with flower gardens. It was also home to
one of the largest flower markets in the
region. The area was planned out with a
wide procession path, with residences on
both sides. However, today, it is a
paradise unkempt. After the arrival of the
British, the area was overlooked and soon
fell into disrepair. (Goel, V) This was
accentuated during the construction of
Lutyen's Delhi, when a lot of workers
migrated into Delhi to feed the massive
labour requirements. After construction,
many of the 29,000 labourers settled
down in Old Delhi. This, along with the
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Fig 3: Street Section of Delhi;
Source: Guy Davis
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rising population lead to public spaces being encroached upon and led to
densification, the broad streets of earlier now limited to narrow arteries,
jostling for space and often clogged with traffic. Thankfully, Old Delhi is
set for a revival. Delhi Development Authority has laid out redevelopment
plans that include the pedestrianization of the whole area and promotion
of non-motorized transportation. It will be the 4th pedestrian reserved area
in India after Fazilka city in Punjab, Matheran and the Mall Road in Shimla.
(Wikipedia) It will also be the first pedestrian zone in an Indian metropolis,
thereby laying the foundation for more such. It has already inspired a
proposal for the Gateway of India stretch. (Khergamker, G, 2014)
Chapter 3:
Richness of Experience
Richness of experience depends upon the environment and the pedestrian
perception of this environment. Urban environments basically consist of 2
parts - built form and open space. Richness of built environment is a
combination of an appreciable level of detail, variety and aesthetic
appeal. One would always prefer to walk by an attractive building rather
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than a drab one. Aesthetic appeal of open spaces lie in the quality of the
built envelope and the enriching elements within, as in the Piazza di San
Marco. Intricately designed elements like street lamps, benches and
fountain can add a lot to visual pleasure while also serving their utilitarian
functions. A pedestrian's perception of a place can be treated a series of
snapshots. A rich experience makes a space memorable. (Dar, J, 1994)
Buildings which fascinate and catch the public imagination and that
people find worthy of reflection are usually the ones that are less
predictable and more dynamic. We live in a changing world. Buildings
change with time. So do the notions of beauty because society,
individuals, speed, duty, morals, and culture change.
What looks good to one generation doesn’t look well to another. Every
historical period has its best buildings with distinguishing qualities. Such
buildings surprise you and at the same time stimulate your imagination.
What is the feature then that makes them so unique and quite different? It
should
Fig 4: Nanjing Road Shanghai;
Source: http://www.gardenvisit.com/
be an
idea,
readable by everyone or almost everyone (Kiroff, 2002).
Forster (1999) asserts: “Any claims we make for buildings that fascinate us
and that we find worthy of reflection prove hard to substantiate when our
audience has little or no knowledge of the subject or does not incline to
our point of view”.
Re-Imagination
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In the 1950s,
Copenhagen was faced
with unbearable levels of
congestion in its central
district. The traffic was
also causing
environmental
degradation and the
social and economic
status of the downtown
Fig 5: Stroget; Source: rosannes-
area was at risk. The
narrow streets in the city's historic core simply couldn't handle the
increasing number of private automobiles. The solution arrived at was
'Stroget' – a central pedestrian zone (in Danish, 'stroget' means 'to stroll').
As soon as it was introduced in 1964, it transformed the identity of
Copenhagen. The whole pedestrian district now benefits from the narrow
street pattern, with the unexpected alleyways and arcades providing a
variety in scale, thereby making pedestrian passage livelier. Today, it has
expanded, with more streets being pedestrianized across the city, forming
a spiral web pattern with plazas and open spaces at many of the
intersections. These serve as spaces to relax, usually highlighted by
sculptures or historic landmarks and provided with seating. Regardless of
the scale and general monotony of the modern metropolis, there is always
need for public spaces for human interaction, where a person can find
himself in scale with his surroundings. The Stroget has brought this to
light. Its plan and ambience draws people in, intriguing them across its
length. Small boutiques, crafts and clothing shops have thrived, and also
serves as the centre of the finest and most luxurious shopping in
Denmark. It is a model for pedestrian planning that has now been
replicated throughout Europe. (Brambilla, R., Longo, G. 1979)
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In London, England, and Singapore, a different model of traffic restriction
is followed. Here, drivers are charged a congestion fee to enter the
downtown core. Similarly, in Siena, Italy, they pay for crossing municipal
zones. And in Oslo, Norway, there are 50 toll stations along city roads.
The idea is to encourage people to get out of their cars and onto transit,
bikes or walking paths, in hopes of easing congestion for people and
goods moving across the region. In Singapore, which has had a congestion
charge since 1973, there has been a 70-per-cent bump in transit ridership.
(Sinoski, K., 2012)
As starkly evident in the demographic, parking rates in India are
extremely cheap, especially in comparison with other major cities in the
word. Parking rates are to be hiked so as to discourage vehicular
movement and to promote public transportation.
22
Fig 6; Parking Rate Demographics; Source:
http://urbandemographics.blogspot.in/
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Restriction and Accessibility
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Restricting should not have effect the accessibility of an area. Vehicles
provide a user with convenience and accessibility. So even though
restricting a car would open up the streets to allow pedestrians to move
more freely, the design must not take away convenience and accessibility
for them. This implies the provision of adequate parking facilities so that
visitors can easily drop off their cars. Every pedestrian zone requires
careful and planned implementation. Vehicular restriction can be done in 2
ways – horizontal separation in which vehicular transportation ends at the
periphery of a pedestrian zone and vertical separation vehicles are
allowed to go above or below the zone. A successful example would be
the commercial district of Minneapolis, Minnesota, which is centred on the
Nicollet Mall. As a solution for traffic issues, the authorities promoted the
development of multi-level car parks around the area, which were hen
connected by skywalks at the second floor level. This effectively brought
down pedestrian traffic as well, making it easier for a person to reach his
destination with greater ease. The pedestrian zone was further
accentuated by connecting it to the metropolis by regular bus services
and is now is throbbing shopping area. (Brambilla, R., Longo, G. 1979) Such
schemes are popular in Germany, where downtown pedestrian schemes
are carefully integrated into regional and city wide public transit systems
with the pedestrian zones earmarked by ring roads along the periphery,
thus ensuring convenience of accessibility.
A pedestrian walks at speeds of 2-4 kmph. Consideration is to be also put
on how far one would walk with ease and pedestrian zones should be
designed accordingly for it to be effective. But extrapolating opinions from
behaviour is a tricky business. It's hard to reason from how far people can
walk to how far they're willing to walk. Americans, on average, only take
5,117 steps a day, far short of the averages in western Australia (9,695
steps), Switzerland (9,650 steps) and Japan (7,168 steps) (Medicine &
Science in Sports & Exercise, cited in Tara Parker-Pope, 2010) . Thus, the zoning
should be mindful of the people it is being designed for. Ideally, the
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pedestrian should be able to reach his destination quickly. If one were to
consider that a pedestrian is comfortable walking at 4kmph and expects
to reach his destination in 15min from the drop off, effective pedestrian
zone should have a radius of 1km.
And where roads do run, foot over bridges (FOBs) and subways are to be
employed to allow pedestrians to cross the road safely. However, this
requires careful planning and location. A study by the Transport Planning
Department of the School of Planning and Architecture has revealed that
pedestrians in different countries differ in their tolerance level, in terms of
the time they are willing to spend at a road junction to cross it before they
jaywalk, with pedestrians in Delhi willing to wait an average of 75
seconds. (Kant, V, 2014) FOBs and subways are overlooked as they view it
as physically taxing, with pedestrians preferring to cross at junctions. A
cause for concern is the growing tendency in Delhi to forcibly restrict
people from crossing the road by making signal free traffic corridors and
raising the height of the central dividers on the roads. According to an
assessment report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), this
limits sustainable modes like cycling, walking and public transport usage
and has actually increased safety risk as people still attempt to cross the
roads. (The Hindu, 2014)
Fig 7
Sometimes,
pedestrians just
want to have their
way.
Here, they form an
informal bus stop
right before a
flyover and a No
Stopping board.
Source: Author
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Urban Vitality
An important point to note while designing a pedestrian area is that it
should allow for shopping, relaxing, eating, meeting up with people and
other social activities. Zoning is the key element in the creation of an
active atmosphere that is both comfortable and attracts more people to
the area. People should not be limited to any specific activity in a space. If
one were to analyse New Delhi, it is observed that large parts of the city
have been built as per a 'single-use design' model: sections of the city are
devoted almost exclusively to a particular purpose – residential, industrial,
commercial or institutional and tends to be separated from each other
using roads, open spaces or other barriers. The original intention was to
ensure that residents would not have to live in cramped spaces or near
industrial plants and their constant disturbance and pollution. However,
even after industrialization, Delhi has continued following this American
model of suburban sprawl. Today, individual zones have grown so large
that the distances between them are vast, making movement difficult
(Padukone, N. 2014). A resolution for the same at an urban planning scale is
to have integrated, mixed use planning. Shorter distances make walking
and cycling to destinations more convenient. This is advantageous as it
will result smaller carbon footprints and better access to economic
opportunities, making life more efficient and convenient for work, leisure,
home, and childcare. This is necessary for urban vitality - the synergy
arising from a 'variety' of somewhat 'unique' commercial and
entertainment opportunities and a dense socially heterogeneous
pedestrian population. (Mass, Paul R, 1984)
Security and Comfort
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THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Such a system is also beneficial to the security of a metropolis. If an area
is used for multiple purposes, there will always be somebody - a
homemaker, shopkeeper, pedestrian, peddler, or office worker - keeping a
passive watch, inadvertently but effectively policing it 24 hours a day.
Street vendors, for example, may be the most perennial pairs of eyes that
monitor any streets, a fact already realized and utilized by the Surat
police. (Saiyed, K., 2012) This follows what urbanist Jane Jacobs (1961)
theorized in her magnum opus ' The Death and Life of Great American
Cities’, An urban street should be able to welcome and handle both the
local population as well as visitors in the area, and using that to its
advantage. A successful metropolitan area is generally characterised by 3
qualities. First, there should be a clear demarcations between the
identification of public and private spaces in the area. Unlike rural and
suburban areas, Public and private spaces in a city cannot amalgamate.
The difference should be clearly demarcated. Second, is the presence of
'eyes upon the street' – By having residences in the area face the streets,
there rises a high chance that multiple eyes are watching the street at any
given point, thereby ensuring safety of the pedestrians and in turn the
safety of the area. Hence both residents and visitors benefit from this.
Third, the streets should be active and must have people using it fairly
continuously. This is advantageous in two ways. It means that there are
more eyes on the street, enhancing point two. Also, it makes the streets
lively. Though no one enjoys watching empty streets, watching street
activity serves as a means for passing time for many people. Thus, active
streets result in safer and livelier environments. (Jacobs, J, 1961)
Fig 8:
Eyes on the Street
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Source:
https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/
28
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Fig 9: Pedestrian path, Moolchand Flyover; Source: Author
Pedestrian paths such as the one above are unsafe, particularly at night,
since there is complete absence of a visual connect.
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THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Chapter 4:
Sustenance
Cycling
London was faced with a problem in the early 2000s. The underground
network couldn't expand any further to address growing transportation
needs. The solution was the introduction of public use cycles. It was a
runaway success and was also influential in shifting more people to public
transportation. The system has thus grown, and has been replicated in
Spain and Italy. (Singh, S 2013). The system also been a key transitional
factor in the pedestrianization of many areas in London. The British capital
has slowly been converting car parking in its main commercial zones into
cycle racks, cycle lanes and pedestrian zones. This has de-congestified
and opened up the streets for shoppers, with a reported 25% increase in
footfall in the stores. The logic is simple. The streets become more active,
attracting more people
and 10 cycles can be
parked in a single car
parking space. Also,
pedestrians and cyclists
tend to spend more time
shopping. A similar
experiment was carried
out in New York's 9th
Avenue by including a
Fig 10: London Cycling Campaign
Source: lcc.org.uk
dedicated cycle lane.
There was a 49%
increase in retail sales. (Burgess, K, 2014)
30
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
A cause for concern is the ill maintenance of cycle tracks in Delhi. Set up
during the 2010 Common Wealth Games, Delhi claims to have 100kms of
cycle tracks, even some running along arterial roads. But these are
disconnected pathways and lack kerbed ramps and blended crossings,
ultimately being broken paths that lead to nowhere. It is also common for
shop owners, vendors and the parking mafia to encroach on pavements
meant for pedestrian and cyclist use. In Delhi, there are plans and laws to
protect pedestrians and their space. It is a punishable offence, but almost
always gets overlooked by our law enforcers. Even the measly Rs.100 fine
for a vehicle entering a cycle track has rarely been enforced. Maintaining
a cycle track requires minimal investments. Yet, the public funds are
primarily invested on widening our roads to decongest vehicular traffic.
However, new roads only attract more cars and with 21% of open area
already being used for its road network, Delhi is approaching near
saturation limits. (Singh, S 2013)
Upkeep
The quality of the pedestrian networks created should be realized. As the
saying goes, build well or don't build at all. The actual nature of any
transport design is dependent upon the tempo of movement, its purpose
and character. Pedestrian design should engage the user, with focal points
and other characteristic punctuations. This can be done in a variety of
ways, essentially identifiable as those which can be done at a planning
level and those that act as landscaping elements.
At a planning level, the aim is to break continuity so that a pedestrian is
intrigued and drawn in by the space. We can broadly arrive at the
following: Change of direction – meandering and diverging paths engage a
pedestrian, promoting them to explore. It also breaks the flow, with each
new path being identified as an all new area. Another method is to play
31
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
with the scales. Even a straight path leading through a variety of spaces
gets identified as unique areas. A more stark approach is to demarcate
differences by using varying materials and textures. Different paving and
building treatment provide contrast. The most important aspect is mixed
use planning as has been already established.
Public Participation
The involvement of the public can go a long way in transforming a city. An
important example of transformation in a developing country is the city of
Bogotá in Colombia. Just 20 years ago, Bogota was in a state of near
anarchy. It was ravaged by drug wars and gang violence and had steep
urbanization rates of almost 90 percent. This is significantly higher than
India, where we urbanization happens at 35% as of 2014. However,
radical interventions and a committed leadership progressively altered
Bogota's urban scape with efficient public transportation networks and
recaptured spaces for open public use. They encouraged mixed use
design, and laid emphasis on people and pedestrian movement. The
resultant outcome we see today is a highly lauded model of urban
development with greatly reduced violence, enhanced social access, and
an established sense of civic safety and pride. (Paredukone, N, 2014) Indian
cities should act before it’s too late and avoid failures like Riverside,
California, where vacancy rates had already reached 16% by the time
pedestrian revival plans were laid out. (Brambilla, R, Longo, G 1979)
32
Fig 11: Street Transformation, Bogota; Source: http://www.deconcrete.org/
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Localisation is perhaps the most important aspect of any system. Designs
should be made to suit local culture and geography. An innovation in this
regard is the 'bicycle escalator' that was introduced in Trondheim, Norway,
to prevent steep hills from deterring casual cyclists. A cyclist merely has
to keep this foot on the stand, which will push him up the hill at speeds of
3-4miles per hour. (Memolution)
Landscaping
Landscaping is also key to a making a street an urban spill out area.
Fountains, pools, playgrounds, sculptures and soft landscaping features
are a welcome relief to pedestrian as they break the otherwise
monotonous nature of the street. Also, materials used should be highly
durable and tamper proof. Trees and shrubs be designed into the scheme
of an area, also taking into consideration their total mature height, spread
and water requirements. This includes consideration of the trees blocking
33
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
views from windows as well as the shade offered by the trees from the
sun. Retaining existing greenery adds cultural value and should hence be
protected. (Vats, N, 1992) Not much insight was received into the
advantage offered by decorative landscaping elements and their role in
creating 'pleasurable walking experiences', serving as an opportunity to
do a hangs on analysis for a topic with little existing research. An ongoing
experiment is in the town of Elmira, New York. Since 2008, the district
administration has been promoting graphic artworks on public electric
boxes with its 'Pop Art Elmira' project, encouraging the residents to
residents to bring out the life of the area through street graffiti. The town
has also invested in storefront facelifts, sign improvements and
streetscape enhancements. The aim is to get people to notice and absorb
the culture. And it’s not just limited to visitors. The project has already
been influential in revitalising the locals, helping them to (re)discover
places in a whole new light and has generated intrigue about Elmira.
Potentially leading to larger forms of investment (Finger, R, 2014)
Lighting is another key aspect of a street. Functionally, they must provide
for adequate lighting in the streets, ensuring visibility and security after
dusk. This builds on Jane Jacobs's 'eyes on the street' concept. The more
visible an area is, more the likelihood of having observers. They are also
decorative elements that lend character to the street. They also
implement functionality and serve as a unifying influence over the city.
They can also be used in different ways. They can set the mood of a street
based on the warmth of their light and can also be used to highlight public
attractions like bus stops, sculptures and monuments, thereby adding a
whole new perspective to street character. (Vats, N, 1992)
34
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Chapter 5:
CASE STUDIES
Case studies were conducted by first identifying high footfall areas in
Delhi.
The transit hubs of Kashmere Gate ISBT, Sarai Kale Khan ISBT, Anand
Vihar ISBT are areas of extremely high footfall. As transit hubs, they are a
critical node for the movement of the urban pedestrian. However, a
proper first-hand analysis was beyond the scope of this dissertation. So a
secondary case study was performed by analysing data from a 2009
Transport Planning Thesis Report on ‘Planning of Pedestrian Friendly
Design in Transit Areas’ by Ganguly, S.
ITO presents itself as a high footfall location which is also convenient to
survey.
Residential areas tend to have a lot of pedestrian movement. They are
areas where safety, comfort and free movement is of prime importance.
Greater Kailash was rated as the safest area in Delhi by Times of India in
2009.
India Gate is the most iconic structure in Delhi and possibly the most
visited area in Delhi, both as a monument as well as an expansive green
to relax upon.
Note: Other areas identified are the shopping districts of Connaught Place,
Nehru Place and South Extension. However, pedestrian flow in shopping
districts tend to rush and were generally unwilling to pause to fill in
surveys. This made the surveys too time consuming and hence surveys in
these areas were dropped.
35
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
SECONDARY CASE STUDY
Kashmere Gate ISBT
In Delhi, there are three major inter State Bus Terminals and several bus
stations which serve the Delhi population. They also operate for local bus
services. They are
Kashmere Gate ISBT
Sarai Kale Khan ISBT
Anand Vihar ISBT
Fig 12: Map of Kashmere Gate ISBT; Source: here.com
The Kashmere Gate bus terminal is located in the North East part of the
city, at a junction of major arterial roads, including a National Highway. It
handles about 60% of bus services in Delhi, catering to nearly 2.5 lakh
36
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
passengers per day. ISBTs have great potential to be the transit node for
inter change of passengers from one mode of transport to another. The
Kashmere Gate metro station and the old Delhi railway station are thus
conveniently located right next to the terminal.
Characteristics
Kashmere Gate
Land Area
Passengers/Day
No. of Buses Operating/Day
Peak Hours
4.4 Ha
2.5 lakh
5423
10am – 11am
12pm – 1am
Average Alighting Time
4min
Average Boarding Time
20min
Table 1; Bus Operation; Source: Thesis Report on Planning of Pedestrian Friendly
Design in Transit Areas by Ganguly, S., 2009
Even with a heavy pedestrian influx, channelization of pedestrian
movement is absent, leading to pedestrians straying over the entire
region. The ISBT has multiple entries, which act as a point of attraction for
commuters using various modes who choose to alight randomly for
ingress. These pockets of stationary vehicles disrupt the normal flow of
traffic. Modal interchange catering to local commuters also adds to the
chaotic situation on the arterial road.
Characteristic
Specifi cations
s
Road Name
Ring Road
Nityanand
Shamnath
Lothian Marg
Right of Way
Carriage way
90m
8 lane
Marg
45m
6 lane divided
Marg
30m
6 lane divided
30m
6 lane
Type
Carriage way
divided
32m
24m
divided
24m
24.5m
Width
Footpath Width
5.5m
4.5m
Median
2m
2m
Public Crossing
FOB
Table 2; Adjacent Roads; Source: Thesis Report on
Design in Transit Areas by Ganguly, S., 2009
37
3m
3m
1.5m
1.5m
Planning of Pedestrian Friendly
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Pedestrian Analysis
Constitution
There are 3 distinct types of users at the ISBT. Intercity travellers, intracity
travellers and intra region travellers.
Characteristics
Total Passenger Distribution
Gender
Male
Female
Frequency of Travel
Frequent
Age Distribution
10 – 20
20 - 30
30 – 40
>40
Table 3:
Intercity
Kashmere Gate
Intra
Intracity
(%)
63
Region(%)
19
(%)
18
68
32
75
25
80
20
15
90
95
Intercity
Intra
Intracity
(%)
11
31
53
5
Passenger Distribution; Source: Thesis
Region(%)
(%)
10
14
38
42
42
35
10
9
Report on Planning of Pedestrian
Friendly Design in Transit Areas by Ganguly, S., 2009
Most of the passengers lie in the age group of 20-40 so pedestrian
facilities should be planned keeping that in mind. Also, 32% of trips are
recreational, 21% social, 37% work and 11% educational.
User Survey
User surveys were done to understand perception and preference.
38
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
PEdestrian infrastructure
Intensity
Lack of Information/ Signages
50
Lack of Police Enforcement
Lack of Side Walks
0
Lack of Illumination
Lack of Safe Crossings
Preference For Crossing Road
10.00%
25.00%
45.00%
20.00%
39
Zebra Crossing (45%)
Jaywalking (20%)
FOBs (25%)
Subways (10%)
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
40
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Hinderences encountered on sidewalk
Poor surface of Sidewalk
40
20
Enroachment by Shopkeepers
Lack of Footpath width
0
Vehicle Parking on footpath
Built-in Obstructions (poles, garbage,trees)
From the data collected, the following observations were made:
Pedestrians are satisfied with the police enforcement and
street illimunation in the area. Thus, there is a sense of
security and comfort.
It is an easy area to navigate and move around
Most pedestrians feel the reason for walking on roads instead
of sidewalks due to encroachment by shopkeepers
Almost all pedestrians agree that the lack of proper sidewalks
and safe crossings is a major hindrance to pedestrian
movement
There is a major preference for using zebra crossing and for
crossing the road at red light. This could indicate a lack of
preference for climbing stairs to cross the road
Also, between FOBs and subways, there is a clear preference
for FOBs, in spite of FOBs typically having more steps. The
reason given was the relative unsafety of subways due to the
lack of visual connection.
41
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
42
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
PRIMARY CASE STUDY
Architecture Block, SPA Delhi
The School of Planning and
Architecture is a premier National
Resource Institute 9of India,
specialising in Architecture and
Planning. The architecture block is
Fig 13: Architecture Block
Source: spa.ac.in
located in Central Delhi, on the Ring
Road, near ITO. The Planning Block
is located 600m away at the ITO intersection. The architecture block
houses 600 students and over a 150 faculty an d supporting staff during
working hours, which are typically on weekdays from 9 am – 5 pm. The
college is located in a central administration district with a lot of footfall.
Directly across the ring road lies the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. The
area is home to the Delhi Police Headquarters, IIPA, Delhi Secretariat,
WHO South Asian Headquarters, NCAER and more.
Fig 14: Map of Archi Bock; Source: here.com
43
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Characteristics
Architecture Block, SPA Delhi
Land Area
Foot fall/ Day
Working Hours
6779.6 SQ
750
9 am – 5 pm
Characteristics
Road Name
Right of Way
Carriage way Type
Carriage way
Ring Road
90m
8 lane divided
32m
Indraprastha Marg
45m
6 lane divided
24.5m
Inner Ring Road
12m
2 lanes
24m
Width
Footpath Width
Median
Public Crossing
5.5m
2m
-
4.5m
1m
FOB
5.5m
-
Table 4: Adjacent Roads; Source: Author
Pedestrian Analysis
The students are of an age group of 17-28. They require cheap means of
transport. Especially since the hostel is 10km away from the college. Many
people also stay in and around the hostel, amounting to roughly half of
the student constitution of the college. The Indira Gandhi stadium also
attracts teenage crowds for its sports facilities. However, even with a
heavy pedestrian influx, channelization of pedestrian movement is absent.
The college and the stadium are located across a curve in the 8 lane ring
road. Also, it is a point of a double split in the ring road, where the
Indraprastha Marg and the Inner Ring Road merge with the ring road.
However, there is no immediate facility for the students to cross the road
safely.
Bus stops are located on either side of the road. The one on the side of the
college is located 150m from the college gate but those wanting to use
public bus for transportation back to the hostel are expected to either
walk 700m to Rajghat or 600m to the ITO flyover in order to reach a zebra
crossing. Thus, in order to reach the bus stop to travel South on the ring
44
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
road, pedestrians would have to walk a minimum of 1.3km. However,
these zebra crossings have 120 second intervals between which they give
pedestrians just 10 seconds to cross. Also, the ITO crossing is shut down
between 6.30pm – 8pm, making it even more difficult for pedestrians.
There is no auto stand near the college. However, there are some auto
drivers who wait for students near the gate around lunchtime and at 5pm,
to ply the college - hostel trip.
User survey
User surveys were done to understand perception and preference. A user
base of 50 students were chosen at random for the survey.
By observation, it was noted that people primarily use 3 methods of
transport – Private vehicles, Auto rickshaws and Public Transport, which
includes a primary mix of metro and bus. This was the result of the survey.
Preference Of Transport
22.50%
Private Vehicle (37%)
Autorickshaw (40%)
Public Transport ( 23%)
37.50%
40.00%
45
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
46
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Preference For Crossing Road
17.00%
Zebra Crossing (36%)
Jaywalking (28%)
FOBs (19%)
Subways (17%)
36.00%
19.00%
28.00%
PEdestrian infrastructure
Intensity (on 10)
Lack of Signages
10
5
Lack of Police Enforcement
Lack of Side Walks
0
Lack of Illumination
47
Lack of Safe Crossings
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Hinderences encountered on sidewalk
Broken Sidewalk
10
5
Enroachment by Shopkeepers
Lack of Footpath width
0
Vehicle Parking on footpath
Built-in Obstructions (poles, garbage,trees)
Visual Survey
A visual survey was conducted at the college gate during the peak
hour of 5-5.30pm on a working day. It was observed that 37 people
jaywalked across the ring road during that window. 16 walked to the bus
stop on the side of the college or towards ITO. Approximately 120 (an
accurate figure couldn’t be arrived at) people chose to leave either by
auto or by private transport during the same window. There is a complete
lack of a facility for safe pedestrian crossing across the 8 lane ring road.
Observations & Inferences
The survey revealed a distrust in the efficiency of police
enforcement. Many quoted the lax attitude of the police in effectively
preventing paedophiles from harassing students on the 600m stretch
between Architecture and Planning Block, despite the Delhi Police
Headquarters being only 350m away from it. The path is lined with trees
48
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
which provide shade during the day but act as hiding places for
paedophiles in the evening. Lack of proper illumination accentuates the
issue.
An intervention in the form of a police post on the stretch can provide
pedestrians with security and comfort.
The user group has a low opinion on Delhi’s pedestrian
infrastructure, blaming encroachment by shopkeepers, lack of footpath
width in places, broken footpaths and obstructions like trees, garbage and
parked cars as major hindrances to pedestrian movement.
The larger population of the college use auto rickshaws as their
primary means of transport to college, though it is more expensive than
using buses. The prime reason quoted for the same was the hassle
associated with using public transport. There is a definitive scope to
encourage the students to use public transport if the crossing can be
made more convenient. Judging by the survey, a zebra crossing or
crossing or a FOB i
A Dissertation
Shijo Jose
Guide: Arpita Dayal
Coordinator: S
Manchanda
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
1
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Abstract
This dissertation is an analysis of the role and importance of a pedestrian
in an Urban Indian city. The primary analysis of this dissertation has been
limited to Delhi due to constraints of time. It is to be noted that
conclusions drawn for Delhi may not be true for another city.
Delhi is a large city. Since it followed a model of suburban sprawl in its
planning, the majority of work and residential areas in the city are
segregated. Thus, a pedestrian is often required to travel large distances
on a daily basis. Such a scenario requires an efficient public transport
network, with comfortable last mile connectivity. Being the capital city of
India, the city is not without the resources to provide the same but the
residents of the city seem to opt instead for private means of transport, as
suggested by the high levels of car ownership in the city. This has led to
high air and sound pollution levels in the city. The dissertation studies the
factors that goes into making a good pedestrian environment and
highlights the problems that hinder pedestrians in the city. The inferences
were arrived at through case studies of Kashmere Gate ISBT, SPA
Architecture Block, Kailash Colony and India Gate.
User surveys were taken which were then cross checked through visual
surveys. The data served as an empirical base for the conclusions. The
main hindrance to pedestrian movement is the lack of security and safety.
Blockage of pedestrian paths by vehicles and shops is another factor.
Key Words:
walking, comfort, security
2
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
3
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Declaration
The research work embodied in this dissertation titled ‘The
Urban Pedestrian’ has been carried out by the undersigned as
part of undergraduate programme in the Department of
Architecture, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi,
under the supervision of Ar. Arpita Dayal.
The undersigned hereby declares that this is his/her original
work and has not been plagiarised in part or full form from any
source.
Shijo Antony Jose
A/2371/2011
12 November 2014
4
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
5
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Acknowledgement
…I wish to offer my sincerest thanks to my dissertation guide
Ar. Arpita Dayal who has been a guiding hand throughout the
process of making this dissertation. She has given me several
of her working hours and I’m thankful for them.
I also wish to thank Dr. Jaya Kumar, Dr. S Manchanda, Ar. P
Sugga and Dr. Leon Morenas for their helpful comments on
each of my stage submissions which helped me in the
rectification of mistakes and made this dissertation look like
one.
Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family for their
support and for helping me in conducting and compiling user
surveys. You’re the best.
6
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Table of Contents
Abstract
…
Declaration
2
…
4
Acknowledgement
…
6
List of Figures
…
9
List of Tables
…
10
Chapter 1:
Introduction
…
11
1.1:
Objectives
1.2:
Scope of study
1.3:
Methodology of analysis
1.4:
Limitations
Chapter 2:
…
14
2.1:
The Modern Day
2.2:
Congestion
2.3:
Street as a Space
Chapter 3:
…
Usage and Activity Pattern
Richness of Experience
19
3.1:
Re imagination
3.2:
Restriction and Accessibility
3.3:
Urban Vitality
3.4:
Security and Comfort
7
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Chapter 4:
…
Sustenance
28
4.1:
4.2:
4.3:
4.4:
Chapter 5:
Cycling
Upkeep
Public Participation
Landscaping
Case Studies
…
33
Secondary
Kashmere Gate ISBT
…
34
Primary
Architecture Block, SPA Delhi
…
39
Kailash Colony
…
45
India Gate
…
49
Chapter 6: Conclusions
…
53
Chapter 7:
Appendix
…
54
7.1: References
7.2: Questionnaire
8
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
List of Figures
Cover Fig: Ashram Chowk; Source: Author
Fig 2: Cycle Ban in Kolkata; Source:
www.downtoearth.org.in/dte/userfiles/images/20130731_20.jpg
Fig 3: Street Section of Delhi; Source: Guy Davis
Fig 4: Nanjing Road Shanghai; Source: http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/wpcontent/uploads/2010/04/shared-space-landscape-design-nanjing-streetshanghai.jpg
Fig 5: Stroget; Source: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/u7msphfYfPY/Tj8eAWuCkaI/AAAAAAAAHXk/dA1WQZSIko/s1600/stroget.jpg
Fig 6: Parking Rate Demographics;
Source: urbandemographics.blogspot.in/2011/07/parking-ratesworldwide.html
Fig 7: Informal Bus Stop; Source: Author
Fig 8: Eyes on the Street;
Source: https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/arch262/notes/images/site-security14.jpg
Fig 9: Pedestrian path, Moolchand Flyover; Source: Author
Fig 10:
London Cycling Campaign; Source:
s3.amazonaws.com/lcc_production_bucket/files/4116/in_content.JPG?
1320343689
Fig 11:
Street Transformation; Source: http://www.deconcrete.org/wpcontent/uploads/2011/05/Ciclopaseo-in-Quito_Cycling-Citizenship-inthe\City_Ximena-Ganchala.jpg
Fig 12: Map of Kashmere Gate ISBT; Source: here.com
Fig 13: Architecture Block; Source: spa.ac.in
Fig 14:
Map of Archi Bock; Source: here.com
Fig 15: Kailash Colony Metro Station; Source: en.wikipedia.org
Fig 16: Map of Kailash colony; Source: here.com
Fig 17: India Gate; Source: Author
Fig 18: Map of India Gate; Source: here.com
Fig 19: Pedestrian Crossing at India Gate; Source: Author
9
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
List of Tables
Table 1: Bus Operation; Source: Thesis Report on Planning of Pedestrian Friendly
Design in Transit Areas by Ganguly, S., 2009
Table 2: Adjacent Roads; Source: Thesis Report on Planning of Pedestrian Friendly
Design in Transit Areas by Ganguly, S., 2009
Table 3; Passenger Distribution; Source: Thesis Report on Planning of Pedestrian
Friendly Design in Transit Areas by Ganguly, S., 2009
Table 4: Adjacent Roads; Source: Author
10
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Chapter 1:
Introduction
Delhi has grown by leaps and bounds in terms of development and
infrastructure. It is among the largest cities in the world and is also home
to large urban populations. Porosity is a major guiding factor in the design
of public spaces and provide character to an area. The experience of a
space can be severely affected by the ways its edges are treated, i.e. by
controlling how a person enters/exits the space Careful design increases
the aesthetic quality and the standards of safety and quality of living in a
city. Delhi has seen large scale transport infrastructure developments like
the metro rail and the world's largest CNG bus network. Yet, what was
once the thriving pedestrian city of Shajahanabad is now called the ‘Car
Capital’, with the highest levels of Car ownership in the country. (TERI,
2006). Till August 31 this year, 619 pedestrians have died on Delhi's roads.
This is over 46 per cent of those killed in fatal accidents last year. This
leads one to question the effectiveness of the public transportation
infrastructure in the city. Why are there so many cars? Is it difficult to be a
pedestrian on the streets of our Capital city? This begs for a critically
analysis of the infrastructures available to pedestrians in the city. Through
this dissertation, I seek to develop an understanding of the status and
importance of the pedestrian in the present day Indian scenario.
Aims
To develop an understanding of the status and importance of the
pedestrian in modern Delhi.
Objectives
To understand the concept of pedestrian friendliness in an urban
context.
Identify problems faced by pedestrians in pedestrian precincts.
11
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Scope
Delhi as an urban city provides a base for the collection of empirical
data
Since the study deals with modern day problems of traffic
segregation, it will focus on high footfall areas.
Limitations
The analysis of case studies will rely on opinion surveys of the
present day users which may not reflect earlier scenarios. Also,
varions depending on their social background and may thus affect
the analysis.
Different cities have different patterns with respect to their social
and street patterns. Observations and conclusions for Delhi may not
be valid for other cities.
Utilization of pedestrian space may have seasonal variations which
is difficult to map in the time frame of the research.
12
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Methodology
Understand the concept of
pedestrian friendliness – What
constitutes a pedestrian friendly
environment?
High footfall areas will be identified
Secondary Case Studies
Primary Case Studies
User surveys will be taken to
assess people’s perceptions
regarding pedestrian
movement
Visual surveys to verify
Secondary sources will be used to
study the area and to map pedestrian
infrastructure in the area.
Results will be analysed to learn the
effectiveness of pedestrian
movement
13
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Chapter 2:
Usage and Activity Pattern
A mapping of spaces and the people who use them – their activities and
movement with respect to time and space
The Modern day
Early morning, the Rooster crows everyone awake with the sun rise. Sadly,
for me and most others living in a metropolis, this is only a romantic ideal.
Vehicles have become the de facto means of transportation in Delhi and
have even become to be acknowledged as a basic necessity. It has
become a trend for households to buy multiple cars. Delhi had 7.2 million
registered cars as of 2011 TERI projects a rise of 45–60 million cars on our
roads by 2025 and in some cities more than 300 cars per 1,000 people.
Though this is still lower than car ownership rates in more developed
nations, it is a severe problem due to the considerably higher population
densities and thus the higher car densities in Indian cities. (City Mayor
Statistics, 2007) and calls for an even greater need for the encouragement
of pedestrian movement.
The presence of so many cars on the road results in mile long traffic pile
ups even on the expressways, the cars slandering to a snail’s pace, all the
while churning out their fumes into the city air. The ‘Car Capital’ has
alarming levels of air pollution. Air pollution can be measured in terms of
the PM 2.5 levels, a measurement of very small airborne pollutant
particles capable of penetrating deep into the lungs. As per the WHO, a
safe level of PM 2.5 is 25. But according to The Centre for Science and
Environment, a Delhi-based environmental advocacy group, during winter
of 2013, Delhi’s average daily PM 2.5 level was 240 and even crossed the
14
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
500 mark 8 times during the first 2 weeks of 2014. And in 2013 study
found air pollution to be the fifth largest killer in India, causing more than
600,000 premature deaths — up six times from 2000. This is in stark
contrast to Paris, where alarm bells sounded as soon as the city breached
the 180 mark on the 11th of March 2014, enforcing car restrictions and
provision of free cycle services to contain pollution levels. Pollution levels
were down to 25 within a week. (Bowmik, N., 2014) Indian cities are in dire
need of similar policies. However, in the absence of proper architectural
planning, policies like the implementation of the BRT system in Delhi
backfired while Kolkata came up with the bizarre strategy of banning
cycles and
rickshaws on its
streets to tackle its
traffic woes. Cycles
were restricted
from plying on 174
major roads in the
city. This comes at
a time when cities
across the world
are trying to get
Fig 2: Kolkata cycle ban; Source: downtoearth.org.in/
people to take up
cycling. What
makes the decision even more ludicrous is that it is the only major Indian
city where the number of bicycle rides outnumber that of car trips, with
commuters making more than 25 lakh trips daily. (Tandon, R., 2013)
Congestion
Generally, congestion in a city happens in high density areas, which tends
to be in its core – the most ancient part of the city which has evolved over
15
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
the years to form the modern day metropolis. Being the core, there tends
to be a lot of movement to and through it. Thus, roads originally meant for
animal and pedestrian movement increasingly come to be used for
vehicular access and parking until traffic bottlenecks occur, whereby the
roads are widened as necessary or by building by passes, thereby
transforming the urban character from the predominantly pedestrian pace
to the brash and larger scale requirements of vehicles (Choudhury, A,
1989). This will ultimately result in serious implications for energy security,
equitable allocation of road space, air and water pollution, road safety and
will also accentuate problems related to parking and congestion, which
many of our cities have already started witnessing. (Ghate, A. T., Sundar S.,
2014). This raises the question – of whether vehicles should be allowed to
ply on Indian roads. The preservation of areas is essential for the
retainment of the urban character of a city.
In September 2014, the Hindustan Times, in association with panel of
experts*, compiled an agenda titled ’10 ways to Unclog Delhi’, which
proposed to improve the city’s choked veins and arteries that make
commuting in the city an agonizing ordeal. They came up with the
following guidelines:
Better Transit: Delhi’s bus service is unreliable. Currently there are
less than 6,500 buses plying but there is a need for 15,000. Taxis
are few and autos overcharge.
Improve Last Mile Connectivity: The existing feeder service is
inadequate and unreliable. Cycle rental should be promoted.
Curb Illegal Parking: Multi level car parks required. Parking rates
should be area specific and based on market demand. Priced
parking can reduce car use by 10-30% if linked with transportation
choices, encouraging people to take use public transportation,
walking and cycling.
Act Against Traffic Violators: Currently, driving licences are easy to
get. Tests should be made stringent and steep penalties should be
imposed for violations.
16
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Discourage Private Vehicles: High parking charges and congestion
charges should be introduced to discourage use of cars. Levy taxes
on second vehicles and make personal parking mandatory for
anyone buying a car.
Free Up Roads, Remove Encroachment: Most shopkeepers and street
vendors encroach on footpaths, forcing pedestrians to walk on
roads. Civic authorities should coordinate with police to identify such
instances and free footpaths of encroachments.
Encourage Pedal Power: Almost 60% daily trips less than 6km can
be done on bicycles but lack of dedicated tracks is an impudent.
There’s a need to develop congested areas exclusively for
pedestrians and cyclists, build cycle tracks and promote cycle
sharing.
*Former DDA commissioner AK Jain, advisor to Centre for Science and
Environment and former UTTIPEC director Ashok Bhattacharjee, HOD of Transport
Planning Dept. at School of Planning and Architecture PK Sarkar, associate
professor at SPA Dr Sewa Ram, ITDP director Nalin Sinha and principal scientist
with Central Road Research Institute Dr K Ravinder.
The Street as a Space
Let’s delve into the 'street' as more than a medium for travel and rather
as an urban space to be experienced. Streets have always been an
important part of settlements. Traditionally, streets served as a hub of
activity and as a space for human interaction. They served as a
marketplace, a meeting place, a waiting place, community space, a social
space and even as a playground for children. It also served as a
supplement to living and working environments before modern city
planning created centralized residential and work areas and thereby a
17
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
need for long distance travel. The streets came to be seen merely as a
transit zone rather than a place for human interaction. This in turn has
resulted in the transformation of streets into vehicle oriented roads.
Streets, like any other aspect of culture, reflect the process of adaptation
of culture to environment. India in particular has a lot of traditional culture
associated with streets. We need to recognize that modern methods of
urban planning and design that arose with the modern movement are
plagued with the same problems as modern architecture. They take on a
function oriented approach, blissfully ignoring the user as a living
breathing being and viewing streets as little more than a corridor for the
flow of traffic. Streets are a very integral part of urban environment. The
essence of street life is reflective of the urban character of the area. An
active street goes a long way in bringing life and liveliness to an area, and
attracting the public to come out on to it for what it offers. (Ajay Kala, cited
in Vats, N, 1992)
Our urban streets should not be seen as mere arteries for transport. That
will ultimately lead to deterioration. Chandini Chowk was once considered
a social paradise. During its prime, it was a carefully planned residential
and 'baazar' areas with a central water channel and velvet grassy lawns
with flower gardens. It was also home to
one of the largest flower markets in the
region. The area was planned out with a
wide procession path, with residences on
both sides. However, today, it is a
paradise unkempt. After the arrival of the
British, the area was overlooked and soon
fell into disrepair. (Goel, V) This was
accentuated during the construction of
Lutyen's Delhi, when a lot of workers
migrated into Delhi to feed the massive
labour requirements. After construction,
many of the 29,000 labourers settled
down in Old Delhi. This, along with the
18
Fig 3: Street Section of Delhi;
Source: Guy Davis
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
rising population lead to public spaces being encroached upon and led to
densification, the broad streets of earlier now limited to narrow arteries,
jostling for space and often clogged with traffic. Thankfully, Old Delhi is
set for a revival. Delhi Development Authority has laid out redevelopment
plans that include the pedestrianization of the whole area and promotion
of non-motorized transportation. It will be the 4th pedestrian reserved area
in India after Fazilka city in Punjab, Matheran and the Mall Road in Shimla.
(Wikipedia) It will also be the first pedestrian zone in an Indian metropolis,
thereby laying the foundation for more such. It has already inspired a
proposal for the Gateway of India stretch. (Khergamker, G, 2014)
Chapter 3:
Richness of Experience
Richness of experience depends upon the environment and the pedestrian
perception of this environment. Urban environments basically consist of 2
parts - built form and open space. Richness of built environment is a
combination of an appreciable level of detail, variety and aesthetic
appeal. One would always prefer to walk by an attractive building rather
19
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
than a drab one. Aesthetic appeal of open spaces lie in the quality of the
built envelope and the enriching elements within, as in the Piazza di San
Marco. Intricately designed elements like street lamps, benches and
fountain can add a lot to visual pleasure while also serving their utilitarian
functions. A pedestrian's perception of a place can be treated a series of
snapshots. A rich experience makes a space memorable. (Dar, J, 1994)
Buildings which fascinate and catch the public imagination and that
people find worthy of reflection are usually the ones that are less
predictable and more dynamic. We live in a changing world. Buildings
change with time. So do the notions of beauty because society,
individuals, speed, duty, morals, and culture change.
What looks good to one generation doesn’t look well to another. Every
historical period has its best buildings with distinguishing qualities. Such
buildings surprise you and at the same time stimulate your imagination.
What is the feature then that makes them so unique and quite different? It
should
Fig 4: Nanjing Road Shanghai;
Source: http://www.gardenvisit.com/
be an
idea,
readable by everyone or almost everyone (Kiroff, 2002).
Forster (1999) asserts: “Any claims we make for buildings that fascinate us
and that we find worthy of reflection prove hard to substantiate when our
audience has little or no knowledge of the subject or does not incline to
our point of view”.
Re-Imagination
20
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
In the 1950s,
Copenhagen was faced
with unbearable levels of
congestion in its central
district. The traffic was
also causing
environmental
degradation and the
social and economic
status of the downtown
Fig 5: Stroget; Source: rosannes-
area was at risk. The
narrow streets in the city's historic core simply couldn't handle the
increasing number of private automobiles. The solution arrived at was
'Stroget' – a central pedestrian zone (in Danish, 'stroget' means 'to stroll').
As soon as it was introduced in 1964, it transformed the identity of
Copenhagen. The whole pedestrian district now benefits from the narrow
street pattern, with the unexpected alleyways and arcades providing a
variety in scale, thereby making pedestrian passage livelier. Today, it has
expanded, with more streets being pedestrianized across the city, forming
a spiral web pattern with plazas and open spaces at many of the
intersections. These serve as spaces to relax, usually highlighted by
sculptures or historic landmarks and provided with seating. Regardless of
the scale and general monotony of the modern metropolis, there is always
need for public spaces for human interaction, where a person can find
himself in scale with his surroundings. The Stroget has brought this to
light. Its plan and ambience draws people in, intriguing them across its
length. Small boutiques, crafts and clothing shops have thrived, and also
serves as the centre of the finest and most luxurious shopping in
Denmark. It is a model for pedestrian planning that has now been
replicated throughout Europe. (Brambilla, R., Longo, G. 1979)
21
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
In London, England, and Singapore, a different model of traffic restriction
is followed. Here, drivers are charged a congestion fee to enter the
downtown core. Similarly, in Siena, Italy, they pay for crossing municipal
zones. And in Oslo, Norway, there are 50 toll stations along city roads.
The idea is to encourage people to get out of their cars and onto transit,
bikes or walking paths, in hopes of easing congestion for people and
goods moving across the region. In Singapore, which has had a congestion
charge since 1973, there has been a 70-per-cent bump in transit ridership.
(Sinoski, K., 2012)
As starkly evident in the demographic, parking rates in India are
extremely cheap, especially in comparison with other major cities in the
word. Parking rates are to be hiked so as to discourage vehicular
movement and to promote public transportation.
22
Fig 6; Parking Rate Demographics; Source:
http://urbandemographics.blogspot.in/
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Restriction and Accessibility
23
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Restricting should not have effect the accessibility of an area. Vehicles
provide a user with convenience and accessibility. So even though
restricting a car would open up the streets to allow pedestrians to move
more freely, the design must not take away convenience and accessibility
for them. This implies the provision of adequate parking facilities so that
visitors can easily drop off their cars. Every pedestrian zone requires
careful and planned implementation. Vehicular restriction can be done in 2
ways – horizontal separation in which vehicular transportation ends at the
periphery of a pedestrian zone and vertical separation vehicles are
allowed to go above or below the zone. A successful example would be
the commercial district of Minneapolis, Minnesota, which is centred on the
Nicollet Mall. As a solution for traffic issues, the authorities promoted the
development of multi-level car parks around the area, which were hen
connected by skywalks at the second floor level. This effectively brought
down pedestrian traffic as well, making it easier for a person to reach his
destination with greater ease. The pedestrian zone was further
accentuated by connecting it to the metropolis by regular bus services
and is now is throbbing shopping area. (Brambilla, R., Longo, G. 1979) Such
schemes are popular in Germany, where downtown pedestrian schemes
are carefully integrated into regional and city wide public transit systems
with the pedestrian zones earmarked by ring roads along the periphery,
thus ensuring convenience of accessibility.
A pedestrian walks at speeds of 2-4 kmph. Consideration is to be also put
on how far one would walk with ease and pedestrian zones should be
designed accordingly for it to be effective. But extrapolating opinions from
behaviour is a tricky business. It's hard to reason from how far people can
walk to how far they're willing to walk. Americans, on average, only take
5,117 steps a day, far short of the averages in western Australia (9,695
steps), Switzerland (9,650 steps) and Japan (7,168 steps) (Medicine &
Science in Sports & Exercise, cited in Tara Parker-Pope, 2010) . Thus, the zoning
should be mindful of the people it is being designed for. Ideally, the
24
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
pedestrian should be able to reach his destination quickly. If one were to
consider that a pedestrian is comfortable walking at 4kmph and expects
to reach his destination in 15min from the drop off, effective pedestrian
zone should have a radius of 1km.
And where roads do run, foot over bridges (FOBs) and subways are to be
employed to allow pedestrians to cross the road safely. However, this
requires careful planning and location. A study by the Transport Planning
Department of the School of Planning and Architecture has revealed that
pedestrians in different countries differ in their tolerance level, in terms of
the time they are willing to spend at a road junction to cross it before they
jaywalk, with pedestrians in Delhi willing to wait an average of 75
seconds. (Kant, V, 2014) FOBs and subways are overlooked as they view it
as physically taxing, with pedestrians preferring to cross at junctions. A
cause for concern is the growing tendency in Delhi to forcibly restrict
people from crossing the road by making signal free traffic corridors and
raising the height of the central dividers on the roads. According to an
assessment report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), this
limits sustainable modes like cycling, walking and public transport usage
and has actually increased safety risk as people still attempt to cross the
roads. (The Hindu, 2014)
Fig 7
Sometimes,
pedestrians just
want to have their
way.
Here, they form an
informal bus stop
right before a
flyover and a No
Stopping board.
Source: Author
25
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Urban Vitality
An important point to note while designing a pedestrian area is that it
should allow for shopping, relaxing, eating, meeting up with people and
other social activities. Zoning is the key element in the creation of an
active atmosphere that is both comfortable and attracts more people to
the area. People should not be limited to any specific activity in a space. If
one were to analyse New Delhi, it is observed that large parts of the city
have been built as per a 'single-use design' model: sections of the city are
devoted almost exclusively to a particular purpose – residential, industrial,
commercial or institutional and tends to be separated from each other
using roads, open spaces or other barriers. The original intention was to
ensure that residents would not have to live in cramped spaces or near
industrial plants and their constant disturbance and pollution. However,
even after industrialization, Delhi has continued following this American
model of suburban sprawl. Today, individual zones have grown so large
that the distances between them are vast, making movement difficult
(Padukone, N. 2014). A resolution for the same at an urban planning scale is
to have integrated, mixed use planning. Shorter distances make walking
and cycling to destinations more convenient. This is advantageous as it
will result smaller carbon footprints and better access to economic
opportunities, making life more efficient and convenient for work, leisure,
home, and childcare. This is necessary for urban vitality - the synergy
arising from a 'variety' of somewhat 'unique' commercial and
entertainment opportunities and a dense socially heterogeneous
pedestrian population. (Mass, Paul R, 1984)
Security and Comfort
26
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Such a system is also beneficial to the security of a metropolis. If an area
is used for multiple purposes, there will always be somebody - a
homemaker, shopkeeper, pedestrian, peddler, or office worker - keeping a
passive watch, inadvertently but effectively policing it 24 hours a day.
Street vendors, for example, may be the most perennial pairs of eyes that
monitor any streets, a fact already realized and utilized by the Surat
police. (Saiyed, K., 2012) This follows what urbanist Jane Jacobs (1961)
theorized in her magnum opus ' The Death and Life of Great American
Cities’, An urban street should be able to welcome and handle both the
local population as well as visitors in the area, and using that to its
advantage. A successful metropolitan area is generally characterised by 3
qualities. First, there should be a clear demarcations between the
identification of public and private spaces in the area. Unlike rural and
suburban areas, Public and private spaces in a city cannot amalgamate.
The difference should be clearly demarcated. Second, is the presence of
'eyes upon the street' – By having residences in the area face the streets,
there rises a high chance that multiple eyes are watching the street at any
given point, thereby ensuring safety of the pedestrians and in turn the
safety of the area. Hence both residents and visitors benefit from this.
Third, the streets should be active and must have people using it fairly
continuously. This is advantageous in two ways. It means that there are
more eyes on the street, enhancing point two. Also, it makes the streets
lively. Though no one enjoys watching empty streets, watching street
activity serves as a means for passing time for many people. Thus, active
streets result in safer and livelier environments. (Jacobs, J, 1961)
Fig 8:
Eyes on the Street
27
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Source:
https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/
28
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Fig 9: Pedestrian path, Moolchand Flyover; Source: Author
Pedestrian paths such as the one above are unsafe, particularly at night,
since there is complete absence of a visual connect.
29
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Chapter 4:
Sustenance
Cycling
London was faced with a problem in the early 2000s. The underground
network couldn't expand any further to address growing transportation
needs. The solution was the introduction of public use cycles. It was a
runaway success and was also influential in shifting more people to public
transportation. The system has thus grown, and has been replicated in
Spain and Italy. (Singh, S 2013). The system also been a key transitional
factor in the pedestrianization of many areas in London. The British capital
has slowly been converting car parking in its main commercial zones into
cycle racks, cycle lanes and pedestrian zones. This has de-congestified
and opened up the streets for shoppers, with a reported 25% increase in
footfall in the stores. The logic is simple. The streets become more active,
attracting more people
and 10 cycles can be
parked in a single car
parking space. Also,
pedestrians and cyclists
tend to spend more time
shopping. A similar
experiment was carried
out in New York's 9th
Avenue by including a
Fig 10: London Cycling Campaign
Source: lcc.org.uk
dedicated cycle lane.
There was a 49%
increase in retail sales. (Burgess, K, 2014)
30
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
A cause for concern is the ill maintenance of cycle tracks in Delhi. Set up
during the 2010 Common Wealth Games, Delhi claims to have 100kms of
cycle tracks, even some running along arterial roads. But these are
disconnected pathways and lack kerbed ramps and blended crossings,
ultimately being broken paths that lead to nowhere. It is also common for
shop owners, vendors and the parking mafia to encroach on pavements
meant for pedestrian and cyclist use. In Delhi, there are plans and laws to
protect pedestrians and their space. It is a punishable offence, but almost
always gets overlooked by our law enforcers. Even the measly Rs.100 fine
for a vehicle entering a cycle track has rarely been enforced. Maintaining
a cycle track requires minimal investments. Yet, the public funds are
primarily invested on widening our roads to decongest vehicular traffic.
However, new roads only attract more cars and with 21% of open area
already being used for its road network, Delhi is approaching near
saturation limits. (Singh, S 2013)
Upkeep
The quality of the pedestrian networks created should be realized. As the
saying goes, build well or don't build at all. The actual nature of any
transport design is dependent upon the tempo of movement, its purpose
and character. Pedestrian design should engage the user, with focal points
and other characteristic punctuations. This can be done in a variety of
ways, essentially identifiable as those which can be done at a planning
level and those that act as landscaping elements.
At a planning level, the aim is to break continuity so that a pedestrian is
intrigued and drawn in by the space. We can broadly arrive at the
following: Change of direction – meandering and diverging paths engage a
pedestrian, promoting them to explore. It also breaks the flow, with each
new path being identified as an all new area. Another method is to play
31
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
with the scales. Even a straight path leading through a variety of spaces
gets identified as unique areas. A more stark approach is to demarcate
differences by using varying materials and textures. Different paving and
building treatment provide contrast. The most important aspect is mixed
use planning as has been already established.
Public Participation
The involvement of the public can go a long way in transforming a city. An
important example of transformation in a developing country is the city of
Bogotá in Colombia. Just 20 years ago, Bogota was in a state of near
anarchy. It was ravaged by drug wars and gang violence and had steep
urbanization rates of almost 90 percent. This is significantly higher than
India, where we urbanization happens at 35% as of 2014. However,
radical interventions and a committed leadership progressively altered
Bogota's urban scape with efficient public transportation networks and
recaptured spaces for open public use. They encouraged mixed use
design, and laid emphasis on people and pedestrian movement. The
resultant outcome we see today is a highly lauded model of urban
development with greatly reduced violence, enhanced social access, and
an established sense of civic safety and pride. (Paredukone, N, 2014) Indian
cities should act before it’s too late and avoid failures like Riverside,
California, where vacancy rates had already reached 16% by the time
pedestrian revival plans were laid out. (Brambilla, R, Longo, G 1979)
32
Fig 11: Street Transformation, Bogota; Source: http://www.deconcrete.org/
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Localisation is perhaps the most important aspect of any system. Designs
should be made to suit local culture and geography. An innovation in this
regard is the 'bicycle escalator' that was introduced in Trondheim, Norway,
to prevent steep hills from deterring casual cyclists. A cyclist merely has
to keep this foot on the stand, which will push him up the hill at speeds of
3-4miles per hour. (Memolution)
Landscaping
Landscaping is also key to a making a street an urban spill out area.
Fountains, pools, playgrounds, sculptures and soft landscaping features
are a welcome relief to pedestrian as they break the otherwise
monotonous nature of the street. Also, materials used should be highly
durable and tamper proof. Trees and shrubs be designed into the scheme
of an area, also taking into consideration their total mature height, spread
and water requirements. This includes consideration of the trees blocking
33
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
views from windows as well as the shade offered by the trees from the
sun. Retaining existing greenery adds cultural value and should hence be
protected. (Vats, N, 1992) Not much insight was received into the
advantage offered by decorative landscaping elements and their role in
creating 'pleasurable walking experiences', serving as an opportunity to
do a hangs on analysis for a topic with little existing research. An ongoing
experiment is in the town of Elmira, New York. Since 2008, the district
administration has been promoting graphic artworks on public electric
boxes with its 'Pop Art Elmira' project, encouraging the residents to
residents to bring out the life of the area through street graffiti. The town
has also invested in storefront facelifts, sign improvements and
streetscape enhancements. The aim is to get people to notice and absorb
the culture. And it’s not just limited to visitors. The project has already
been influential in revitalising the locals, helping them to (re)discover
places in a whole new light and has generated intrigue about Elmira.
Potentially leading to larger forms of investment (Finger, R, 2014)
Lighting is another key aspect of a street. Functionally, they must provide
for adequate lighting in the streets, ensuring visibility and security after
dusk. This builds on Jane Jacobs's 'eyes on the street' concept. The more
visible an area is, more the likelihood of having observers. They are also
decorative elements that lend character to the street. They also
implement functionality and serve as a unifying influence over the city.
They can also be used in different ways. They can set the mood of a street
based on the warmth of their light and can also be used to highlight public
attractions like bus stops, sculptures and monuments, thereby adding a
whole new perspective to street character. (Vats, N, 1992)
34
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Chapter 5:
CASE STUDIES
Case studies were conducted by first identifying high footfall areas in
Delhi.
The transit hubs of Kashmere Gate ISBT, Sarai Kale Khan ISBT, Anand
Vihar ISBT are areas of extremely high footfall. As transit hubs, they are a
critical node for the movement of the urban pedestrian. However, a
proper first-hand analysis was beyond the scope of this dissertation. So a
secondary case study was performed by analysing data from a 2009
Transport Planning Thesis Report on ‘Planning of Pedestrian Friendly
Design in Transit Areas’ by Ganguly, S.
ITO presents itself as a high footfall location which is also convenient to
survey.
Residential areas tend to have a lot of pedestrian movement. They are
areas where safety, comfort and free movement is of prime importance.
Greater Kailash was rated as the safest area in Delhi by Times of India in
2009.
India Gate is the most iconic structure in Delhi and possibly the most
visited area in Delhi, both as a monument as well as an expansive green
to relax upon.
Note: Other areas identified are the shopping districts of Connaught Place,
Nehru Place and South Extension. However, pedestrian flow in shopping
districts tend to rush and were generally unwilling to pause to fill in
surveys. This made the surveys too time consuming and hence surveys in
these areas were dropped.
35
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
SECONDARY CASE STUDY
Kashmere Gate ISBT
In Delhi, there are three major inter State Bus Terminals and several bus
stations which serve the Delhi population. They also operate for local bus
services. They are
Kashmere Gate ISBT
Sarai Kale Khan ISBT
Anand Vihar ISBT
Fig 12: Map of Kashmere Gate ISBT; Source: here.com
The Kashmere Gate bus terminal is located in the North East part of the
city, at a junction of major arterial roads, including a National Highway. It
handles about 60% of bus services in Delhi, catering to nearly 2.5 lakh
36
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
passengers per day. ISBTs have great potential to be the transit node for
inter change of passengers from one mode of transport to another. The
Kashmere Gate metro station and the old Delhi railway station are thus
conveniently located right next to the terminal.
Characteristics
Kashmere Gate
Land Area
Passengers/Day
No. of Buses Operating/Day
Peak Hours
4.4 Ha
2.5 lakh
5423
10am – 11am
12pm – 1am
Average Alighting Time
4min
Average Boarding Time
20min
Table 1; Bus Operation; Source: Thesis Report on Planning of Pedestrian Friendly
Design in Transit Areas by Ganguly, S., 2009
Even with a heavy pedestrian influx, channelization of pedestrian
movement is absent, leading to pedestrians straying over the entire
region. The ISBT has multiple entries, which act as a point of attraction for
commuters using various modes who choose to alight randomly for
ingress. These pockets of stationary vehicles disrupt the normal flow of
traffic. Modal interchange catering to local commuters also adds to the
chaotic situation on the arterial road.
Characteristic
Specifi cations
s
Road Name
Ring Road
Nityanand
Shamnath
Lothian Marg
Right of Way
Carriage way
90m
8 lane
Marg
45m
6 lane divided
Marg
30m
6 lane divided
30m
6 lane
Type
Carriage way
divided
32m
24m
divided
24m
24.5m
Width
Footpath Width
5.5m
4.5m
Median
2m
2m
Public Crossing
FOB
Table 2; Adjacent Roads; Source: Thesis Report on
Design in Transit Areas by Ganguly, S., 2009
37
3m
3m
1.5m
1.5m
Planning of Pedestrian Friendly
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Pedestrian Analysis
Constitution
There are 3 distinct types of users at the ISBT. Intercity travellers, intracity
travellers and intra region travellers.
Characteristics
Total Passenger Distribution
Gender
Male
Female
Frequency of Travel
Frequent
Age Distribution
10 – 20
20 - 30
30 – 40
>40
Table 3:
Intercity
Kashmere Gate
Intra
Intracity
(%)
63
Region(%)
19
(%)
18
68
32
75
25
80
20
15
90
95
Intercity
Intra
Intracity
(%)
11
31
53
5
Passenger Distribution; Source: Thesis
Region(%)
(%)
10
14
38
42
42
35
10
9
Report on Planning of Pedestrian
Friendly Design in Transit Areas by Ganguly, S., 2009
Most of the passengers lie in the age group of 20-40 so pedestrian
facilities should be planned keeping that in mind. Also, 32% of trips are
recreational, 21% social, 37% work and 11% educational.
User Survey
User surveys were done to understand perception and preference.
38
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
PEdestrian infrastructure
Intensity
Lack of Information/ Signages
50
Lack of Police Enforcement
Lack of Side Walks
0
Lack of Illumination
Lack of Safe Crossings
Preference For Crossing Road
10.00%
25.00%
45.00%
20.00%
39
Zebra Crossing (45%)
Jaywalking (20%)
FOBs (25%)
Subways (10%)
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
40
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Hinderences encountered on sidewalk
Poor surface of Sidewalk
40
20
Enroachment by Shopkeepers
Lack of Footpath width
0
Vehicle Parking on footpath
Built-in Obstructions (poles, garbage,trees)
From the data collected, the following observations were made:
Pedestrians are satisfied with the police enforcement and
street illimunation in the area. Thus, there is a sense of
security and comfort.
It is an easy area to navigate and move around
Most pedestrians feel the reason for walking on roads instead
of sidewalks due to encroachment by shopkeepers
Almost all pedestrians agree that the lack of proper sidewalks
and safe crossings is a major hindrance to pedestrian
movement
There is a major preference for using zebra crossing and for
crossing the road at red light. This could indicate a lack of
preference for climbing stairs to cross the road
Also, between FOBs and subways, there is a clear preference
for FOBs, in spite of FOBs typically having more steps. The
reason given was the relative unsafety of subways due to the
lack of visual connection.
41
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
42
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
PRIMARY CASE STUDY
Architecture Block, SPA Delhi
The School of Planning and
Architecture is a premier National
Resource Institute 9of India,
specialising in Architecture and
Planning. The architecture block is
Fig 13: Architecture Block
Source: spa.ac.in
located in Central Delhi, on the Ring
Road, near ITO. The Planning Block
is located 600m away at the ITO intersection. The architecture block
houses 600 students and over a 150 faculty an d supporting staff during
working hours, which are typically on weekdays from 9 am – 5 pm. The
college is located in a central administration district with a lot of footfall.
Directly across the ring road lies the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. The
area is home to the Delhi Police Headquarters, IIPA, Delhi Secretariat,
WHO South Asian Headquarters, NCAER and more.
Fig 14: Map of Archi Bock; Source: here.com
43
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Characteristics
Architecture Block, SPA Delhi
Land Area
Foot fall/ Day
Working Hours
6779.6 SQ
750
9 am – 5 pm
Characteristics
Road Name
Right of Way
Carriage way Type
Carriage way
Ring Road
90m
8 lane divided
32m
Indraprastha Marg
45m
6 lane divided
24.5m
Inner Ring Road
12m
2 lanes
24m
Width
Footpath Width
Median
Public Crossing
5.5m
2m
-
4.5m
1m
FOB
5.5m
-
Table 4: Adjacent Roads; Source: Author
Pedestrian Analysis
The students are of an age group of 17-28. They require cheap means of
transport. Especially since the hostel is 10km away from the college. Many
people also stay in and around the hostel, amounting to roughly half of
the student constitution of the college. The Indira Gandhi stadium also
attracts teenage crowds for its sports facilities. However, even with a
heavy pedestrian influx, channelization of pedestrian movement is absent.
The college and the stadium are located across a curve in the 8 lane ring
road. Also, it is a point of a double split in the ring road, where the
Indraprastha Marg and the Inner Ring Road merge with the ring road.
However, there is no immediate facility for the students to cross the road
safely.
Bus stops are located on either side of the road. The one on the side of the
college is located 150m from the college gate but those wanting to use
public bus for transportation back to the hostel are expected to either
walk 700m to Rajghat or 600m to the ITO flyover in order to reach a zebra
crossing. Thus, in order to reach the bus stop to travel South on the ring
44
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
road, pedestrians would have to walk a minimum of 1.3km. However,
these zebra crossings have 120 second intervals between which they give
pedestrians just 10 seconds to cross. Also, the ITO crossing is shut down
between 6.30pm – 8pm, making it even more difficult for pedestrians.
There is no auto stand near the college. However, there are some auto
drivers who wait for students near the gate around lunchtime and at 5pm,
to ply the college - hostel trip.
User survey
User surveys were done to understand perception and preference. A user
base of 50 students were chosen at random for the survey.
By observation, it was noted that people primarily use 3 methods of
transport – Private vehicles, Auto rickshaws and Public Transport, which
includes a primary mix of metro and bus. This was the result of the survey.
Preference Of Transport
22.50%
Private Vehicle (37%)
Autorickshaw (40%)
Public Transport ( 23%)
37.50%
40.00%
45
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
46
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Preference For Crossing Road
17.00%
Zebra Crossing (36%)
Jaywalking (28%)
FOBs (19%)
Subways (17%)
36.00%
19.00%
28.00%
PEdestrian infrastructure
Intensity (on 10)
Lack of Signages
10
5
Lack of Police Enforcement
Lack of Side Walks
0
Lack of Illumination
47
Lack of Safe Crossings
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
Hinderences encountered on sidewalk
Broken Sidewalk
10
5
Enroachment by Shopkeepers
Lack of Footpath width
0
Vehicle Parking on footpath
Built-in Obstructions (poles, garbage,trees)
Visual Survey
A visual survey was conducted at the college gate during the peak
hour of 5-5.30pm on a working day. It was observed that 37 people
jaywalked across the ring road during that window. 16 walked to the bus
stop on the side of the college or towards ITO. Approximately 120 (an
accurate figure couldn’t be arrived at) people chose to leave either by
auto or by private transport during the same window. There is a complete
lack of a facility for safe pedestrian crossing across the 8 lane ring road.
Observations & Inferences
The survey revealed a distrust in the efficiency of police
enforcement. Many quoted the lax attitude of the police in effectively
preventing paedophiles from harassing students on the 600m stretch
between Architecture and Planning Block, despite the Delhi Police
Headquarters being only 350m away from it. The path is lined with trees
48
THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN
which provide shade during the day but act as hiding places for
paedophiles in the evening. Lack of proper illumination accentuates the
issue.
An intervention in the form of a police post on the stretch can provide
pedestrians with security and comfort.
The user group has a low opinion on Delhi’s pedestrian
infrastructure, blaming encroachment by shopkeepers, lack of footpath
width in places, broken footpaths and obstructions like trees, garbage and
parked cars as major hindrances to pedestrian movement.
The larger population of the college use auto rickshaws as their
primary means of transport to college, though it is more expensive than
using buses. The prime reason quoted for the same was the hassle
associated with using public transport. There is a definitive scope to
encourage the students to use public transport if the crossing can be
made more convenient. Judging by the survey, a zebra crossing or
crossing or a FOB i