Paper presented and published at the ICHH, 13th International conference on Humane Habitat on Jan 30th 2011 Pedestrian Environments: Case study of the Streets and Proposed Skywalk at Kharghar Skywalks are the latest insert into our urban environment. This sky elevated walk ways are planned for the pedestrians connecting the railway Station/ high concentration commercial area and points where concentration of pedestrians prevails. The purpose of the skywalks is for easing out the congestion on the streets. In a way the inclusion of these skywalks is yet again for benefiting vehicular movement on the streets. In populated areas of our cities where the need arises, and where space seems to be a constraint, the skywalk could be a sensible solution but not in all circumstances. The pedestrian is still very much a part of the street, where the pedestrian has to share the street space with the four wheeled vehicle. Whether on the street on the ground or in the sky, it is important to evaluate the quality for pedestrian use. Kharghar is one of the 14 nodes that is developed by CIDCO for an estimated population of 5,00,000. This town is designed with wide streets that it very frequently boasts off. Cidco on considering the increase in the commuter traffic and for the safety of commuters approaching Kharghar Railway Station has constructed a skywalk to facilitate ease of pedestrian movement between Kharghar Railway Station and Kharghar node. Salient Features of the Project are as under: Total length of the Skywalk 1572mtr. with 5.5mtr. height in average. Length of the cable suspension bridge is 126mtr. with 6.6mtr. Height from Sion-Panvel Express way. Complete Skywalk is of structural steel section with polymer synthetic electrometric coating. Galvalume roofing is proposed for Skywalk. Staircase - 8 Nos. for alighting & 5 Nos. of ramp for physically handicapped persons. The Skywalk with its facilities could be an added value and a sign of development to this new town but the pedestrian environment on the streets is still in question. There are several issues that need to be addressed with the new skywalk in place: 1. Why are the wide pathways on the ground not used? 2. What is the quality the pedestrian gets on the street? 3. What is the quality the pedestrian will get on the skywalk? 4. What are the connections between the street and the skywalk? 5. Is it just about providing a street and what about designing them? 6. What decides the spanning of the skywalk? 7. Where is the need? 8. What about the inconvenience caused due to construction/installation? 9. How safe are the skywalks? 10. Cost and Infrastructure for the skywalk?
Paths for pedestrian movement are integral with the streets for the vehicle. They have to coexist on the street and have to compromise at places where there is congestion. A highly congested road could be tackled from a number of angles: 1. It may be widened 2. A motorway built 3. Obstructions may be taken out of the road, such as pedestrians, traffic lights and parking 4. Traffic may be diverted 5. Paths or Public transport may be made more attractive 6. The working hours which create the congestion could be staggered 7. Parking costs at the destination could be raised, discouraging travel 8. The use of road could be charged for with a similar effect 9. Smaller vehicles could be used 10. More people could travel per car (Any of the above combinations could be used) In either of the cases, the planning solution is to give importance to both, the pedestrian and the vehicle. The conflict can be resolved if each is given a separate environment. Kharghar already has wide streets but they are not designed to cater to pedestrian needs. Designing the Street Streets in the city are its main connectors that connect various land uses, creating interesting crisscrossing networks. They not only balance an array of uses but also communicate values, cultural attributes and help signify the transformation of neighborhoods, towns and cities. The car has definitely been one of the most important inventions by man. The planning and design of our city streets are largely focused on the four-wheeled vehicle as a mode of transport discouraging pedestrian and bicycle use on the streets. A large number of people in our cities are depending on private modes of transport with one of the reasons being inadequate public modes. Until recently, pedestrian needs were largely invisible in urban and transportation planning (Gehl & Gemzoe, 2001) In a city like ours, with an exploding population, the streets form almost 80% of the urban open spaces. It merely does not function in getting people from one point to another, but plays a far important and wider role in creating successful places. These places also define a street culture that the design and planning of the streets have to take into account. Most of the streets in older Indian towns and cities had been designed to give a larger importance to the pedestrian. Thus, the street became an extension of the home, where people would congregate to talk, wait, sit and generate a communication between the street and the house. Street design policies that were formalized in the 1960’s through reports such as Buchanan’s “Traffic in towns”, sought to simplify and organize streets through segregation. But the results have mainly focused on better traffic movement on streets than the pedestrian environment. With such policies in place, the urban planning department, for planning a new city with its streets as infra-structure has to consider two options:
1. Provide streets as connectors, as a relatively straight forward task 2. Design the “complete” streets- streets that provide capacity and mobility for motorists, while also being safer and more comfortable for pedestrians, cyclists and neighbourhood residents. The need for designing of streets comes with the increasing concern about providing facilities that can be used by people other than motorists. Therefore designing the street has become an analytical process- that considers the various user perspectives and the surrounding land use context, in addition to the street function. Streets are generators, they generate activities. There is a culture to our streets that cannot be ignored. The hawker stalls, street shopping etc. are a part of our street culture. Streets are also facilitators, facilitating a number of activities. The streets have to be designed to facilitate activities like walk, run/jog, play, gather, observe, meditate, provide for services, safety and security, work, relax and shelter (climate). The Indian Roads Congress (IRC) has stipulated standards for pedestrian facilities like Sidewalks, Guard Rails and Pedestrian Crossings – both at-grade and grade-separated (Indian Roads Congress, 1998). But these lack the “human” element like aesthetics, scale, form and proportion. Pedestrian amenities and street furniture do not find a place in these standards. Context specific standards according to the location in the city, hierarchy of streets and functions of streets have not been thought of. Also in the 21st century, the streets need to be sustainable and respond to the demands of climate change and shifts in culture. Planning and designing of the streets have to be a collaborative process as it is used by a number of users, the motorists, pedestrians, transit operators, bicyclists and people living, working or otherwise using the adjacent land uses. Streets play a major role in establishing the image of a community. Therefore they affect the health, vitality, quality of life and economic welfare of a city. Some of the common goals that need to be achieved with new street design are: o
Livability and Placemaking : Making streets places to linger and places to cherish
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Access and Mobility : Improving the public right -of -way for all users
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Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety: Supporting design improvements such as raised crossways, bike lanes, and roundabouts that improve safety. Flexibility: Giving the Designers a choice Context : Designing streets based on their place within a hierarchy of streets and their relationship to surrounding land uses, densities and commercial activities
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Balance : Maintaining several functions in the street that include safety, roadway infrastructure, environmental sensitivity and others
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Healthy Environment : Minimizing negative environmental effects and creating places that encourage walking and exercise
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Visual excellence : Improving the overall aesthetic with an emphasis on high quality, lasting design and materials
Evaluation Methods for Pedestrian Environmental quality To encourage walkability, it is important to develop practical tools to assess and mitigate the impact of transportation, land use and development decisions on the quality and safety of the pedestrian environment and to prioritize improvements that will increase pedestrian activities. Taking into consideration the Case study of The San Francisco Department of Public Health that developed a Pedestrian Environmental Quality Index to assess their streets for pedestrian quality; For the evaluation there could be five main domains to consider: 1. Intersection Safety 2. (Motor Vehicle) Traffic 3. Street Design 4. Land Use 5. Perceived Safety Intersection Safety: The intersection Safety Domain measures intersection features that provide access and mobility for pedestrians while providing awareness to oncoming traffic at pedestrian crossings. Pedestrian accommodations at intersections include signalization, pavement marking, various signage and features to slow traffic and increase visibility. The indicators for Intersection Safety are: a) Crosswalk b) Ladder Crosswalk c) Pedestrain Signal d) Traffic Signal e) Crossing Speed
f)
Crosswalks scramble
g) No Turn on Red Signs h) Traffic Calming Features i)
Additional Signs For Pedestrians
Vehicle Traffic: The Vehicle Traffic Domain measures factors that are predictive of exposure distance for pedestrian, conflict points, pedestrian injury severity and pedestrian mobility. Vehicle collisions involving pedestrians pose significant public health problems, especially in urban areas where the number of vehicle-pedestrian conflicts are high. The indicators for vehicle Traffic are: a) Number of Lanes b) Two-way traffic c) Vehicle Speed Limit d) Traffic Volume e) Traffic Calming features Street Design (Sidewalks): The Street Design Domain measures sidewalks features – sidewalks generally the only pathway for pedestrians. Sidewalks are an important component of a public right-of-way and neighbourhood walkability and, if designed correctly and maintained can provide pedestrians a safe walking experience. The Indicators for Street Design Are: a) Sidewalk widths b) Sidewalk Impediments c) Sidewalk Obstructions d) Presence of curbs e) Driveway cuts f)
Trees
g) Planters/ Gardens
h) Public Seating i)
Presence of Buffer
Land Use: The Land Use domain measures commercial uses and Street Aesthetics. Mixed Land Use among other variables (density and connectivity) is associated with more people walking and less vehicle emissions. Mixed Land Use along with the presence of historical or unique architecture can improve Aesthetic Quality for pedestrians and encourage walking. The Indicators for Land Use are: a) Store Fronts/Retail Use b) Public Art/Historical Sites Perceived Safety: The Perceived Safety Domain is informed by how physical features of an environment shape people’s perception of safety and therefore their willingness or comfort with walking. Crime prevention is often tied to design strategies which incorporate street lighting and commercial uses, which contributes to pedestrian safety. The indicators for Perceived Safety are: a) Illegal Graffiti b) Litter c) Pedestrian scale Lighting d) Construction Sites e) Abandoned Buildings Evaluating the Pedestrian Environmental Quality for Kharghar Streets The above mentioned domains could be mapped to create a database for the streets in Kharghar and then analyzed to evaluate the quality of the street in Kharghar. This would also enable us to evaluate the relevance of a skywalk over an existing sidewalk on the ground. Skywalks could be an important input but only where there is a real need. Also the design of the skywalk could be looked into to provide for a street culture, security, comfort and ease of access.
The research attempts to lay down a method to evaluate the pedestrian quality of Street and Skywalk for Kharghar by drawing inferences from case studies of other cities.