SPONGE COLLABORATIVE +
WEAVING WITH WATER Team
MULLASSERY CANAL FRAMEWORK AND CANAL EDGE MASTERPLAN
Stretch C - Fashion Street
Figure 63: Canal section on Fashion Street, showing the adjacent KMC Park (Image Credit: Sponge Collaborative)
This stretch refers to the covered canal stretch between MG Road and TD Road, that is used as a vending zone. This stretch of the canal is lined with 70- 100-year-old trees and has the opportunity to open up into pedestrian pathways and transform into a public space for placemaking. As the section of the canal in this region is fairly narrow and occupied by vendors, it is proposed to open up the canal for daylighting along with canal bed naturalisation. This shall enhance biodiversity, improve the health of the canal, and reduce the dense growth of phytoplanktons that currently coat the canal due to lack of oxygen penetration into the canal. The deepening of the canal will also help to increase the capacity, to effectively channel water from local retention spaces during rainfall events. Opportunities - To mitigate the extreme flooding which takes place at the MG Road Junction, the PWD Park is reimagined as a series of natural landscapes, which can ‘hold and delay’ stormwater before it reaches the canal. The opening of the park towards the canal and the daylighting of the water body will showcase the importance of blue-green landscapes in the city, while facilitating interaction and ownership of the canal as a public space. Constraints - While daylighting the canal, an effective waste management and maintenance strategy should be integrated to prevent the canal from becoming a dumping ground for residential and commercial solid waste.
