guestcolumn Pedestrianisation a must for a new lease of life to Aminabad
The core of any bazaar (market) is its spontaneity and the reason why a bazaar anywhere in India is so special. The Aminabad bazaar, being operated since the time of the Nawabs, is a colourful, vibrant and a lively market to shopin ,famous for jewellery, ornaments, chikan embroidered cloth,fancy sarees, Lucknawi paan (betel leaves) and bakeries.
Pedestrianisation of Nazirabad Road is a way towards the revitalization of Aminabad market. It is the central part of Old Lucknow which caters to the maximum flow of visitors compared to the other markets of the city. But for the past few years, the market which was meant to be an attractive public space, has lost its charm and purpose due to heavy traffic congestion of vehicles and pedestrians, illegal encroachment of hawkers and vendors and street parking.
Pedestrianisation is a step towards soft mode of transportation. The first pedestrianisation of a street appears to have taken place around 1929 in Essen, Germany. Celebration of car-free day every year on September 2 is also known to provide an effective way to encourage car-free streets and pedestrian malls across the globe.
Pedestrianisation is seen as an effective approach towards the revival of a commercial area, thus restoring its charm and lost life.
The Aminabad ward population is 15,832persons (2017).
Aminabad is the biggest retail market of Lucknow. Despite being one of the oldest markets, it’s nonetheless surrounded by homes and nawabi era architecture. Its unique appeal is its Thursday’s footpath market.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
Aminabad has the darkest bar which means it has highest flow of pedestrians and the same goes for the other areas. Similarly, the line width indicates the range of the pedestrian level of services. As width increases, level of services decreases. The maximum width is at Aminabad which means it is ranked least in the level of services. Aminabad, being an old public space, is designed on the pattern of narrow streets as a result of which majority of people prefer to walk to visit the market which makes for the highest pedestrian flow to the market.
Under Smart City Mission for Lucknow, area -based development is recommended for Aminabad market under which it is recommended to make Nazirabad Road as onlypedestrian zone.
THE NEED FOR PEDESTRIANISATION
According to 44th ISOCARP (International Society of City and Regional Planners) Congress 2008 held in Iran, the need of pedestrianisation in commercial areas of developing countries is increasing continuously
• For the revival of the commercial area, since it has the maximum flow of pedestrians
• For cars/ people: Vehicular access is increasing in urban communities and as a result the participation of passersby in urban spaces is less. Cities are for people but trends of development in transportation infrastructure within the city have prioritised vehicles over pedestrians. Vehicles edge out pedestrians from road space even due to road tax policies.
STRATEGIES
If required in future, underground parking can be provided below Hanuman Mandir and recommended facilities can be replicated to other stretches in the area too. The municipal corporation should revise its architectural controls mainly for renovation and building size.
Overhanging cables should be cast underground and zoning of spaces should be done like all food vendors in one zone.
Restriction of vehicular traffic from 6am-10pm can be done by placing automatic bollards.
Shed all over the footpath stretch can be put up for pedestrians, if possible. Free parking permits can be issued to residents and priced parking for rest of the people to get parking self-financed.
Other facilities that should be provided at the stretch include resurfaced pavements, sensors, CCTV camera, landscaping, artwork, dustbins, vegetation, public toilets, benches and night shelters.