Centre approves urban mobility plan of 13 cities in UP

LUCKNOW : Decks have been cleared for revolutionary changes in the urban transportation system of UP after the central government’s approval to the urban mobility plan of 13 cities, including Lucknow.

Now, things like bus rapid transport corridor on city roads, flyovers , underpasses, cycle pathways, walking pathways, intelligent transport system and goods transportation management would be a reality in the state.

“The centre has approved our proposal, now we are going to make a comprehensive plan for urban mobility in the state capital and other 12 cities of state. People require other means of transport besides Metro rail. Under the Urban Mobility India Plan, the central government will provide 80% money for the projects while state will have to bear 20% of the cost,” said Deepak Kumar, principal secretary, urban development. He added, “Transport planning is a regular exercise. Our department makes policies and strategies that give a direction to transportation planning for overall urban planning.”

Municipal commissioner Indramani Tripathi said, “There are many other aspects to a city’s sustainability. While preparing a plan for a city like Lucknow ,we will have to think about clean air, safe and open urban spaces to walk at the same time commute with safety.”

Authorities are thinking about public bike sharing system, pathways for walkers, maximum utilisation of roads with hybrid and electric buses .

The only thing worrying officials is that most cities of the state don’t have a strong network of buses or roads wide enough to accommodate buses under BRTS.

An official of urban development department said, “You can adopt BRTS but from where will you bring wide roads like Mumbai , Ahmedabad, Vadodara or Surat. Here, most of roads are not that wide. Moreover, they are heavily encroached and vendors occupy a major part of road. For example, which type of BRTS would be planned for areas like Aminabad, Alambagh, Chowk and Thakurganj where even pedestrians struggle to walk.”

NOW, THINGS LIKE BUS RAPID TRANSPORT CORRIDOR ON CITY ROADS, CYCLE PATHWAYS AND WALKING PATHWAYS WOULD BE A REALITY IN THE STATE