Chennai corporation to okay proposal
The Chennai corporation is all set to lend its approval to Namma Chennai Namakke (NCN) project, an initiative which declares streets as car-free zones for a few hours on Sunday morning to help promote pedestrian and cycling activity.
Chennai: The Chennai corporation is all set to lend its approval to Namma Chennai Namakke (NCN) project, an initiative which declares streets as car-free zones for a few hours on Sunday morning to help promote pedestrian and cycling activity.
The approval from the council is likely when it convenes on August 3. If approved, the Chennai corporation will be the second local body in the state after Coimbatore corporation to declare car free Sundays.
Backed by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), Chennai City Connect and the Chennai City Corps, NCN takes inspiration from Ciclovia in Bogota city of Colombia. As a result of meticulous street planning, the South American city is able to shut down nearly 120 km of its road network, leaving it open to use for pedestrians and cyclists only, from 7 am to 2 pm every Sunday.
Coimbatore will have the first car free day in the state on August 9 under the name “Namma Kovai Namakke”, when Diwan Bahadur Road and TV Samy Road will form a 1.7 km stretch that will be inaccessible for vehicles for around five hours in the morning.
Sources said that the approval is being fasttracked after Coimbatore’s decision. “It was in Chennai that the idea was pitched first, yet Coimbatore has stolen the march. Here, people were a little apprehensive and wanted public opinion and favourable media coverage. But Coimbatore’s attempt must have changed all that,” the source said.
A final decision on when Chennai will witness its car-free day, and the location, will be taken in September, officials said.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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