St Marks Road in Bengaluru, Tender SURE hailed for successful design by global group
- St Marks Road has been redesigned under the Tender SURE project
- Now it is being used an example by New York-based advocacy group NACTO
- The model is being hailed as a successful one for urban streets.
FollowSt Mark's Road is a landmark street in Bengaluru. The 0.9 km road is part of the urban core, linking MG Road at Anil Kumble circle in the north and Residency Road at Cash pharmacy junction in the South. Earlier due to the discontinued footpaths, hectic parking reduced the charm of the vintage road. But now it has been redesigned under the Tender SURE project.
On the Jana Urban Space Foundation website that is spearheading the project, Tender SURE. (Specifications for Urban Road Extension) road standards mandate the integration of networked services under the road – water, sewage, power, OFC, gas, and storm water drains. It is mentioned about the redesign that Tender SURE guidelines suggest:
St Marks Road will have a uniform vehicular travel lane that allows for continuous traffic movement with designated on street parking. The proposal ensures that there is a 2m wide designated cycle track and footpaths along the entire stretch of the road. Landscaped pause points, street furniture, strategically placed ancillary amenities and a legible way finding system will lend St Marks Road a memorable identity and help it regain its landmark status.
Now this road is being hailed a new standard of road model for cities across the globe. It should be a moment of pride for the authorities because TenderSure has been included in a guidebook drafted by New York-based advocacy group NACTO (The Global Designing Cities Initiative of the National Association of City Transportation Officials.)
According to a report in the Times of India, Abhimanyu Prakash, programme manager of Global Designing Cities Initiative has been quoted as saying that St. Marks Road is going to be their case study from TenderSure. On analysing data they found that there was 250% increase in volume of pedestrians, while wait time at crossings (for pedestrians) has reduced by three minutes; it takes only 12 seconds now. The model is being hailed as a successful one for urban streets.
Cunningham Road, Vittal Mallya Hospital Road and St Marks Road, which were upgraded under Package-1, have already been inaugurated. Work at Church Street, that falls in Package-2, is in progress and CM Siddaramaiah has said the street would be ready by December.
