Trichy: A decade after its attempts to develop skywalks for safe commute of pedestrians failed to take off, Trichy corporation has revived the proposal through public private partnership (PPP) mode at two locations in the city. The civic body has sanctioned Rs 5 lakh inviting suitable agencies to prepare a detailed feasibility report (DFR) for skywalks.According to the survey conducted by the town and country planning department, only 68% of road network in the city have footpaths on both sides, while 12% have none at all. The central business district (CBD) areas comprising Cantonment, Thillai Nagar, Chathiram bus stand, and Singarathope have severe vehicular – pedestrian conflicts. Railway junction to Central bus stand junction stretch alone handles around one lakh vehicles a day, but people commuting between two transit hubs on foot lack facilities for the safe commute.
“We have received a directive from the department of municipal administration (DMA) to develop pedestrian-friendly infrastructures. A tender has been floated to identify an agency to prepare a feasibility report. The agency will list out viable locations, and we will scrutinize and choose based on the need,” an official said. PPP model is most likely to be explored for funding the infrastructure, and the study will be completed in a month.
