CHENNAI : The comprehensive urban mobility plan, prepared with the help of the Urban Mass Transit Company for Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA), is likely to be ready in six months, according to Chennai Metro Rail sources. Officials also said the Urban Mass Transit Company, engaged by Chennai Metro Rail, has already submitted an inception report and traffic survey report.
The move to have a new comprehensive urban mobility plan comes in the wake of the state government planning to improve upon the outdated Chennai comprehensive transportation study (CCTS) that was unveiled in August 2010.Sources said the existing CCTS typically focused on mobility needs of car users, while the CMPs are to address the mobility needs of all people and the infrastructure requirement for all modes as well as to integrate both land use (i.e., the spatial distribution of activities) and transport systems. The “comprehensive” in CMP conveys this all-encompassing scope.
The existing CCTS allocates the majority of resources to “solving” vehicle congestion while CMPs will focus on providing “mobility” for all people, the most important issue to be addressed for effective and sustainable urban development. It is learnt that the CUMP will be updated incorporating the expanded corporation limits, 2011 population census and recent infrastructure or development proposals.
This also comes as the Union government is drafting an Act to create unified metropolitan transport authorities (UMTAs) in many cities, which will be a single-body governing transport systems. Interestingly, the new bill focuses on having comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) and this would bring the far-flung areas of the city under UMTA’s ambit. This also comes in the wake of the Chennai Metropolitan Area being expanded by 7,700 sq. km by encompassing the whole of Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts and the Arakkonam taluk in Vellore district.
Sources told Express that CMP aims at integrating land-use and transport planning. Since land-use planning influences travel patterns, the CMP will scrutinise the land-use patterns from the perspective of developing urban transport. Sources also told Express that the Urban Mass Transit Company’s study will include four stages. They include preparation of inception report, interim report (which is likely to be submitted this month), draft comprehensive mobility plan and final comprehensive mobility plan.
Covering all aspects
A Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) presents a long-term vision of desirable mobility patterns (people and goods) for a city and provides strategy and policy measures to achieve this vision
A CMP should follow the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP), which emphasises the importance of pedestrian facilities, non-motorised transport measures, and public transport systems, including buses and sustainable mass rapid transit systems.
The move to have a new comprehensive urban mobility plan comes in the wake of the state government planning to improve upon the outdated Chennai comprehensive transportation study (CCTS) that was unveiled in August 2010