VIJAYAWADA: With an aim of making the streets pedestrian-friendly, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) has given NRP Road in Satyanarayanapuram a facelift under the commercial category of Street For People Challenge. City Central MLA Malladi Vishnu along with Mayor Rayana Bhagya Lakshmi inaugurated the road and made it accessible for the public on Tuesday.
The MLA said that the 'Streets 4 People Challenge' is organised in partnership with the Smart City Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India and ITDP-India Programme.
Malladi Vishnu added that the main purpose of the challenge is to make some of the city's streets pedestrian-friendly and pleasant, and to repair and redecorate some non-commutable roads. The project will pave the way for the optimisation and utilisation of congested roads in the city (proposing and implementing multi-utility zones, parking lots, pedestrian walkways).
The MLA said the implementation of such pilot projects would alleviate the hardships of the people by showing easy living solutions to pedestrian and traffic problems. He also stated that such projects would be extended to more parts of the city.
Mayor Bhagya Lakshmi said the challenge aims to create flagship walking initiatives in cities, which focus on placemaking and liveability. She explained that in the project, Satyanarayanapuram NRP Road and Vambay Colony were selected in the commercial category and residential category respectively.
The Mayor further said steps would be taken to implement the programme in Vambay Colony under the next pilot project.