Smart makeover: Pedestrian Plaza at Chennai's T Nagar inaugurated

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami opened the project executed under the Smart City mission at a cost of Rs 39.86 crore.
Pondy Bazaar road sports a new look after it was relaid ahead of pedestrian plaza’s inauguration | P Jawahar
Pondy Bazaar road sports a new look after it was relaid ahead of pedestrian plaza’s inauguration | P Jawahar

CHENNAI: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami opened the pedestrian plaza, under smart city mission, in T Nagar on Wednesday.Flanked by cabinet colleagues, including Municipal Administration Minister SP Velumani, he checked various features of the pedestrian plaza- a 700-m stretch at Pondy Bazaar built at a cost of Rs 39.86 crore. He also opened the 23 streets, including Kannadasan street, Raman street and Ramanujam street, redesigned at a cost of Rs 19.11 crore in Kodambakkam zone.

With Greater Chennai Corporation officials, including Commissioner G Prakash and Deputy Commissioner (Works) M Govinda Rao, CM, in a battery-operated car, witnessed several shows organised as part of the inauguration. The shows included a laser show, firework display, hip hop and puppetry. The stretch was lit up in the evening and a few hundred people lined up to get a glimpse.

What to expect

With a three-month delay in constructing multi-level parking slot, which will accommodate 550 two-wheelers and 250 cars, on Thyagaraya road, the side streets have been cleared and demarcated to accommodate cars. There will be strict enforcement to keep two-wheelers and cars off the plaza, said officials.

The stretch now has seven play areas for children, clusters of seats under trees and planters have been set up. Provisions have been made underground for utilities including electrical, telecommunication and metro water lines.

According to a 2016 study by Darashaw- a consultant appointed to redesign the plaza, around 4,958 people walk down the stretch per hour during peak hours. The city corporation also plans to hold regular events in the stretch.

Aswathy Dilip, senior programme manager at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) with whose support the initiative was done, said, “During our inspections, we even noticed a child using the resting space under a tree at the plaza to do his homework. That is the kind of space we set out to create.”

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