Rajkot, Surat need dedicated pedestrian space: Study

Introduction of ambitious urban development and urban transport projects might have put Gujarat in the league of fastest growing states.

But a recent study by Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) found that Gujarat’s cities need to be pedestrian-friendly, as  Rajkot and Surat scored 52 and 41. 91 out of 100 and were termed as "not pedestrian-friendly cities".

They were from the total six Indian cities covered by the survey, 'Walkability in Indian Cities'. The others were Pune, Chennai, Bhubaneswar and Indore. The study results released on Thursday suggest that of the surveyed cities, Pune scored the highest walkability rating with 54 points.

The outcome of the study emphasises the fact that Indian cities need to prioritise planning and investments to improve non- motorised mobility. In case of Rajkot and Surat, the walkability points were given after studying 370 pedestrian interviews in Rajkot and 337 pedestrian interviews in Surat.

Talking about the method, Christopher Kost, technical director at Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), India, said that one CIA official visited all the places and gave them walkability ratings separately.

Vinod Patel and Alpana Mitra from Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) and Mahesh Jaymalani and Nitya Dave from Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) helped in the study. According to Kost, walkability ratings for Rajkot and Surat are very low and  need immediate measures.