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ShareAhmedabad, Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has had a 'pedestrian' track record when it comes to providing facilities to walkers, especially, on busy roads.
But, this record is about to change as AMC has announced four skywalks to come up in the city.
Besides, you can also withdraw money from an ATM machine, buy magazines and get city specific information from a kiosk while you safely walk above and across the road.
Keeping pedestrians' safety in mind, the Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL), a company floated by the AMC to oversee the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), is coming up with skywalks at four places, including near Sahajanand college, Star Bazaar, RTO road and Maninagar railway station.
Skywalks are a swifter and safer mode to cross the road for the people on foot. In a skywalk, commuters will climb up an overbridge through an elevator or stairs. The bridge will allow commuters to get down to the BRTS bus station in the middle lane. Also, the bridge will have a steel-fabricated roof.
On Monday, the AMC standing committee sanctioned a proposal for four skywalks under the Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis. The work to develop skywalks is given to Micro Mega Infrastructure Pvt Ltd. The cost of one such walkway is pegged at around Rs2 crore.
The walkways will be positioned above four BRTS bus stations to help commuters climb down to these stations, without being trapped in traffic jams.
"According to the contract between the AJL and the contractor, the latter will develop four skywalks in the city. The contractor will get to keep money earned from advertisements for 12 years from the day the skywalks are ready. Once commenced, the work on the walkways should be complete within six months," added a source close to the development.
The source added that if everything goes as per the plan each skywalk will be 40 m long and have an information kiosk, bank ATM machines, and vendors selling magazines and newspapers. There will be provisions for advertisement hoardings too.
"The idea is to give pedestrians a safe way to cross the road. The AJL has chosen the areas where there is heavy traffic for the walkways. These skywalks will also help commuters to reach the BRTS bus stations," added the source.
