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Written By idontspam - 5 June, 2009
Bangalore Bangalore Planning Analysis public transport
There is growing realization that environment is going to play a big part in the microclimate of fast growing cities. The trend therefore in some well planned cities is to move transport underground. For example in Stockholm the orbital roads, the equivelant of our ring road, is being built underground for most parts. The new citybanan trains are also going underground. Their blue line is already underground for large parts. This allows the surface to be used for greenery. They are increasing public transit in inner city while increasing capacity to new areas which will take the expanding population.
Bangalore may have already planned overhead metro in the inner city but we need ahead for the next 30 years. It may make sense to start going underground if we are adding people movers. If we have personal and mass traffic projections for the next 30 years based on a GDP and population growth rate, we should be able to plan accomodation and commute options right now and start building mass transport connectivity to the outlier cities.
COMMENTS
idontspam - 5 June, 2009 - 11:13
It is dissapointing we dont have a dedicated, frequent (15 to 30 mins frequency) commuter rail system from Bangalore to cities within 1 hour distance. IR/SWR wont do it and are also unable to share their lines for this purpose. What options do we have now?
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Microclimate Vs Global Environment
psaram42 - 5 June, 2009 - 11:48
The meanings of the above two terms are self evident. I think that the present concern is about the global environment. Of course one would like to have good local environment, in the city of Bangalore. However the greater question now facing us is the global one. By transferring transport under ground, I am afraid that the basic threat to global environment is not going to be alleviated. Correct me if I am wrong.
Sustainability is the present day catch word. By 2030 I am afraid mass transportation too will not be the solution for global climate change.
PSA
idontspam - 5 June, 2009 - 14:05
By transferring transport under ground, I am afraid that the basic threat to global environment is not going to be alleviated. Correct me if I am wrong
No you are not wrong, but you have moved my solution for microclimate, which I am trying to focus on and applied it to the larger global warming which I deliberately avoided. This is NOT a global warming solution. This is purely a method to find balance and create offsets at the surface. The point clearly being, sustainability need not come at the cost of expanding transport solutions.
Greater Bangalore may still have a decent green cover but the inner city microclimate is out of whack. Expressways, corridors and mass transit require larger space that will infringe pedestrian friendly city streets. Going underground helps retain transport options enabling green offsets on the surface in the same areas.
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My plan - have the cake and eat it too. Innovate or perish..
Vasanthkumar Mysoremath - 5 June, 2009 - 14:29
Talking about solutions? These are for real - Have patience in reading -
- Here are two proposals - one is purely local - micro effort to create more of greenery in urban and rural areas and the other is - micro but can be escalated as a macro innovative idea:
1. Micro - local - In urban areas, local authorities are recovering encroached/ unauthorisedly occupied government lands and are auctioning them for lucre to the government kitty - only to create more of corbon spewing monstro-city buildings. Instead, whatever may be the size of the land recovered, plant herbal, aromatic, fruit and nuts bearing shrubs, trees like nerale, maavu, hippige, bevu, sampige, aala, athi, singapore cherry, etc., for creating carbon sinks. Such species will maintain a normal food chain among birds, bees, animals, insects, butterflies which are the main carriers of agricultural polination chains. This way, India can create benchmarks of its own efforts to earn more of carbon credits.
- Similarly, waste lands exist everywhere
- identify them - test the soil and their ability to grow select species and with a little bio-friendly investigations and minimum effort to suit the climatic conditions, salinity of soil, etc., have a plan of action that is economical, replicable, sustainable and environment friendly.
- agricultural scientists can identify such biological species that can be grown on such soil
- get the seeds
- with the help of cottage industries - tiny industries in a given area, by creating employment opportunity to the locals, arrange to put the seeds inside small mud cakes of good soil mixed with proper manure and pesticides to enable them to safely germinate with proper protection, dry them in shade, pack them and after one or two showers in the waste lands, either arrange to spread them through local tribals or as an on going activity of Gram Panchayats etc. or air drop them over such waste lands
- (I have no idea if this method is obtaining some corner of our little delicate world - I am just putting it here because I visualised something like this is possible)
- Even if 25 out of 100 such seeds germinate, it is a win win situation - close your eyes and visualise a patch of greenery in a place which was dry and desolate.
2. USA is spewing 25 per cent of GHGs - European Union 15 per cent - China 6-7 percent and India 4-6 per cent. The Big brother wants the world to adopt its own dictated terms of universal benchmark of reducing CO2 emissions by 2020. This is being opposed by all including India.
- The Paper on Climate Control published by Government of India during 2008 has cleverly skirted the question of compulsory reduction of GHG and rightly so, has kept the option open depending upon what kind of benchmark the developed nations will prescribe for themselves.
- Transport sector is the worst possible area with regard to per capita emission of CO2. In West, employees travel cross country to reach their work places that are about 150 to 300 kms and most of them use their cars travelling at a speed of 120 - 150 kms. per hour on auto bans/ highways etc., thus gurgling scarce fuel and also rendering disservice to the environment by spewing unlimited CO2. Travel time may be 2 to 3 hours depending upon the traffic.
- There may be any number of other modes of transport like air, road and rail but they are used to comfort zones of own cars for commuting to other places within the city of their work places. They may be right - so, provide them with an opportunity to have the cake and eat it also.
- God said -
- Let there be hi speed rail system between major cities - but with a difference - This rail system does not have compartments - its bogies are open platforms - Those who want to travel in their own cars can drive upto the nearest railway head, go up the ramp and settle down on the open wagon and start working with their lap tops by sitting inside their cars - wheels get automatically locked in the slots on the wagon platforms.
- Regular running of such superspeed trains at 300/400 kms per hour will deliver their cars to their destination in one hour/less than one hour as against 2 to 3 hours of driving dangerously - after reaching, wheels get unlocked, drive down the ramp and head for your work places and use the car happily for short journeys in the cities where your work place exists. Get back in the same manner and save yourself and the world.
- Advantages: Less fuel consumption, Less CO2 emission, Saves money, life risk reduced, waste of time in driving can be productively utilised, you are always on time, your family will not be worried if you are late and have to drive late hours - with one for the road?!!
- Brickbats welcome - Innovate or perish
- Vasanthkumar Mysoremath
srinidhi - 6 June, 2009 - 00:39
maybe piggybacking on trains may really not be a far fetched idea..I have heard this with our own konkan railway that E. Sreedharan built..
Trucks dont want to do anymore the hazardous journey in the ghats and instead sit on trains!
Here is a very good video of whats in place today!
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