April 9: The Sector V authorities have asked IIT experts to prepare a transport plan for the IT hub to reduce traffic congestion and make roads safer.

The Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NDITA), Sector V's administrative authority, has prioritised some of the areas where they need IIT help.

Metro had earlier reported about the tech sector's unsafe roads with pedestrians jumping over dividers to cross flanks, absence of zebra crossings and lax police vigil.

An official said IIT help was sought because of the expected increase in traffic volume in the coming years.

Metro lists some of the focus areas:

Pedestrian plazas

NDITA wants pedestrian-only zones in Sector V that has 15 blocks with the Salt Lake bypass running on its western perimeter and the Ring Road on the east.

Last September, police had turned the stretch from the Bowlers Den crossing near Nicco Park to Technopolis into a one-way stretch to ease traffic woes. And it has remained unchanged since.

So, people headed towards Technopolis or New Town from Nicco Park can use all four lanes of the road. Those who want to leave Sector V have to drive down the Ring Road near the Godrej Waterside.

Apart from these two arterial roads, many small streets criss-cross the township and NDITA wants IIT experts to suggest ways to convert a few of these into pedestrian-only zones.

An NDITA official said the conversion was important as it would reduce air and noise pollution in the area. "The footpath along Ring Road that skirts several water bodies is popular among those who come here to work. We see men and women walking on the footpath in the evenings after work," the official said.

Cars, two-wheelers or moveable food carts won't be allowed in pedestrian-only zones, he said. "Musicians and artists might be encouraged to set up temporary stalls along the lines of those found in European cities like Copenhagen."

Cycling tracks

Main roads and streets will have designated cycling tracks, an NDITA official said.

The New Town Kolkata Development Authority has already set up a track behind Eco Park. Another has been completed beside the elevated stretch of footpath in front of the park.

IIT experts will study the feasibility of having such tracks in Sector V where hawkers have encroached on several footpaths. "We want to promote cycling in the area as cycles don't leave any carbon footprint. Also, cycling keeps one's fitness levels high," Debashis Sen, the chairman of NDITA, said.

Cycling to work is popular in the West, Lipika Biswas of the cycling group, Discover on Wheels, said. Here, the authorities need to set up designated tracks, she said.

"Motorists have to be sensitised about cyclists. In Calcutta, drivers often sideswipe cyclists for no apparent reason," Biswas said.

Road diet

Sector V has many roads running parallel to its arterial roads. Now, NDITA wants to go for road diet in the area that's home to more than 200 IT companies and 48-odd manufacturing units, among others.

So, what is road diet? It basically reduces the road space to bring down vehicular traffic and utilises the space saved for pedestrians or cycling tracks.

"This is done so that the travelling time by car goes up... it takes longer to reach from A to B by car than by foot," an NDITA official said.

"We have observed many people use cars to travel short distances... often to get food or just visit an ATM kiosk," he said.

"So, if it takes more time to travel on wheels because of the road, we might end up encouraging people to walk," chairman Sen said.

Crossovers

The IIT experts will look at creating crossovers in the form of subways or elevated footbridges.

The 2km one-way stretch from the SDF crossing to Technopolis has seen many accidents because people getting off buses often jump over the divider to cross the road and end up in front of approaching vehicles.

Despite the fact that Sector V has almost a 200,000-strong workforce, most of whom use public transport, there's not a single subway or elevated footbridge that can be used to cross the road.