Pune: PCMC Collaborates With GDCI To Build Safer And Inclusive Streets

Pimpri, 1st November 2023: Last week, engineers from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) participated in a day-long interactive workshop aimed at promoting safer, more inclusive, and accessible streets for all road users in Pimpri-Chinchwad City.

The PCMC, in collaboration with the Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI) as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), hosted this capacity-building workshop. The workshop’s primary focus was to sensitize engineers to the diverse needs of road users and introduce evidence-based solutions to enhance road safety within the city.

The workshop was inaugurated by Vijay Khorate, Additional Municipal Commissioner, PCMC, last Wednesday. It witnessed the participation of over 60 engineers from the Roads Department of PCMC. Senior police officials from Pimpri Chinchwad City Police, including Bapu Bangar DCP (Traffic) and Vitthal Kubade ACP (Traffic), were also in attendance, alongside Makarand Nikam, City Engineer, and other senior PCMC officials. The GDCI team members, Ed Lancaster, Senior Program Manager, Lead-BICI, GDCI; Jullietta Jung, Program Manager, BICI, GDCI; and Jaswanth Tej Kasala, Program Manager, GDCI, actively participated in the workshops and site visits.

Shekhar Singh, Municipal Commissioner, PCMC, expressed, “We strive to make the streets in Pimpri-Chinchwad safer and more accessible to all road users. Pimpri-Chinchwad is a growing city, so implementing globally recognized urban mobility and street design principles here would help the citizens in years to come.”

The training’s objective was to enhance the capacities of PCMC engineers and assist them in implementing infrastructure projects that transform streets into public spaces accessible to all people. This is achieved through safe and sustainable street designs that prioritize vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. The workshop effectively sensitized engineers to the diverse needs of road users and introduced them to evidence-based solutions for improving road safety in the city.

Bapu Gaikwad, Executive Engineer, Roads, Traffic & Transportation Planning, PCMC, stated, “The workshop is a significant step in our efforts to improve road safety in Pimpri-Chinchwad. We are happy to have collaborated with BIGRS and GDCI as they continue to support us in our endeavour to create safer streets with a special emphasis on safeguarding the most vulnerable road users.”