Pune: Pimpri Chinchwad hosts ‘National Workshop Series on Streets and Public Spaces’
Pimpri, 12th January 2024: The Pimpri Chinchwad Smart City and the Smart Cities Mission on Friday organized a two-day workshop on ‘streets’ as part of the ‘National Workshop Series on Streets and Public Spaces’ in Ga Di Madgulkar Auditorium in Pimpri Chinchwad. The workshop saw 180 participants from 43 cities, promoting collaborative discussions on innovative street design principles.
The workshop, hosted in Pimpri Chinchwad due to its commendable track record in street design projects, featured an immersive hands-on transformation exercise. The on-site implementation exercise, in a 5-hour drive, allowed participating city officials to contribute to effective street design actively.
In his opening remarks, Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC)Commissioner and Pimpri Chinchwad Smart City CEO, Shekhar Singh, emphasized the workshop’s focus on continuity, institutionalization, and collaboration for enduring success in street design.
“Continuity and institutionalization for the organization are most important, and with that collaboration with experts from the industry to make sure that we achieve long-lasting success. We are going to implement a long-term vision called Harit Setu; we aim to make every neighbourhood pedestrian-friendly, children-friendly, and exciting for all residents,” said Shekhar Singh, Commissioner, PCMC.
The Green Bond and Bicycle Infrastructure and Connectivity Improvement (BICI) will be utilized to implement Harit Setu sustainably, he added.
Sessions led by experts like Pranjali Deshpande, a sustainable mobility expert from ITDP (Institute for Transportation and Development Policy), and Traffic Operations professional Pratap Bhonsle, highlighted the pivotal role of data in street design. Amar Karan, Senior Programme Coordinator at the Center for Environmental Education, shared insights on viewing street design as an opportunity to co-create humane spaces. Vikas Thakar contributed expertise on challenges and mitigation strategies in executing street design projects.
On Saturday, prizes will be awarded to the winning cities in the “Freedom to Walk Cycle Run” program during the workshop.
Notably, prior to this, such national workshops have been organized in the cities of Srinagar and Coimbatore.
