Here are some suggestions to decongest the Theagaroya Nagar area. Many of these can be implemented without too much difficulty and within a short time frame.

Pedestrianisation: It should be the aim to achieve pedestrianisation of the retail core area around Panagal Park, part of Theagaroya Road, G N Chetty Road, North Usman Road and South Usman Road.

The Ranganathan Street crowd.

South Usman Road could be used as a ‘pedestrian only’ zone and no vehicles permitted in the designated area with bollards managed by Police. The eastern side of South Usman Road is connected with a series of side roads. Hence, as part of the streetscape, partial vehicle access to South Usman Road using connecting streets (Sarojini Ramasamy Street, etc.) could be achieved. This will allow the entire eastern side of South Usman Road to be a ‘pedestrian only’ area with limited access to traffic. At night, loading/unloading vehicles can access the shops effectively managing/using the bollards. By pedestriansation and stimulating the retail development along other streets in the area and subsequently creating alternative pedestrian circulation patterns, some of the pressure will be taken off Ranganathan Street and Usman Road.

Pondy Bazaar is one of the oldest shopping areas of T’Nagar and could be transformed into a much more pleasurable shopping experience by introducing pedestrianisation and traffic calming measures in the public realm. The final stretch of Theagaroya Road (from Sivagnanam Street/Srinivasa Road upto Panagal Park) should be fully pedestrianised which will allow pedestrians to walk from Pondy Bazaar to the bus station at South Usman through one extended car-free zone. The next stretch of Theagaroya Road (between Sivagnanam Street/Srinivasa Road and Sivaprakasam Street/Muthukrishnan Street) could be redesigned as a Traffic Calm Area. While all through-traffic would be diverted, visitors to Pondy Bazzar can park their cars in nearby Multilevel Car Parks (MLCP) accessible from G N Chetty Road and Venkatanarayana Road. This will ensure that the traffic load on Theagaroya Road is reduced significantly. One carriageway left on both sides of the street will leave space for short parking and a substantial pedestrian space in the middle of the road. The low traffic load and slow speed of cars will make crossing the street for pedestrians easy.

Along this whole stretch of Pondy Bazaar the existing street vendors along the pavement can be moved to stalls in the central axis of the street. These permanent stalls will have no ‘backside’, as they will be designed to house four vendors facing all sides. In this way ample space will be created for as much as a large footfall between the shops on both sides of the road and the street vendors’ stalls in the middle of it. In the fully pedestrianised stretch, enough space will become available to add amenities and street furniture.

Sky walks: Approximately 40 per cent of the pedestrian traffic during weekdays is transit users, who switch their mode of commute from rail to bus or vice versa. Hence, it is evident that there is a requirement for a skywalk that interlinks Mambalam Railway Station and T’Nagar Bus Terminus. This skywalk will reduce travel time for transit users. It will also reduce the pedestrian count to mainly shoppers, thereby reducing pedestrian conflict along Ranganathan Street and Usman Road.

Multilevel car parking: Pedestrianisation of streets in the central area of T’Nagar with multilevel car park buildings (MLCPs) at the edges of the pedestrian area will make users of the retail area in T’Nagar park and then walk to their final destinations. Viable locations for surface car and two-wheeler parking would be possible at Theagaroya Road. MLCPs could be at Anandhan Street, Theagaroya Nagar bus terminus, Prakasam Road and Dr Nair Road junction.

Dedicated hawker zones: The fundamental right of a citizen of India to do business as a hawker is recognised nationally. Three types of hawker activity is found in T’Nagar: (i) areas with a concentration of newly-built permanent street vendor stalls, (ii) street vendor zones, allowing all kinds of stationary, peripatetic and mobile street vending, and (iii) zones where no street vending is allowed (besides the newly built permanent street vendor stalls).

Much of the street vendors’ merchandise falls into the category ‘impulse buys’. Street vendors are an important part of the attraction of T’Nagar for visitors and form an integral part of the lively street atmosphere of T’Nagar. Relocating (or ‘hiding’) street vendors into multi-storey buildings is therefore not the solution.

Considering their location along the streets with the highest footfall, the particular location and orientation along the streets and the amount of space allocated for the new street vendor stalls should be carefully chosen and strictly monitored to ensure they do not restrict the flow of pedestrians. The space in the newly built street vendor stalls should be allocated according to the type of merchandise, in order to create/keep a concentration of certain shopping categories that work well, together with other retail category in the area. This will help to create a market niche for each concentration of street vendors and attract more visitors.

Implement feeder system: In order to provide connectivity for the commuters using bus transportation, a mini-bus feeder system should be operated along defined routes within T’Nagar. The feeder bus nodes should be located near/at major collection points and should integrate multiple transport options, including bus, rail and multilevel parking. In the long-term, additional feeder loops can be created to integrate the Metro stations along Anna Salai with the feeder system and transit hubs within T’Nagar. The feeder system can be a fleet of mini buses/mini vans which have easy manoeuvrability. These vehicles can be battery-operated/CNG ecofriendly vehicles. With more feeder stops, this could act as a neighbourhood-friendly transport system. The Mini Bus Feeder System can connect all T’Nagar and all transit nodes in a loop without any major investment on infrastructure. By implementing it effectively, it will promote public transportation and increase patronage to major public transport modes.

Improve three-wheelers’ (autos) circulation pattern: There are currently more than 40 unauthorised auto stands and only very few authourised ones in the T’Nagar area. The current locations are demand driven and do not follow any standard protocol. It is proposed that each auto stand is limited to 8 autos in the commercial area and 5 in residential areas. The nodes would be integrated with the roadway design of arterials and sub-arterial roads. The auto stands should not be located within 50m of major intersections or within 20m of minor intersections.

Effective traffic circulation and planning: Traffic and transportation planning is an integral process in the overall planning for redevelopment of an area. The major challenges in T’Nagar are elimination of conflict between transit traffic and retail (shopping) traffic and restricting conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles. Coordination of signal systems at all conflict nodes along with regulation of parking will improve free flow of traffic without any congestion.

The existing circulation of buses around T’Nagar bus terminus causes congestion at the intersections/bus terminus entry and exit. A new circulation route for the buses exiting from the terminus could be developed through Muthurangan Road. The traffic circulation to Aranganathan subway through New Boag Road and North Road in West CIT Nagar can be integrated in this circulation to minimise conflicts and facilitate traffic circulation.

By extending the South Usman flyover across the intersection of South Usman Road and Madley Road the impact of the North-South through traffic can be reduced locally. At the same time the measure should allow for increase in traffic capacity of Madley Road in the East-West direction, which will help divert some of the traffic from around Panagal Park-South Usman and Duraisamy Roads.

Existing infrastructure augmentation: Existing infrastructure should be augmented to accomplish traffic and transporation-related objectives. These include extension of South Usman Road flyover and Mahalingapuram flyover, ROB along Venkatnarayana Road, ROB along South Boag Road, etc. Extension of these ROB shall provide long-term free movement of transit traffic along the arterial roads such as Usman Road, Burkit Road, Venkatnarayana Road, Thanikachalam Road, South Boag Road etc. thereby passing the core shopping area without mixing into the shoppers’ trip and destination.

The existing bus terminus has a major impact on the traffic circulation in South Usman Road, C I T Nagar First Main Road, and Madley Road. In order to minimise conflicts, the bus terminus has to be relocated. The existing T’Nagar Bus Terminus could retain the number/frequency of origin and destination buses, but the augmentation of buses can be split to two alternative locations. The increment of buses to accommodate the future demand/part of festive demand may be distributed first near Valluvar Kottam (Thirumalai Pillai Road/Arcot Road Junction) followed by Saidapet (after the completion of metro station). This will eliminate future increase in bus traffic (originating at existing terminus) currently accessing T’Nagar from the major roads. Revised bus route circulation needs to be prepared which will ease the traffic congestion in South Usman Road and C I T Nagar First Main Road.

Effective use of open spaces: Pedestrianisation and traffic calming of the streets around Panagal Park offers the single greatest opportunity to create a world class urban space as the heart beat of T’Nagar. A large, hard, landscaped square can be created that will blend perfectly with the soft green landscaping of the adjacent Panagal Park. In the middle of the square a dramatical sculptural building can be added. The building will sit right at the end of the long vista of Theagaroya Road and form the perfect landmark for T’Nagar. The building could be used (as the backdrop) for cultural events, performances, exhibitions and double as the entrance/exit for pedestrians to/from the MLCP.

Existing underused market building along the western side of Panagal Park forms a barrier between Usman Road and the Park. It should be replaced with an attractive user-friendly building that houses a range of food and beverage outlets. The F & B outlets will offer an al-fresco eating/drinking experience overlooking the peaceful greenery of Panagal Park. Different forms of passive recreation should be introduced into the Park to make it more lively and attractive to visitors with, for example, a small amphitheatre, a wet area with a pond and jet fountain for children to enjoy. On the northern and southern side of Panagal Park a row of permanent street vendor stalls can be introduced. To add to the cultural flavour of the area around Panagal Park, the street vendors here should sell not ordinary goods but preferably arts and crafts and souvenirs for visitors and tourists.

Ranganathan Street and the western side of South Usman Road have been one of the most commercially thriving and, consequently, most congested areas in T’Nagar. With the right incentives Rameswaram Street could develop into a really attractive shopping street that will invite people to take from Mambalam Station this alternative route towards South Usman and Nageswaran Roads, avoiding the main crowds.

For T’Nagar to retain its position as a Shopping Destination it needs to focus on not only retail but also a range of entertainment, leisure, food and beverage outlets. The demand for all of these is growing strongly. Addressing the quality of the public realm in T’Nagar will be a first step in creating the right environment for new up-marking initiatives in retail, leisure and recreational developments. Government can do its part in promoting these developments by setting the right example with initiatives in the equally important, not-for-profit cultural sector.

Government should create a special unit with ‘Cluster Managers’. These persons will work closely together with all relevant shop-owners, business-owners and residents in the different areas on how to achieve the goal of a more vibrant, high end and distinctive character for the different clusters that will benefit all parties involved. (Courtesy: Our Building & Construction)

(Concluded)