Shillong: Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong Monday inaugurated a one-day workshop on Urban Mobility for Shillong City at the State Convention Centre, here. The aim of the workshop was to deliberate and prepare an action plan on the recommendations of the study on Urban Mobility for Shillong City conducted by the Meghalaya Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation Ltd. (MIDFC) and the Project Management Unit (PMU) of the Meghalaya Integrated Transport Project (MITP), a World Bank Funded Project. The study was entrusted to a global consulting firm, Dalberg.
Addressing the gathering, Prestone Tynsong hoped that the recommendations made through the extensive and comprehensive study conducted by Dalberg will aid in decongesting Shillong. He said that suggestions for operation of cable cars are highly favorable for the city, as land acquisition for construction of roads and flyovers often meet with stiff opposition due to the land tenure system that exists in the State. Agreeing that the need of the hour is to meet short term goals, he reiterated the need for improving and increasing public and school bus services.
Dr. D. Vijay Kumar, Project Director, Meghalaya Integrated Transport Project (MITP) and CEO, Meghalaya Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation Ltd. (MIDFC) in his address said that the problem of improving urban mobility was a complex, multi sectoral problem which involves many stakeholders. Stating that Shillong has the potential of becoming a world class city and one of the best hill stations in the country, unless the mobility problem remains unsolved, this potential will not be realized, he added.
The study conducted by Dalberg focused on the needs of the citizens, sustainability and unlocking economic growth and with this vision in mind, ten key suggestions were made for improving mobility systems in the capital city. The suggestions include introducing high frequency people friendly public buses; building of Ring Roads so as to divert traffic from National Highways; introduction of Cable Cars as an alternative to road based mobility; creating walkable culture corridors connecting places of tourist attraction to encourage walking; providing smart streetlights in Municipal areas; introducing non fuss school buses; establishing next door markets to decentralize daily need markets; reduction in street parking by curbing illegal parking in Municipal areas; introducing car cap policy to reverse trends in car ownership and creating a self sufficient new Shillong township.
Others present were DGP, Meghalaya, R. Chandranathan and Deputy Commissioner, East Khasi Hills District, Kum. I. Laloo.
The workshop saw the participation of officers from different government departments, community leaders, representatives from educational institutions, hoteliers, and Dorbar Shnongs.
