Pedestrian plaza 2.0 coming up at Guindy

A busy stretch connecting Guindy and Velachery including Race Course Road will soon house a pedestrian plaza with facilities for walking, cycling, sitting spaces and greenery. Work on the `15 crore project starts in May.
According to a detailed feasibility report prepared by the Greater Chennai Corporation, which floated tenders last week, the plaza will spread over 2km with one stretch from Little Mount to Phoenix Market City, and another stretch from Chakrapani Road to Velachery Main Road junction with Five Furlong Road.
An ‘Eat Street’ is being planned near Little Mount junction, while a 600-metre stretch near the Guindy Bridge junction will be called Green Street with sitting spaces and foliage.
A cycle-friendly pavement will be created for transit from Guindy railway station to Velachery Main Road for improving non-motorized transport connectivity.
The corporation also plans to set up designer LED lights along the pavements.
Deputy mayor Mahesh Kumar said the idea behind the pedestrian plaza is to improve non-motorized transport. “Many people use crucial stretches such as Little Mount Junction, Guindy Railway station and Phoenix Market City. The plaza will enable a seamless walking or cycling experience,” he added.
He said spaces for registered vendors or shopping outlets could be given along the plaza. The pavements would be about 3-5 metres wide along the stretch.
Experts said concretization of pavements will lead to excess heat generation. “They have to plant more trees. Secondly, strict enforcement against hawkers must be done to ensure the space is retained for walking,” said S Babjee, an urban planner working for CMDA and GCC.
Unlike the T Nagar pedestrian plaza that is prone to floods, residents want GCC to study inundation patterns before the new plaza is commissioned. “Five Furlong Road flooded badly and this impacted areas downstream. They should ensure water flow properly. Secondly, the stretch has heavy traffic and taking up road-space for pavements could congest the area more,” said Geetha Ganesh of Velachery AGS RWA.