The city will have more model roads, thanks to Coimbatore Corporation’s decision to develop roads in wards that are covered under the Smart Cities’ Area Based Development (ABD) component.

Spread over 17 sq.km., the ABD component covers Ward 23 (R.S. Puram), Ward 24 (R.S. Puram and Gandhi Park), Ward 25 (Devangapet), Ward 73 (Ramanathapuram), Ward 74 (Ramanathapuram), Ward 77 (Chokkampudur), areas that abut River Noyyal and its tanks in the western part of the city.

Sources say that the Corporation will soon appoint a consultant with the mandate to do a geo-spatial study of the area to study the length and width of arterial, feeder and narrow roads, the width of pavements, if any, obstructions such as trees and pillar boxes. At present, the Corporation has zeroed in on five consultants, who will bid competitively to take up the study.

Based on the study, the Corporation will appoint an architect or panel of architects to redesign the streets, just as it did while implementing the Model Road project on D.B. Road and T.V. Samy Street in R.S. Puram.

While the arterial roads in the ABD wards will have pedestrian pathways and exclusive bicycle tracks, the narrower roads will see only traffic calming and pedestrian safety measures.

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