With traffic snarl taking a toll on people’s lives every day in Shillong, the need to operate cable cars and increase the use of public transport vehicles and school buses have been suggested to the Meghalaya government.
A global consulting firm, Dalberg was entrusted by the Meghalaya government to undertake a study by focussing on the citizens’ needs, sustainability and unlocking economic growth.
With this vision in mind, ten key suggestions were made for improving mobility systems in the capital city of Meghalaya.
The same was also deliberated during a one-day workshop on urban mobility for Shillong held at the State Convention Centre on Monday.
The workshop was held to deliberate and prepare action plans on the recommendations of the study.
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 was also part of the study.
Inaugurating the workshop, deputy chief minister, Prestone Tynsong hoped that the recommendations made through this extensive and comprehensive study by Dalberg will aid in decongesting Shillong.
“The suggestion for the operation of cable cars is highly favorable for the city because land acquisition for construction of roads and flyovers often met with stiff opposition due to the land tenure system that exists in our State,” Tynsong said at the workshop.
He also agreed the need of the hour is to meet short-term goals while stressing the need for improving and increasing the use of public transport vehicles and school bus services.
The ten key suggestions include introducing high-frequency people-friendly public buses; the building of ring roads to divert traffic from National Highways; the introduction of cable cars as an alternative to road-based mobility and creating walkable culture corridors connecting places of tourist attraction.
It has also suggested 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.