Shimla, one of the most popular hill stations of the country, is transforming into a pedestrian-friendly tourist destination with widening of its roads and construction of several walkways under the 'Smart Cities Mission.'
The capital of Himachal Pradesh, rimmed with hilltops, has recently been graced with a network of over 20 km-long pedestrian pathways mainly along the Circular Road in the city.
There is also focus on development of parking facilities in the city to help the locals and tourists, officials of the Shimla Smart City Limited (SSCL) said.
"Shimla is fast transforming with a civic infra boost under various Smart Cities Mission initiatives, focusing development of pedestrian pathways and parking facilities to ease congestion and facilitate locals as well as tourists," said Rajiv Jain, the official spokesperson of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
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The CPWD has come up with a 1.8 km-long pathway from Hotel Holiday Home to Bemloe Chowk on the Circular Road with a cost of Rs 2.19 crore and has incurred an additional expenditure of Rs 1.31 crore on road widening and construction of a retaining wall, SSCL officials said.
A 2 km-long pathway connecting the famous St Bede's College in Navbahar to Sanjauli Chowk is most scenic one.
"It's a wonderful experience to walk amid so much natural beauty in a safe passage like this without the fear of being hit by any vehicle," said Ramesh Narayan, a tourist, from Jaipur.
The SSCL said the 'Smart Cities Mission' also involves widening of a 3 km-long road from Navbahar to the famed Jakhu temple, and another pathway connecting Sanjauli Chowk to Indira Gandhi Medical College.
The 1,500 metre-long covered pathway is used by around 20,000 people, most of whom patients and their attendants, who visit the College hospital all round the year, even during snowfall in winters, SSCL officials said.
The urban body has also on cards a combination of a 600 metre-long skywalk, foot overbridges, and three lifts for commute between Vikas Nagar and Secretariat.
A six-storied multilevel parking with 150 vehicle capacity is also underconstruction in Vikas Nagar.
"Once the work is finished on lifts, foot overbridges and the skywalk, the distance between Vikas Nagar and Secretariat will be covered in just 15 minutes, which now by car takes around half-an-hour. The parking facility will also help reduce traffic in the Secretariat area," said an SSCL official.
SSCL General manager Ajit Bhardwaj said that in all 209 Smart City projects with a cost of Rs 709 crore are underway in Shimla.
"Shimla is considered as a city of pedestrians but space for them is shrinking due to the growing number vehicles. A major focus of Smart City initiative is to provide proper pathways to the locals and tourists through widening of roads and developing sidewalks," Bhardwaj said.
So far, around 20 km of pathways have been developed, he said.
Parking, a big issue in the city, is also being eased with the construction of nearly 40 large and small parking lots, he said.
"We have created capacity for around 5,000 vehicles through large and small parkings. With space being a limiting factor we develop parking lots for even 8-10 vehicles while looking for multi-level parkings near places like hospitals and offices where land is available," he said.
The SSCL has also created an Aajivika Bhawan costing Rs 10.3 crore with the help of other agencies. The building has a Tibetan market, eight 'smart' bus stops equipped with solar panels, ramp, digital display, charging points, and book cafes.
Construction of a subway near St Edward's school is nearing completion.