At present, vehicles get maximum space on the CSMT junction; with direct crossings and refuge islands, BMC says it can be pedestrian-safe

Experimental move for pedestrian-safety; will be readjusted for traffic-people balance.The BMC on Tuesday began the ambitious transformation of the traffic intersection at CSMT to make it more pedestrian-friendly. With over 100,000 people walking out of the terminus every hour, the civic body is experimenting with larger refuge islands, assigning more space to parking, adding benches and planters to make sidewalks more accessible, while realigning traffic lanes. The project is being undertaken in collaboration with the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety BIGRS ), an international programme seeking to reduce fatalities and injuries from road traffic crashes. The other partners in the project, which has been inspired by Times Square in New York, include the traffic police and the National Association of City Transportation Officials – Global Designing Cities Initiative NACTO-GDCI ).“Until 2008, Times Square witnessed several accidents involving pedestrians. The moment someone stepped down from a sidewalk, she/he risked being hit by a car. Following these accidents, the authorities realigned the Square to make space for pedestrians and, in the process, brought down the casualties,” said Abhimanyu Prakash, senior programme manager, NACTO-GDCI. Though Prakash agreed that CSMT is not a traffic black spot – a place notorious for accidents – it’s a location where there is a conflict between vehicular and pedestrian traffic. “With maximum space given to vehicles, we wanted to reclaim under-utilised spaces. Moreover, CSMT is an iconic spot that needs our attention,” said Prakash, adding that all materials used in the project are movable and will be adjusted.According to NACTO-GDCI officials, though CSMT junction has a subway, it’s located at one end of the large intersection. “With thousands still crossing the road towards McDonald’s, we need direct crossings with refuge islands,” said Prakash of changes similar to Times Square. He said Janette S Khan of Bloomberg Associates, who played a role in that redesign, is engaged in the CSMT project as well.BMC officials told Mirror that the project is in no way unfair to traffic as it is as much a part of the city as pedestrians. They said the problem, though, is illegally parked taxis in the lane where McDonald’s is situated. “We are trying to redesign in such a way that everyone has dedicated space on the road,” a BMC official said.Prakash added that CSMT’s selfie point also invites several visitors each day but has limited access from the road. “We hope this transformation will catalyse greater change across other parts of the city,” said Prakash.