AIZAWL - NMT CITY SPECIFIC PLAN

CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR DEVELOPING GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS FOR TRANSIT ORIENTED

DEVELOPMENT, NON-MOTORISED TRANSPORTATION PLAN AND PUBLIC BIKE SHARING SCHEME

THE CITY OF AIZAWL

AIZAWL - THE HOME OF THE

HIGHLANDERS
Aizawl, the capital city of Mizoram,
is
the
political,
commercial,
educational and cultural hub of the
State.
Along with the sub-urban and fringe
areas, the city forms to be Aizawl
Urban Area (AUA).
It is situated on a ridge 1,132
metres (3715 ft.) above sea level,
with the Tlawng river valley to its
west and the Tuirial river valley to
its east.
The tourism potential of Aizawl can be enhanced
considerably by providing state-of-the-art walking
and cycling infrastructure in the city.

THE CITY PROFILE

Aizawl Municipal
129.91sq.km

Area

The AMC and the Development Authority

are important stakeholders for ensuring
Aizawl becomes an NMT friendly city.

Population - 291,822 ( Year 2011)

Density - 2246.33 person/sq. Km

The City is densely populated in the

centre of the city. NMT provision in this
area is very important

Source: Modified based on the original map form Master Plan for Aizawl: VISION 2030, Aizawl
Development Authority, (2011)

TOPOGRAPHY
The contours in the city limits
range from 80m to 1420m.
Cycling on steep slopes can
easily be addressed by
provision
of
comfortable
slopes for road (less than 9%).

Source: Modified based on the original map form Master Plan for Aizawl: VISION 2030, Aizawl
Development Authority, (2011)

LANDUSE
Landuse

Percentage

Water Bodies

3.47%

Vacant Land

49.83%

Roads

1.68%

Natural Reserve

26.83%

Agriculture

2.62%

Utilities

0.22%

Special Area

7.04%

Recreational Area

0.50%

Public % Semi-public

1.60%

Residential

5.75%

Industrial Area

0.17%

Commercial Area

0.27%

The densely populated area shows mixed

landuse of residential, commercial and
PSP. Provision of NMT facility in this area
would be highly feasible.
Source: Modified based on the original map form Master Plan for Aizawl: VISION 2030, Aizawl
Development Authority, (2011)

LAND-USE AND
MOBILITY
The average trip length for the
city is about 3 Km which
indicates that the urban land
and development is in Compact
form.
Aizawl is compact and can be
easily accessed by nonmotorized modes like walking
and cycling.

Source: Modified based on the original map form Master Plan for Aizawl: VISION 2030, Aizawl
Development Authority, (2011)

ASSESS

EXISTING ROADS
Aizawl has about 429 Km
of road in the planning
area.
Ribbon development has
occurred all along the
major roads with
negligible scope for
widening.

Source: Modified based on the original map form Master Plan for Aizawl: VISION 2030, Aizawl
Development Authority, (2011)

TYPES OF ROADS
The roads are very narrow and only 40%
of the roads have of ROW of more than
10 meters. Most of them have inadequate
pedestrian and drainage facilities.
Length
(Kms.)

Type

ROW in meters

10m (includes few

roads of 10 m and
170
above)
8m (include roads 8
to 10 m)
136
6m (include roads 6
to 8 m and roads less 123
than 6 m wide)

II
III

Total

429

Percent
age
40%

32%
28%

100%

EXISTING PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION AND IPT
SERVICE
Intra City mode - Taxis

Taxis are the main para-transit modes

for intra-city movement mostly used
for work, market and medical trips.

Source: Modified based on the original map form Master Plan for Aizawl: VISION 2030, Aizawl
Development Authority, (2011)

TRAVEL BEHAVIOR
6.80% 3.80%

1.40%
0.40%
0.90% 4.90%

7.70%

10.80%
49.20%

35.30%

7.60%
26.90%
41.80%

2.40%

Two wheeler
Taxi
Bus

Mode Share

Car
Minibus
Walk

Work
Social
Health

Education
Shopping
Other

Trip Purposes

Source: Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Plan (CTTP) for the City of Aizawl, 2007

Business
Recreation

NMT USERS
4%

1.53%
9.10%

6%

0.20%

3.28%

10%
16%

13.83%
17.58%

20%

31.97%
22.51%

43%

0-5
35-50 yrs

5-15 yrs
50-65 yrs

15-35 yrs
65-100 yrs

Age Profile of NMT Users

Upto 1500

1501-3000

3001-4500

4501-7500

7501-10000

10001-15000

15001-20000

20001 and above

Income Distribution

Source: Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Plan (CTTP) for the City of Aizawl, 2007

TRAVEL BEHAVIOR
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

11
7.3
4.6

3.8

4.8
0.9

Two
wheeler

Car

Taxi

Minibus

Bus

Walk

Average Trip Length

Aizawl is a small city with an average trip length of 3km. This makes it
reasonably walkable and cyclable.
But, the present average trip length for walk is just 0.9 km.
This implies that, though people can make a trip by walk but due to the
lack of space on roads and other obstacles, walking is seemed to be a
poor mode of option.
Source: Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Plan (CTTP) for the City of Aizawl, 2007

OBSTACLES FOR NMT IN

THE CITY
Most of the streets have
inadequate pedestrian and
drainage facilities.
On-street parking occupies
significant part of the vehicular
carriageway.
Road surface conditions often
deteriorate due to improper
drainage and unstable road
pavement.
The marginal footpaths and
shoulders, are occupied by street
vendors, leaving little space for
pedestrian to walk.

EXISTING NMT EXCLUSIVE SPACES IN THE CITY

The City has a network of staircases,

constructed specially for pedestrians.
This is an exclusive NMT feature present
in the City.

This should be further enhanced by

providing proper infrastructure like
hand rails, reconstructing the broken
parts etc.

NMT ISSUES
Man made and Natural Barriers Unorganized on-street vending
spaces.
On-street parking on main
roads.
High and low terrain of the
City.

Source: iTrans

NMT OPPORTUNITIES
Safe walking routes - 500
meters to schools.
Safe cycling zones -1.5km
around the schools.
Converting the Spinal
Linkage into car free zone
and creating recreational
corridors

Source: iTrans

LINKS AND INTERSECTIONS

THAT REQUIRE IMMEDIATE
ACTION
The City represents Linear
Development model.

Highly concentrated trips

along the spine.
A total of 33 extremely
congested intersections in
the peak hours was identified
on the spine.

Source: Modified based on the original map

form Master Plan for Aizawl: VISION 2030,
Aizawl Development Authority, (2011)

READINESS ASSESSMENT
Readiness Assessment

Engineering

Education

Encouragement

Enforcement

Evaluation

Source: iTrans

ENABLE

CURRENT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF

STAKEHOLDERS IN NMT
Plan & Design
(Planning and design
for footpaths,
retaining walls,
bridges, approach
road to dumping
ground)
AMC
UD&PA
ADA (to be merged
with AMC)

Implementation
(Construction of
footpaths, retaining
walls, bridges,
approach road to
dumping ground)
PWD (only on spinal
road)
AMC
UD&PA

Walking
Cycling

Sanitation Dept.
SIPMIU
Laying of sewage
lines under footpath Sweeping of streets
and Solid waste
collection and
removal

Police
(Enforcemen
t of
pedestrian
ROW)

Transport
Dept.
(Integration
with Bus
system)

Universal
access

TCPO
(integration
of NMT in
Master
Plan)

Political
willingness
and
community
awareness
come
acceptance

PROPOSED NMT CELL IN AIZAWL

Source: iTrans

THE PLAN AND DESIGN

THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF NMT NETWORK

PLANNING

THE PRINCIPLES OF NMT NETWORK PLANNING

The Aizawl City

The Initiative

Hilly Terrain with a network

of Public Stairs

Needs to be integrated in
the planning process

NMT Share 50%

Continuous Footpaths and

Cycle Tracks

Number of Accidents
increasing over the years

safe intersections equipped

with traffic calming techniques

High number of street activities

and presence of street hawkers

Integration of these, in design

process to enhance the walking
experience

Narrow streets with improper

or no footpaths

Width of the footpath should

incorporate existing as well as
future demands of pedestrians

NMT FACILITY
IMPROVEMENT ZONES
Aizawl majorly has mixed
Landuse. It should be
continued and Encouraged.
Creating further Social,
institutional and
recreational areas.
500m buffer as NMT
facility improvement zone
around these areas.

Source: iTrans

NMT PREDOMINANT
STREETS
All road with ROW below
6m, need to function as
Predominantly NMT Roads.
Traffic Calming Measures
should also be integrated
on these roads to ensure
less than 15 kmph speed.

Source: iTrans

PROPOSED PEDESTRIAN NETWORK PLAN

The Roads of Aizawl City on the basis of survey results has been
categorized into five
1.

Roads with footpaths

2.

Roads without footpaths

3.

Only footpaths/pedestrian tracks

4.

Existing public stairs

5.

Missing links for pedestrian connectivity

The link categories 1, 3 and 4 need to be maintained and upgraded to

meet the design standards specified in the Urban Road codes, 2012.
The link category 2 needs to be retrofitted for pedestrian infrastructure
and the link category 5 needs new designs and investments.

PROPOSED STREET CROSS-SECTION IN AIZAWL

ROW with 10m

Existing Road Cross Section

Proposed Road Cross Section

PROPOSED STREET CROSS-SECTION IN AIZAWL

ROW with 8m

Existing Road Cross Section

Proposed Road Cross Section

PROPOSED STREET CROSS-SECTION IN AIZAWL

ROW with 6m

Existing Road Cross Section

Proposed Road Cross Section

RETROFITTING STREETS

Avoid shifting light poles and trees.

Realign utility lines like water supply, electricity, telephone, gas etc.
Integration of street hawkers and religious structures in the street
design process.
Integration of Retrofitting streets and public stairs for making a
complete network for pedestrians.

SITE-SPECIFIC NMT PROPOSALS

PUBLIC STAIRS
There are numerous public stairs in Aizawl connecting important places and
providing pedestrian friendly transport.

A stairway must have neither more than 18 nor less than 2 steps in any flight of stairs.
As far as possible, the riser height should not be more than 150mm.
All the risers in a flight of steps should have the same height to avoid misjudgement and
injury to the users.
The edge of each tread must have a non-slip finish or an adequate non-skid strip near the
edge of the nosing in a contrasting colour.
Any landing provided in a stairway must be not less than 750mm long and should have a
non-slip finish.
A stairway less than 2m in width must be provided with at least one handrail down one side
and stairway more than 2m handrail must be provided on both sides.
If the public stairs have vendor spaces along-side them, a clear and effective pedestrian
pathway width of at least 1.5m needs to be maintained for a two way movement. Vending
zones should be avoided on stairs with less than 2m width.

INNOVATIVE PUBLIC STAIRS

Example of Public stairs covered in

mosaic artwork in San Francisco

Example of Public Escalator in

Honk Kong

SAFETY AND SECURITY

Pedestrians are most prone to accidents and hence designing for their
safety is paramount.

RESTRUCTURING INTERSECTIONS FOR LESS CONFLICTS

Roundabouts to reduce
conflicts

At grade crossing for pedestrian

and other NMT users

TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES

Road Humps

Chicanes are curbs

extensions or edge islands

Rumble Strips

SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOLS

Safe routes to school (SR2S) programs are proposed in Aizawl to
decrease traffic and pollution and increase the health of children and
the community at large.
The basic components of a SR2S program include
Encouragement school commute events and frequent commuter
contests are used to encourage participation.
Education students are taught safety skills and educational
campaigns aimed at drivers are developed.
Enforcement various techniques are employed to ensure traffic
laws are obeyed.
Engineering infrastructure improvements are constructed to improve
the safety of school commute routes

INTERSECTION IDENTIFIED IN
AIZAWL CITY, THAT REQUIRED
SAFE NMT CROSSINGS

Safe crossings near Commercial Area

Institutional Area
Recreational Area

Source: iTrans

IDENTIFYING SIGNATURE PROJECT PEDESTRIAN STREET

Advantages of Signature projects.
High visibility projects which have political
support and can garner media attention.
Large enough, in scope and target
beneficiaries, to have a significant impact
Replicability within the city and in other
cities.
Have significant stakeholder participation
with high ownership of the city
Can generate debate on the benefits of
investing in NMT infrastructure.

Proposed Aizawl Signature Project

Pedestrianizing 2km long stretch
between Chanmari to Dawrpui

The existing scenario of the

commercial street
Source: Modified from Aizawl Development Authority,
(2011), Master Plan for Aizawl: VISION 2030

DETAILS OF THE PEDESTRIAN

STREET

There is varying ROW

along the stretch -

Presbyterian Church,
Chan Mari

1.2m

4.8m

1.2m

Narrow road with Footpath on

both Sides

Zarkawt Main Street

0.9m

7.5m

To RITZ Market &

Hotel

Narrow street with Irregular

Footpath on one side

0.9m

Canteen Kual

9m

Wide street with Irregular Footpath

on one side

ALTERNATE MOTOR VEHICLE ROUTES

There are two
alternative routes
identified
Vaivakawn
Road - 3.5KM
World Bank
Route - 13KM

DETAILS OF ALTERNATE MOTOR

VEHICLE ROUTES
9.6m

5.4m

4.8m

10.8m

7.2m

5.4m

3.3m
7.2m

Proposed Traffic Diversion to enable

Pedestrianization

PROPOSED NMT STREET

Proposed Cross-Section of
the Street

Source: Modified from Aizawl Development Authority,

(2011), Master Plan for Aizawl: VISION 2030

INFORMATION TO ROAD USERS

Two types of Signages, associated
with transit Identification - Signage that helps
directly identify routes and
destinations and
Way-finding - Signage that includes
maps and signposts that orient
people to points of interest or help
people find transit stops.

NMT Signage in Basel, Switzerland

Mobile app for way finding

Non-motorized Design and Planning Guidelines, 2014

gives a summary of all the Non-motorized signage to
be used.

LONG-TERM INTERVENTIONS
Cycling Network
Public Bike Sharing

PROPOSED CYCLING
NETWORKS IN THE
CITY
Proposed painted cycle
lanes in Aizawl

Source: iTrans

PROPOSED CYCLING
NETWORKS IN THE
CITY
Proposed bicycle and
Motor vehicle shared road
space

Source: iTrans

PUBLIC BIKE SHARING

Integration of Bike sharing system
with city bus service

Source: iTrans

Source: iTrans

Each satellite station has a coverage of 500 meter distance around to make sure it is
convenient to walk for first and last mile.

SITE SPECIFIC PBS LOCATIONS

Ramrikawh

Chhangurkawn
Taxi Station

Presbyterian Church

Solomons Temple

SITE SPECIFIC PBS LOCATIONS

Mizoram University

Aizawl Youth Hostel

Vaivakawn local
shopping area
(near Rural Bank)

INVEST

GUIDANCE FOR INVESTMENT IN URBAN TRANSPORT

SECTOR (BY UD&PA)
The recent capacity building workshop conducted by UD&PA department (2015), highlighted
areas of investment in urban transport sector for Aizawl Urban mobility Solutions

Priority

Cost

Implementation time

BT (ITS, sheds, PBS, integrated)

Parking Policy (including MLCP)

High
High

High
High

Signages (including road

markings)
Pavement and staircase
improvement
Elevators
Taxi regulations plan
Organizing and regulating
vending zones
Awareness campaign plan
(focused)

Very High

Low

Long
Medium (altering existing
buildings)
Short (2-3 months)

High (staircase not

high)
High
High
Ongoing

Medium

Short

High (O&M)
Low
Low

Medium
Short
Medium

High

Low

Medium

Source: iTrans

ALTERNATIVE FINANCING SOURCES

Create unconventional
financing sources
State transport duties
revenue reallocation
Capital market funds
Land monetization
Advertisement revenue
NMT fund
Transportation Alternatives
Program (TAP)
Congestion Mitigation and
Air Quality Improvement
Program

Financing through larger

Projects
Urban Renewal projects
Public Transit Projects

Heritage and tourist

area plans
Other initiatives like
decongesting cities,
making green cities,
making smart cities etc.

Financing
through taxes
Private vehicle
taxation
State transport duties
revenue reallocation
Parking fee increase
Maximum parking
norms

IMPLEMENT

ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORK ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Stakeholder

Potential Roles

Politicians

PWD, Aizawl

Aizawl Municipal Council

ADA

Transport Department

Town and Country

Planning Organization
(TCPO)
Police

Build commitment and motivate the society.

Enact regulatory changes, if necessary
Ensure cooperation between various agencies
Ensure integration of the system with bicycle Infrastructure like signage and
signalling under PWD to support increased bicycle traffic volume.
Provide space under PWD jurisdiction for walking and cycling infrastructure.
Ensure implementation of all NMT facilities.
Provide space under AMC jurisdiction for walking and cycling infrastructure.
Ensure integration of the system with public facilities.
Provide Advertisement permission for various locations along the NMT routes in the
jurisdiction
Provide space under ADA for walking and cycling infrastructure.
Ensure integration of the system with walking and bicycle Infrastructure like signage
and signalling to support increased pedestrians and bicycle traffic volume.
Ensure check on growth of motorized vehicles.
Ensure proper installation of advertisement according to the guidelines.
Ensure integration of public bicycle infrastructure with bus infrastructure under.
Promote the use of public bicycles to current bus users
Provide space under AMC jurisdiction for walking and cycling infrastructure.
Ensure integration of the system with public facilities.
Provide Advertisement permission for various locations along the NMT routes in the
jurisdiction.
Maintain a safe environment for walking and cycling
Enforce the traffic rules for safety.
Protect the city from theft and vandalism of the public facilities and infrastructure.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH

Posting information on the AMC website, running
display ads in the newspaper and public
buildings.
Hosting five public meetings in different locations
throughout the community to explain the project.

Contacting and/or meeting agencies or

stakeholder groups such as the RWAs, Bicycle
Club, TPCO, AMC, UD etc.
Developing a project questionnaire to solicit
written, mapped and emailed comments and
ideas on walking and biking destinations, missing
links, safety concerns and other obstacles along
the routes.

Pedestrians wearing walk mobile in

a campaign

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION

Planners/designers should produce a set of
key guidelines as instructions for the
agency/team implementing and executing
the design.
Preparation of Construction/Working
Drawings.
Project Manager and Quality Surveyor.
Site Layout and Inspection.
Site Inspection Procedures.

Traffic diversion and manned supervision

during construction

ENFORCEMENT
Enforcement is needed against violations of motorized vehicles entering
sidewalks and cycle tracks, parking on them, over speeding, traffic signal
violations, etc
Stationing of trained policemen or marshals at each entry to cycle
lane/track

Policing and citations at junctions, towards the end of cycle paths.

Recording of violations for secondary fines and citations using video
cameras
Utilize tow-away methods in no parking zones, extensively in the first
few weeks.

Impose parking fees through parking meters or other appropriate

measures at on street parking locations in the busy areas of the city.
Differential Parking fee to be introduced at different locations and times
to encourage use of public transport

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

The strategies to me followed by the M & E team should be as follows
Focus on direct outcomes of the projects that have been carried out.
Focus on the internalization of the results of the projects in policy and
plans of the target groups.
Assess the impacts achieved by the project as per pre-developed
quantitative verifiable indicators.
Conducting User Satisfaction Survey on monthly basis in order to
improve the system for the users.
A post -project audit format can be developed by the city to monitor
that the project is beneficial in the short and long terms and the targeted
beneficiaries.

AUDITING
Auditing NMT facility is important to understand the overall functioning of the
provided infrastructure. A small sample of audit questionnaire of arterial road is
shown below -

THANK YOU