TORG are pleased to announce this week's Wednesday lunchtime seminar:
"Secured Movement of Pedestrians Along and Across Congested Roads - An Application of the Sky Walk Facility"
Professor Pradip Sarkar, Department of Transport Planning, School of Planning and Architecture Delhi, and TORG Visiting Member of Staff
About the Seminar:
A total of 1.2 million people were killed in 2009 in road accidents in the world. Pedestrians rank in the highest category of road users that were killed; 65% of the deaths involved pedestrians and the total number of people killed in road accidents in India in 2012 was more than 143000. The situation has risen to an alarming proportion and it is likely to be worse in the coming years especially for countries in the developing world. According to the World Bank, road accidents will increase by 80% in low and middle income countries such as India where pedestrians are the most neglected and vulnerable road users. Keeping in view this magnitude of this problem, an attempt was made to conduct a feasibility study for provision of Skywalk along and across the congested road in New Delhi. The Pilot Project Committee of Indian Road Congress, New Delhi, initiated this project. Two case studies were taken up in congested areas in Delhi, namely ITO area and Chandi Chowk Area. While conducting this study, the best practices of Skywalk facilities developed in different parts of the world were studied including the highly criticized skywalk recently constructed at Bandra, Mumbai, which was studied to appreciate merits and demerits of the functioning of this skywalk.
For the purpose of these two case studies, various data on pedestrian and vehicular traffic along with the Willingness to Pay by the pedestrian traffic for paying the charges of using skywalk were collected and analyzed. It was observed that a considerable number of pedestrians were ready to pay at least Rs.2 for use of skywalk. The detailed economic and financial analysis reveals that the skywalk is feasible at two locations. Finally the study was concluded with the development of tentative guidelines for other skywalks.
About the Presenter:
Professor Sarkar graduated in Civil Engineering from Bengal Engineering College, Calcutta University in 1974 and completed his Post Graduate in Town Planning with specialization in Traffic and Transportation Planning from the School of Planning and Architecture in 1977. He was awarded Commonwealth Scholarship to pursue higher studies in Transport engineering at Newcastle upon Tyne, UK in 1981 and was awarded a Ph.D. in Planning. He is presently engaged in teaching and research and consulting work in the area of Transport Planning in the School of Planning and Architecture. He has been actively involved as an expert on various consulting projects in areas of Transport Planning and Design, Urban Planning, Environment Planning and Highway Design Study. Presently he is an active member of IMRA committee Urban Roads and Policy Committee of the Indian Road Congress. Prior to joining SPA in 1993, he was working as a scientist in the Central Road Research Institute, India for a period of about 14 years including a short stint with Rail India Technical Economic Services (RITES).
Professor Sarkar has been associated with transport projects across the country including road system planning and recently, feasibility and highway engineering studies on National Highways in the country. His recent research focus has been on development of sustainable transportation systems and application of soft computing in transport planning. He had contributed more than 80 research and technical papers in national and international
conferences/seminars/workshops and revered journals in India and abroad. His book on "Theory and Applications of Transport Economics in Highway and Transport Planning" has recently been published . He was deputed to University of Mauritius for academic work as a part of UGC Faculty Exchange Programme in 2009. He has received a number of awards including the Indira Gandhi achiever Award, Rashtriya Gaurav Award and Best Citizen Award for his outstanding contribution in the profession. Television and print media interacts with him very frequently for comment and opinion on current issues in transportation systems for the country in general and Delhi in particular.
Seminar Location:
Please join us on Wednesday 02/10/2013 from 1300-1500 in Room 2.32, Cassie Building, Claremont Road, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU. Our seminars are advertised for two hours overall, the talk is typically around 45-50 minutes in duration followed by questions from the audience. Anyone who wishes to continue discussions can do so in the second hour following the main talk.
The Cassie Building is building number 49 on the Campus Map <http://www.ncl.ac.uk/about/visit/printablemaps/map-campus.htm> and is about a 5-10 minute walk from Haymarket metro/bus interchange or Jesmond metro station, both of which are easily accessible from Newcastle Central station or Newcastle International Airport. Car parking in and around the University campus is limited, but Park and Ride options are available from seven metro stations within Newcastle - please see the Nexus Metro Map <http://www.nexus.org.uk/sites/nexus.org.uk/files/images/metro/Metro_Map_3rd_A4.jpg> for more details.
Further Information:
The TORG seminars are intended to disseminate on-going research and encourage detailed discussions on a diverse range of transport topics in an informal environment - for further information on a specific seminar, please contact Dr Dilum Dissanayake <mailto:[log in to unmask]> or Dr Gareth Evans <mailto:[log in to unmask]>. The TORG seminars are part of a wider programme within the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences <http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ceg> all of which are free of charge and open for external guests to attend. Please contact Miss Emma Simblett <mailto:[log in to unmask]> if you wish to attend a TORG seminar to allow names of external guests to be noted.
For those unable to attend, we do try to provide a downloadable copy of the slides which are made available online, subject to the presenter's permission, after the seminar has taken place. These can be obtained from http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ceg/about/news/seminars/.
We look forward to seeing you.
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