Metro ramps for disabled
By Anuradha Mukherjee,
Times News Network

New Delhi: The Metro station at Tis Hazari has a feature probably no one has thought of so far. With subways being proffered as the answer to pedistrian circulation problems all over the city, the Delhi Metro Rial Corporation (DMRC) is probably the only agency involved with transportation that thought of constructing an overhead ramp for the physically challenged.

“We decided to build the footover bridge as a number of people visiting the Metro station would be frequenting the Tis Hazari courts. The entire idea being that they would park their vehicle on the other side, cross over and take the train. There is a subway in existence here but commuters have to come out of the court complex to access it,” said an official.

But along the way it struck the planners that next to the courts stood the St Stephen’s hospital. “A lot of ill and physically challenged persons frequent the area to go to the hospital. They cannot use the footover bridge or subway,” the official said. Commuters from St Stephen’s side can take the ramp and directly reach the concourse or ticketing area which is on the second level of the station.

Even inside the station a passenger can choose to take the stairs, escalator, or the elevator. “We will have an elevator for the visually challenged with Braille encrypted buttons,” said the official. Those not visiting the court or the hospital can directly drive into the Metro station parking, leave their vehicles and take the train.

But the parking here is not exactly spacious, pegged at 1,500sq meters, the area can accommodate 90 car units. DMRC director planning C B K Rao said this was because alternative parking space was available around the station and nearby.

“We expect to handle 15, 000 commuters per hour at this station by 2005and by 2001 the number is expected to go up to 20,000. Despite the large number of people visiting the area, parking will not be a problem as apart from the station parking, we have parking space in the court premises too. The parking lot in St Stephen’s ground can also be used,” said Rao. At the Kashmiri Gate inter-state bus terminus (ISBT) Metro station, however, things will be different. About 16,000 sq metersof land would be exclusively dedicated to vehicular parking.

“We have a lot of space at ISBT, about four hectares, as the expected turnout is going to be much higher there with the station being an interchanging point for those coming from the Shahdara side and wanting to go toward Delhi University or vice versa. We will see some 45,000 people per hour at this station,” he said. At ISBT, however, the officials say developing the parking lot will not be as easy as elsewhere.

Source: The Times of India
Dated 2nd July, 2002