The Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court (HC) – Sanjib Banerjee noted that urban mobility issues are some of the emerging concerns of developing hill cities, like Shillong.
Banerjee emphasized the need for improvements in public transportation, land utilization and people’s reliance on private vehicles. He also added that security, political complications and economic advancement were additional challenges which must be considered.
“Majority of developing hill cities are experiencing problems with urban mobility,” he stated on Friday while inaugurating a series of symposiums discussing how to enhance mobility in Shillong.
In order to prevent the backlog of issues, the Chief Justice recommended that a detailed strategy and roadmap be devised with assistance from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Shillong.
“This will ensure that upcoming infrastructure and transportation expansions remain consistent with the city’s overall development,” Banerjee said.
He emphasized that Meghalaya’s collaboration with IIM-Shillong and other stakeholders would allow the state to come-up with some people-friendly remedies to the congestion issue.
According to the Chief Secretary (CS) – Donald Wahlang, mobility problems were a major concern in cities like Shillong, due to the lack of a reliable road network.
Wahlang noted that the mobility issues frequently causes moderate to severe levels of congestion; adding that vehicles were being parked along the roadside, even if there were no parking spaces available.
He further added that mechanism must be put in place to guarantee development of transportation infrastructure, broadening of narrow roads, solving parking issues and traffic management.
