Reimagining Kohima streets: Transforming busy lane into public space

Kohima, Nov. 14 (EMN): The Supermarket Lane from Razhu Point to Local Ground North Gate in Kohima wore a new look on Saturday as Kohima Smart City organised another pop-up street space from 9 am to 4 pm as part of Streets for People Challenge, allowing citizens to take out time to relax at the otherwise crowded stretch of road.

The lane which is usually busy and packed with taxis and parked vehicles with little space for pedestrians, was notified “No entry” for vehicles on the day, informed an update from Kohima Smart City Development Limited CEO Kovi Meyase. It said all activities and events were carried out observing all SOPs related to Covid including sanitisation of pavements and seating areas every hour and ensuring wearing of masks by vendors, visitors and pedestrians.

Kohima Smart City is reimagining Kohima streets by temporarily converting parking spaces into pop-up street spaces for citizens in a move to create awareness on the need for judicious sharing of street space to encourage walking and cycling and the need to carve out space for citizens including the aged, children and the differently abled, read the update. It added that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is encouraging cities to convert these temporary interventions into permanent ones.

The day’s activities included sale of street food, organic vegetables and flowers, live music and a “frozen” theme photobooth for children in addition to the normal business activity along the lane. The event was supported by Youth Connect, Nagaland, an organisation comprising young and enthusiastic individuals.

“The open street campaign is being organized around Kohima town as per the directive of the Ministry to create awareness on Safe and Healthy Streets and to test quick, innovative and low-cost interventions using elements such as planters, seaters, barricades, signages, paints, makeshift play equipment, and by engaging with the community through events and campaigns,” the update from Meyase read.

It may be mentioned that MoHUA launched Streets for People Challenge with an aim to inspire cities to create walking-friendly streets through quick measures and to reimagine their streets as public spaces through the lens of economic regeneration, safety and child-friendly interventions with inclusive designing to ensure a green recovery from Covid-19.