Reimagining the streets

Picture an aesthetically designed, beautifully crafted utilitarian bench placed right in the middle of a wide, open footpath. Invariably, the piece of street furniture would be valued by everyone who walks by. Extend this to signage, bus stops, streetlight poles and guard rails… Why not let design mixed with inclusive aesthetics and pure practicality, magically transform the way we look at and experience our streets?

Design, articulated well with expertise and executed with a participatory spirit, could completely change the way the city is perceived. Rethinking the zillion signage that dot Bengaluru’s roads, for instance, could be a start.

Way-finding signage and walkability 

Well-designed and properly placed way-finding signage can boost walkability, points out Sobia Rafiq, cofounder of Sensing Local. “We looked at the possibility of such signage at metro stations, bus stops, directing people to historical destinations. We identified 67 such destinations in the heart of the city, which could be visited by walking,” she says.

Today, the lack of such signage is a problem. Sobia explains, “If I arrive at a public transport node, a metro station or a bus stop, I don’t know what is walkable and how much is walkable. If I get down at the MG Road Metro Station in Bengaluru, can I walk up to the Ulsoor Lake entrance? This kind of information does not exist. This is where signage plays a role.”

Simple maps identifying the nearby places of interest and the walking distance from a metro station could do the trick. One look at the map, displayed at a vantage point at the exit, and the commuter can decide whether to walk to that point or look for other options.

Directing walkers, not just vehicles 

This is a far cry from the signboards that currently help only the motorists. As Sobia notes, “Direction boards are all vehicle oriented, none of them are focused on the pedestrian. If I get off at a station, none of them show me where a public toilet is, where the closest park to hang out is, or where the closest market is.”

The direction boards that do exist depend on a property numbering system gone haywire. “Bengaluru can easily develop a unique city character, starting with good signboards. As things stand today, address hunting has become so tough. I had proposed a system with a city map with pincodes. When you go outside India, a single line like 301, Riverside Drive, will let you know where it is. Here, we don’t seem to have a culture of reading maps,” says urban architect Naresh Narasimhan.

Customisable design

In a city that scores poorly on accessibility, benches on footpaths might be an afterthought. For Sensing Local, which did a walkability project in Malleswaram, the criticality of placing benches for the elderly on continuous walking stretches became apparent. It was about provisioning rest spaces to make the walking process complete and comfortable.

The footpaths had to be levelled, redesigned with guardrails to help the elderly hold on for support. The sitting benches had to integrate hand and backrests. Basic benches with minimalistic designs were clearly out of the question. The design had to be in tune with local needs. “There are so many elderly people staying alone in Malleswaram. Their only mode of commute is walking,” says Sobia.

To be practical, design has to be flexible and customisable. Benches could be made of stone, metal or any material. Along narrow road stretches without enough footpath width, even steps could act as informal sitting spaces. But to design street furniture in sync with local needs and constrained spaces, ideas should come from young architects, designers, sensitised about an inclusive, accessible city.

Experimentations 

Beyond the Church Street project in Bengaluru and the now diluted smart city roads, street design has not really got everyone talking in Bengaluru. Why not create something like the One Green Mile linear park in Mumbai? This unique project had a 1,800 m stretch of disused space beneath a concrete flyover completely transformed, integrated with an undulating 200 m-long park, arresting signage and bright blue urban furniture.

Throw out the bureaucratic, one-size-fits-all design process and get young designers to come up with fresh ideas. Standardised design guidelines have their place, but design has to be in sync with diversity and local needs. This is the design mantra from seasoned urban architects and professionals in the field to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Design experimentation inspires innovation, and that helps develop enough street furniture types to scale up across the city. Neighbourhood street signage in Bengaluru today are a mishmash of poorly crafted boards that prominently display the local MLA’s name and nothing else. This design has been repeated on streets after streets with only a remote linkage to local data.

Bus stops, smartly designed with comfortable seats, digital information display boards and neatly maintained waste bins could boost the appeal of public transport. “There are so many variations of bus stops today, most with no proper information. Lately, BMTC has started digital display boards showing GPS-enabled location of approaching buses. But the city as a whole lacks such signage,” says Naresh.

Striking a balance 

Billboards adorn most bus stops. But, as Sobia says, advertisements should strike a balance with utility. “This balance can come only with design. Seating comfort should not be compromised to accommodate an advertisement. These elements have to be designed with a commuter-first approach. The design has to be curated, and it can be done beautifully,” she elaborates.

Street design manuals have clear guidelines on bus signage. If placed incorrectly, the bus route signage could cause visual obstruction, specifies one. Another caution is about the lack of tactile tiles that make bus stops unsafe and inconvenient for the visually impaired. Ramps are mandated to help boarding and deboarding convenient for the physically disabled.

Decades ago, the city had a body to inject a sense of aesthetics into Bengaluru’s streetscapes. But, the short-lived Bangalore Urban Arts Commission (BUAC) could not achieve much, although it could potentially engage a good number of professionals to guide the city’s design aesthetics.

Art installations 

The Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC) could be a model to emulate. In its design manual, the Commission talks about the relevance of art installations on streets. It mandates that the work of art should impart an identity to the space, be contextual to the surroundings, and become a tool for efficient place-making.

Public art, the manual says, can be incorporated into street furniture such as benches and streetlights, boosting public engagement. Smartly integrated into maps and signage, art could also depict the local history and culture of both the whole city and its neighbourhoods.