PROPOSALS FOR ACTION

Planning for the movement of people and vehicles in Gelephu town goes beyond fulfilling the basic issues of connectivity and transportation per se. Gelephu town, being at the threshold of rapid growth, poses several other problems, a Transportation Plan has to address.

Gelephu is envisioned to have a rapid urban growth-cycle, with the current population expected to rise to more than fifty thousand by the year 2025. As the town is developing within its boundaries, several economic sectors as diverse in nature as tourism, industry and commerce will develop in the surrounding region. The proposal of the Ministry of Trade and Industries to develop an Industrial Estate at Jigmelling is a good example. Planning for the transportation of Gelephu has to start addressing the issues of integrating these regional centers with the town.

In a town, with a potential for rapid urban development, it becomes crucial to connect the new urban patterns with previous development to evolve a cohesive land-use distribution. The transportation linkages, at such a stage, need to form this very connection.

The current high rate of vehicle ownership in Bhutan is in a sharp contrast with the culture of “walking” which is an integral part of the Bhutanese lifestyle. Private vehicles are tormenting the narrow roads of the town, threatening the safety of pedestrians. Today the citizens give more priority to own a car than a house. A house loan in Bhutan can be availed of at 14% rate p.a., while the car loan is also available at the same rate, yet the general complaint is of too many cars being on the roads, while too less housing is in the town!

The current trend has a significant impact on the social aspects also. The informal interactions during short walks to nearby shops, or during a bus ride to work, do not take place anymore, as people prefer the private vehicular trips to the vegetable market, to the restaurant or to work.

The physical conditions of the town require a special set of guiding principles to develop an efficient transportation network. The fundamentals of transportation planning, like comfortable walking distances, design speeds and technical aspects of the road design have to be sensitive to the local conditions of the town.

Taking into account the current trend and attitude of people toward transportation in Gelephu, the management aspects required to implement the plan assumes equal importance. The planning interventions should be supported by means of appropriate direct and indirect policy initiatives.

The proposed Transportation Plan attempts to be responsive to these issues while integrating the concepts and proposals of the Structure Plan like Urban Hubs, Neighborhood Nodes, Urban Villages / Urban Neighborhoods, regional linkages and establishment of the Urban Corridor.

In the present day context Traffic and Transportation Planning is one of the most compelling and fundamental aspects of the town planning exercises. It is one of the elements of planning which remain till the day cities exist and are one of the foremost tools by which one can channelize the development and growth patterns, to achieve the desired goals.

The Traffic and Transportation Plan aims to enhance connectivity within Gelephu Town, as well as with the economic activities in the region. While better connectivity facilitates smooth mobility of people and goods in an efficient way, it also lays down the structure, which locates various activities.

Besides providing for connectivity, this Plan attempts to fulfill the following broad objectives:

To utilize the road network as one of the basic structuring elements of the town,
To create a network of public rights-of-way through which public utilities and commonly used conduits can pass,
To strengthen the intra- and inter-town linkages,
To reduce the pollution emission levels in the town by promoting transit oriented development, and by supplementing the use of private vehicles,
To encourage a pedestrian dominant transportation system, by enhancing safety and convenience,
To complement the proposed land use pattern with appropriate transportation and pedestrian linkages,
To create opportunities for the citizens of Gelephu to meet new people and make new friends,
To make the town a safer place to live in,
To create suitable places to park vehicles, to stop mass transit vehicles and for people to change from one mode of transit to another; and,
To facilitate emergency, security and utilities vehicles movement in the towns.

A Transportation Plan for a town is an integrated system of various elements pertaining to the movement of vehicles, pedestrians and to the public transit system. The objective of the Gelephu Structure Plan is to evolve a pedestrian oriented, environmentally responsive and efficient transportation system.

The traffic and transportation plan for the town is mainly governed by two aspects:

The Transportation Plan for Gelephu addresses both these aspects and evolves from a set of basic themes listed below, which are meant to be synergetic. They comprehensively attempt to fulfill the set of above mentioned objectives. These themes also integrate with and complement the concepts and proposals of the other components of the Structure Plan, such as establishment of Urban Hubs, Urban Villages / Urban Neighborhoods and Village Squares.

Road Classification
Pedestrian and Bicycle Movements
Public Transit System
Parking Facilities
Creating High Land Tax Ratable Values, based on high accessibility; high utilities/ service levels by allowing intense developments along the wider streets, supported by more floor area as a ratio to plot coverage.

An efficient road network across the town consists of roads of different hierarchies. Based on its location and connectivity characteristics, each road acts as an Arterial (Primary), Collector (Secondary) or an Access Street. All the classes of roads are essential components of the town level road network, providing access to the residential quarters, in the Urban Villages / Urban Neighborhoods, and to the commercial districts.

The hierarchy of roads essentially defines the right of way (ROW), the edge conditions and the adjacent land uses. Guidelines pertaining to the pedestrian ways and other safety measures are also determined based on the class of road. The ROW of each class of road is mainly derived from the traffic volumes it will be required to carry, sanctioned land use along it, and other urban design characteristics, such as building height, bulk and set-back.

Road Classification is directly linked to the building heights allowed and the site coverages allowed. Both of these economic utilization factors increase as the roads they abut increase. Wider roads also carry larger trunk infrastructure. All of these factors increase the commercial opportunities on larger arterial roads. Thus, the “rateable value” of land taxes must be more, much more, on wide roads where commercial activities flourish.

The Road Classification is also closely linked with the type of traffic movement and the route frequency. The Transportation Plan of Gelephu identifies a town level Road Network composed of the Highways and Bypasses, Urban Corridor, Urban Spines, Primary, and Secondary hierarchies of roads.

The following section comprehensively lists down the various classifications of roads identified in the Structure Plan and their main components with respect to the dominant transportation pattern envisioned in the road plan, implications of implementation and corresponding guidelines.

The road starting from the Tsewang Goempa to Sarpang will form the base datum and the main Urban Corridor of the development. This road would link and support the important employment generators of the region, like the Dry Port, Airport, Fulahari Stupa, Special Economic Zone, Industrial Estate, etc. with the town. Hence it is envisioned to be the life line of the town serving the entire population commuting from the town to their work places. This urban corridor will one day be the backbone of the Special Economic Development Zone conceptualized in the Structure Plan to attract investors from global markets to create high-tech assembly and manufacturing units in the area, towards generating employment for Bhutan's emerging graduates and increasing the wealth for the nation. This corridor will reserve a right-of-way wide enough to include emergency and service lanes on both sides, which will provide limited access to the Urban Corridor at limited points. With the help of the Royal Government, pockets will be identified along its thirty kilometer length for future industrial estates, satellite towns, housing estates and Urban Village / Urban Neighborhoods. This corridor, running between Gelephu and Sarpang, will one day be a flourishing economic hub of Bhutan!

The Urban Corridor will typically be a six lane divided road with service lanes on both sides of the road. Within the municipal limit, one lane on both sides would be dedicated for public transportation, and one would be for heavy vehicles. While one lane would be for light and medium vehicular traffic. Planters along the road edge will increase the pedestrian safety and will separate footpaths on either side. The total width of the urban corridor within the Municipal limits will be twenty-four meters wide; while there will be a thirty meters ROW section including the Service Lane (6.0 meter wide) on the settlement side. All the other attributes of the proposed Urban Corridor should comply with the specifications of the ‘primary roads’ as mentioned in the ‘Urban Roads Standard 2002’ by the ‘Standards & Quality Control Authority’, Bhutan.

The number of intersections on the Urban Corridor is to be reduced to allow for smooth and uninterrupted traffic flow. Especially outside the municipal limits the access roads would not be allowed to open directly onto the Corridor and all transit stops on the Corridor will have lay-off lanes. Along the entire length of the Urban Corridor an emergency, or breakdown lane, would be provided. The trunk infrastructure lines for the entire region will be laid along this urban corridor.

It is recommended that the urban corridor should be at least 500m away from the international border and would be running more or less parallel to the railway tracks. In general, the Urban Corridor will have a twenty-four meters wide carriage way, catering to the high volume of traffic movement between the town and the work areas.

The terminology ‘Urban Spine’ is coined to differentiate certain specific roads from the normal primary roads of the town. These roads are of special importance to the town both in terms of the purposes they serve and the urban form they would generate.

he proposed Royal Boulevard in Gelephu is a representation of a strong welcoming gesture to the Royal Kingdom of Bhutan. The existing Trongsa Highway starting from the Royal Gateway on International Border till the Setikhare Chhu will be proposed as the Royal Boulevard of Gelephu. It would be approximately three kilometers in length passing through the entire width of the town. This would be a four lane wide road with wide footpaths properly shaded with tree plantation and a central planter which would act as road divider. It would

have limited access with service parking areas in pockets off of the road. No commercial structures will be allowed to face directly onto the Royal Boulevard and the land uses recommended will be predominantly ‘Institutional’ use and in the hospitality sector, with their independent parking spaces. While the entrance gate to the Royal Kingdom of Bhutan, along the International Boundary, forms the southern entry to the Royal Boulevard, it is proposed that the northern entry point to the road from Setikhare Chhu will also be provided with a small entrance gate, thus welcoming the people coming from Trongsa side. This would also help in providing a definite and appropriate, culmination point to the Royal Boulevard. The road would have green pockets and reserved places for prayer flags, chortens, prayer wheels and religious iconographies along its length

This twenty-four meter wide right-of-way would have proper street lights, street furniture, and would also serve as a peaceful place for strolling and conviviality in early morning and late evening hours. All the other attributes of the proposed Royal Boulevard should comply with the specifications of the ‘primary roads’ as mentioned in the ‘Urban Roads Standard 2002’ by the ‘Standards & Quality Control Authority’, Bhutan.

The creation of this road in Gelephu has a special significance and will play a pivotal role in the envisioned growth of the town in the coming decades. This road apart from providing access to the remote parts of the town will help in pulling the future development of the town away from the International border, where the present development is concentrated. The road will provide the dual advantage of improving the security aspect of the town and relieving the existing pressure on the town core from future development by creating an alternative development magnet. The road also has a special role to play as a binding and basic structuring element of the future development. The road will form the central focus of the future town and will run along the entire length of the town binding three of the urban Village Squares proposed in the Gelephu Structure Plan. Further the road will connect two definite and critical activities in its respective culmination points. The end of the road towards the Mao Chhu is assigned with Tourist and Recreation based precincts while the eastern end has colleges and the National Sports Stadium, which is a part of the future urban hub. This road is intersected at regular intervals by primary and secondary roads of the town thus making it easily accessible from all corners of the town.

The precinct associated with this road is mainly of a commercial nature which would serve the entire town. The road will be twenty four meters wide with wide pedestrian footpaths and road-side parking at pockets. The road would have green pockets and reserved places for prayer flags, chortens, prayer wheels and religious iconographies along its length. The edge defining buildings of this road would have specific urban design guidelines to follow and attain a definite urban form and a character to the road.

Taking advantage of the topography, which is relatively flat and considering the future main function of the settlement as an industrial centre, the Structure Plan for Gelephu proposes a system of road networks which follows a regular grid-iron pattern of roads as a planning objective. However, the Gelephu-Sarpang Urban Corridor, forms the datum of the town and will be the main destination for most of the vehicles moving to the work areas. It is anticipated that the in-town traffic movement will be dominated by vehicles moving from the north-east to the south-west, perpendicular to the Urban Corridor. Hence these roads become the primary roads of Gelephu town and are provided at a regular interval of approximately one kilometer. Taking advantage of this unidirectional traffic flow, the roads perpendicular to the primary roads have been staggered so as to discourage the thoroughfare traffic movements along the non-primary roads. Apart from these roads the Royal Boulevard and H. M. Jigme Singye Wangchuck Boulevard will also form a part of the primary road network of Gelephu.

he primary roads connect the secondary roads which house the Village Squares, to the Urban Corridor and would form the edge defining element of an Urban Village / Urban

Neighborhood along its shorter side following the existing cadastral pattern of the town. The network of Primary Roads facilitates efficient and smooth flowing traffic. A majority of the primary roads are envisioned to carry Public Transit in the future. No Primary Road will pass through the Village Squares, but link them on the periphery through Transit Stops. Convenient bicycle and pedestrian crossings would be provided wherever possible. Under- and over-crossings are expensive and generally unused.

A typical Primary Road will have an eighteen meter ROW with four lane carriageways and footpaths on either side. Several variations are possible with the provision of Service Lanes and Bicycle lanes with twenty-one meter ROW sections, which are to be adopted wherever possible considering the physical conditions. A twelve meter ROW option will be employed only in the areas already developed, and where acquiring eighteen meter ROW is absolutely impossible. All the other attributes of the proposed primary roads should comply with the specifications of the ‘primary roads’ as mentioned in the ‘Urban Roads Standard 2002’ by the ‘Standards & Quality Control Authority’, Bhutan.

Secondary Roads are the ones that connect the primary roads running along either side of the Urban Villages / Urban Neighborhoods, with the Urban Village Squares. Without crossing any primary roads they thus form loops within the Urban Villages / Urban Neighborhoods. Secondary roads are intended to carry moderate levels of local traffic originated within the Urban Village / Urban Neighborhood to primary roads, and hence their design and alignment should balance efficient vehicular travel with the safety and livability of residential areas. Primary roads form the sacred and unchangeable elements of the structure. Flexibility, to some extent, as per the ground reality could be seen as an inbuilt element of the secondary roads which further increases in case of Access or Tertiary Roads.

There is a strong tendency for non-residential activities to dominate traffic roads, with Village Squares being no exception. There is a difficulty faced in achieving self-sustainability of individual Urban Villages / Urban Neighborhoods, during their development, in terms of infrastructure and other services provision. When roads form the boundaries of the Urban Villages, on all the four sides, this problem is largely ameliorated by the location of secondary roads within an Urban Village / Urban Neighborhood. While the earlier pattern is an outcome of the land use distribution system, the pattern could be better understood both in terms of implementation aspects and capital costs involved in infrastructure provision.

Roads, which are the primary service carriers of the town, when shared by two Urban Villages, lead to further complications in the provision of other infrastructure services and facilities for the respective Urban Villages. Thus, the result is either providing the infrastructure services considering the full development capacity of both the sharing Urban Village / Urban Neighborhoods too early than they actually develop, or providing the infrastructure services for one Urban Village / Urban Neighborhood initially, and in the future (when the adjacent Urban Village / Urban Neighborhood develops) the needed infrastructure services are provided separately, or the existing ones are upgraded to cater to higher capacity. However in both the cases capital investments, as well as operational costs are much higher than what is required.

Considering these factors, in the Gelephu Structure Plan an attempt has been made to provide the secondary roads passing through the centre of the Urban Villages / Urban Neighborhoods, thus rationalizing the location of the secondary roads and providing a solution for both the above stated problems. The resulting alignment would give enough flexibility for achieving self-sustainability of an urban village both in terms of the location of the Village Square and the provision of other infrastructure facilities and services within them, which could be developed totally in isolation with other Urban Villages / Urban Neighborhoods, as per the phasing requirements and needs of the residents and implementation authorities. This approach will also give flexibility to define the boundaries of an Urban Village/Urban Neighborhood considering various other factors, most prominent being the tight cadastral pattern existing within the Gelephu Municipal limits, thus avoiding legal and other conflicts.

A typical Secondary Road should have a ten meter ROW with two lane carriageways and footpaths preferably on either side. A twelve meter ROW alternative would be adopted wherever possible, which provides the facility to include bicycle pathway where bicyclists share the street in a delineated lane. All the other attributes of the proposed secondary roads should comply with the specifications of the ‘primary roads’ as mentioned in the ‘Urban Roads Standard 2002’ by the ‘Standards & Quality Control Authority’, Bhutan.

Gelephu, with its relatively flat terrain, is one of the few towns in Bhutan where blue collar workers, youth and even children can easily use bicycles as a mode of transit. The plan has a cycle network which can be seen in the Open Spaces System Plan.

Access Roads are designed to serve low volumes of traffic through a pedestrian friendly environment. Carriageways should only be wide enough to allow two vehicles to slowly pass each other. Emergency and service vehicles may use both travel lanes. Bicycles are encouraged on the street itself, rather than on separated bicycle ways.

Access Streets are often the public open spaces in which children play and there is interaction amongst neighbors. Vehicular movement should be controlled and provided for within this context.

A typical Access Road has an eight meters and six meters wide ROW, with two lane carriageways and footpaths, preferably on either side in case of wider ROW. On-street parking would be encouraged wherever possible and required, as it slows down the traffic and forms a barrier between vehicular traffic and pedestrians.

The Gelephu town is presently served by a road form India which forms one of the primary accesses to the town and the entire region. This road, because of it being the main connecting corridor between the Gelephu region and the Indian sub-continent, in future will play a defining role and will form the main entrance gateway to the Royal Kingdom, for the transport of goods and cargos from and into the region.

The present initiatives by the Royal Government of Bhutan toward establishing a southern region national highway connecting Phuentsholing and Gelephu and further extending it till Daipham located on the far-eastern edge of the country and Sibsu located in the western edge of the country, connecting all the important centers of the south, is under conceptualization, which in future will form the primary in-country access to the town and the region. From this road all of the north-south highways will connect to the present northern east-west corridor, creating a national transport grid. With the potential for developing a Special Economic Development Region between Gelephu and Sarpang as conceptualized in the Gelephu Structure plan, the road connecting these towns, as a part of the Sibsu-Daipham Highway, will form the basic movement corridor for all the development envisioned in the region. This road would link and support all the important employment generators of the region and will serve the entire population commuting between the work places. This road will form the back bone and life line for all the development envisioned in the region.

With Gelephu town, and its region, being envisioned as a thriving Growth Centre and Special Economic Zone in the future, the existing road connection between the region and Trongsa would also form an important movement corridor in the national transport grid connecting northern and southern east-west national highways.

Gelephu town, being the confluent point of all these three important corridors of the region, needs an effective Urban Bye-pass system to divert heavy vehicles out of the town and to restrict the movement of un-wanted passer-by traffic inside the town. Vehicles which do not have any work in the town may drive along the outskirts of the town. This would be taken care by the proposed Urban Bye-pass, which would connect all the above mentioned three corridors and would form a system of external ring roads encircling the town. The proposed Urban Bye-pass would form the outer extent of development in the Gelephu town demarcating eco-fragile areas from urban development. The Urban Bye-pass starting from Gelephu-Sarpang Urban Corridor will meet the present Gelephu-Trongsa Highway crossing at Pelrithang.

A part of this proposed urban bypass would cater to the heavy vehicles entering the country from India, which would connect the Gelephu-Sarpang Urban Corridor with the entrance Gateway of the Kingdom and would join the Urban Corridor near the proposed Dry Port away from the Municipal Boundary, thus making the town free from heavy vehicles. The number of intersections on the bye-pass is to be reduced to allow for smooth and un-interrupted traffic flow. Separate slow down lanes would be proposed at the intersections.

The Urban Bye-Pass would typically be a four lane divided road with footpaths on at least one side. The total ROW of the proposed road would be thirty meters with provision for service ducts on either side of the road below the foot paths. However, all the other attributes of the proposed Urban Bye-Pass should comply with the specifications of the ‘primary roads’ as mentioned in the ‘Urban Roads Standard 2002’ by the ‘Standards & Quality Control Authority’, Bhutan.

The Structure Plan also proposes a Town Peripheral Road system, which is a direct outcome of the need for river training along the Mao Chhu and Setikhare Chhu. These roads could be developed as a part of the river training and flood protection work for the town. These roads apart from providing, protection to the town from floods would also provide a better connectivity along the peripheral areas of the town. These roads as a part of the river bank protection structure could also be developed as riverside avenue streets for relaxation purposes. Though, the need for intense development of the areas, this road would pass through is not of much relevance for today, in times to come, they would become a vital part of the town peripheral green system, providing relief from the dense urban fabric. The town peripheral road would also provide the opportunity to the town residents to drive from one end of the town to another by-passing the internal urban fabrics of the town.

Since, the Road Network proposed in Gelephu is conceived as more than just a conduit for vehicles, the design of intersections of the roads becomes very crucial and should be kept to a minimum. Intersections should be designed to slow down the speed of the traffic and to reduce pedestrian crossing distances. Unless absolutely necessary for facilitating safety, right and left turn lanes at intersections should be avoided. Reduced auto speeds improve pedestrian accessibility and safety, and can continue to accommodate safe vehicular movement. Minimum curb radius at the intersection will reduce the pedestrian crossing distance while reducing the speed of the car through the intersection.

The Transportation Plan puts special emphasis on promoting pedestrian movement by making it safer and more convenient through several measures. Walking has always been an integral part of the Bhutanese lifestyle. Given the unique physical settings and scale of the town, walking makes it easier to commute between destinations.The flat terrain of the town also provides immense scope for encouraging bicycling as a prime mode of transportation in the town. Exclusive bicycle lanes on the road stretches and off street bicycle tracks are seen as an essential part of the proposed Pathway System to provide for a safer bicycling experience in the town.A town-wide system of pathways, providing shorter routes to transit halts, residential areas, open space systems, important nodes and heritage sites is identified in the Structure Plan. The Gelephu Structure Plan advocated the following pedestrian and bicycle movement ways in the town, which are interwoven together with the proposed road network.

Comfortable sidewalks along the roads reinforce pedestrian environments. The comfort and convenience of the pedestrian walkways, which encourage pedestrian movement, will reduce internal auto trips and reinforce the efficiency of the Public Transit System by creating destinations, which are attainable without a car, and origins, which do not depend solely on park-and-ride modes transfers.

A minimum of a 1.2 meter roadside walkway is comfortable for two people to walk abreast, but wider sidewalks are to be provided in the commercial areas or around the Village Squares, where pedestrian activity is intense. However, the width of sidewalks is to be determined based on location, context and its role within the area.

The off-street Pathway network should be complementary to the road network. This off-street pathway network often provides the shortest and easier connections between roads, Residential sectors, commercial nodes and other destinations.

Although the roadside walkway system will accommodate many destinations, these pathways will be primarily oriented towards the commercial core, transit stop and major institutions. Off-street walkways will provide flexibility for pedestrian movement inside the town attracting various leisure activities along them. The pathways will run parallel to the rivers, natural storm water drains connecting the open space system and linking other major destinations of the town. These pathways will also act as the boundary line for the eco-fragile zones identified in the structure plan.

While the town pathway connects the Urban Village / Urban Neighborhood and the urban hub of the town, a second level of pathways called the Town Peripheral Pathway will run around the town along its boundary. This Town Peripheral Pathway will have bicycle tracks all along its network. This proposed pathway will be a part of the Proposed Urban Bye-pass and Town Peripheral road system at certain stretches and will act as the buffer line between the urban development precincts and the forests and hinterlands surrounding the town.

This pathway network would also be a part of proposed river front development and will also run inside the adjoining forests of the town connecting major vantage points, camping and picnic spots located along the town periphery.

Cycling is developing as a major past time, exercise and sport. Over the past decade “mountain bikes” have revolutionized cycling technology. Bicycling can be a major alternative to the auto for local trips, trips to the transit stop, or trips to work. Separated or marked cycle lanes on several Primary and Secondary Roads leading to the work areas will help in encouraging this alternative mode of transport. The cycle tracks along the open space systems will connect the Village Squares, Town Core and other employment destinations.

Selected routes to the Multi-Mode Transit hubs should provide marked or separated bicycle ways connecting with the residential areas and other key destinations. Designated bicycle ways should be provided on selected connector streets and access streets that converge upon the commercial and transit centers. Bicycle ways should be well identified by signs that indicate the beginning, end and route of the bicycle ways. Clear destination signs should be provided that direct riders to key activity centers, such as shopping areas, transit hub, recreation facilities, schools and bicycle parking facilities. Zebra markings over slightly raised road strips will give priority to pedestrians and cyclists where they cross vehicular paths.

At present there is hardly any need for a Public Transit System in Gelephu, but considering the future growth and activities it would be wise to have a provision for it along with a conceptual plan! With Gelephu conceptualized as a growth center and engine for development at the regional level, an efficient Public Transit System for Gelephu connecting the regional centers surrounding it, is envisioned as an effective means to achieve rapid, comfortable mass movement, lower air pollution levels, enhanced safety and convenience, and to revive conviviality amongst the citizens. Rationalization of routes and rates will play a major role in making the public transit popular. Apart from this it is essential that buses along the Gelephu-Sarpang Urban Corridor pick up passengers at intervals not more than ten minutes apart, even during slag periods of the day, increasing it to five minutes at rush hours. A set of balancing measures on private vehicle utilization will have to come into force to support the Public Transit System. Young professionals, students, office personnel, servants and workers will all depend on public transport. To further strengthen the Public Transit system a Multi-modal Transit Hub, integrating air, road and rail transport is proposed along the Gelephu-Sarpang Urban Corridor.

With the future population of Gelephu, envisioned to be dependent mainly on surrounding industrial developments for their work, there will be heavy traffic of private vehicles owned by various industries transporting their staff from their residences to their places of work, which should be accommodated within the transit system.In times to come, with the increased population and higher dependency on Public Transit modes, the introduction of a mass transit system, in a phased manner, should also be considered. The Transportation Plan recognizes the potential of the railway shuttle system between Gelephu and Sarpang via Jigmeling, as a better means of mass transit system than roadways. An express bus system would compliment this system and would be the first phase of mass transport.

Establishing a strong inter-town connectivity in terms of public transit system between Gelephu, its regional catchment areas and other parts of Bhutan, and the proposal for developing a transit terminal in the town, is seen as both crucial and vital part of the structure plan, considering the envisioned development of Gelephu as a growth centre in the south-central part of the country and to integrate the town into the development stream of the country. The following components are seen as inseparable elements for encouraging the use of Public Transit system in the Gelephu town in the coming years.

For any Public Transit System to become a successful story one of the prime requirements is the creation of transit hubs, so that the citizens have proper facilities, as well as options to reach the destinations. In the absence of proper interconnectivity and coordination between various public transit points citizens are forced to take up private modes of transportation. In Gelephu town as a measure to encourage a public transportation system in the coming decades, a multi-modal transit hub is proposed along the Gelephu-Sarpang Corridor. This transit hub would house the proposed railway station and airport terminal, together with inter and intra-city bus stand, a taxi stand and a visitor’s centre. The Visitors' Centre will accommodate a commercial cum hospitality hub, with a tourist information centre, ATM, cafes, phone kiosks, convenience and souvenir shops, clean toilets and showers, luggage storage, petrol pump with a minor repairs shop, transit hotel and rest areas. It would also house Immigration and Customs offices and necessary security posts.

One of the greatest design flaws of transport terminal configuration all over the world, is to surround it with parking and noisy bus areas. This separates the facilities of the terminus from the pedestrian and effectively makes them a detriment to any mixed-use development. These all-too-common configurations destroy the opportunity for creating a pedestrian friendly urban environment to evolve in these areas and most of the time these places function just as traffic islands. Often these undesirable facilities can be placed on one side of the terminus, leaving the other for pedestrian-oriented environments to develop. The structure plan encourages such a kind of design where a pedestrian dominated central space, will form the central focus of the proposed multi-mode transit hub. Thus the citizens and visitors would have a sufficient choice as well as convenience in choosing the desired mode of transportation to reach their destinations. While the main Multi-modal transport hub will be at the airport, the future envisioned intra-town transit hub will be accommodated in the urban core and in the new urban hub. These will be linked to transport nodes at each Urban Village / Urban Neighborhood.

5.8.3.2 Public Transit Stop Locations in Urban Villages / Urban Neighborhoods

Accessibility is the key to successful transit rider-ship. A centrally located transit stop is closest to the greatest number of residents and employees. Transit stops should provide pleasant and convenient access to residential and commercial areas. With the future population of Gelephu, dependent mainly on the surrounding industrial development for their work, there will be heavy traffic of private vehicles owned by various industries transporting their staff from residences to their work places which would need specific stop points in an Urban Village / Urban Neighborhood.

Ideally, these Transit Stops should be located centrally within the Village Square. The Transit line should feed directly into the Node and its core commercial area. The Village Square should be located along the arterial transit route, directly accessible from the Transit Stop via sidewalks and clear pedestrian connections.

Transit Oriented Development advocated in the Gelephu Structure Plan will integrate transit stops in Village Squares with compact, walkable neighborhoods. The idea is to cluster high-density, walk-up apartments around the node facilities, especially the transit stop. Eventually, the entire town becomes linked into a “ride and walk” system bringing access to the Town Core, Hubs and Village Squares to every citizen.

Transit passengers are likely to make frequent street crossings, some at mid-block, depending on the location and design of the transit stop. The street design must recognize the need for easy, safe and fast pedestrian access, by providing sufficient auto and pedestrian visibility distances, stop signs, access for the physically challenged and clearly marked pedestrian crossings at signalized intersections. Where bus stops must be located along Primary Roads, there should be provision for side walks and cross walks to facilitate frequent pedestrian crossings across the roads. Wherever possible, bus routes should follow parallel connector streets that feed directly into the core commercial area, thus helping to separate out the through traffic and transit operations.

Most people will use public transit only if it is fast, safe, dependable and convenient. Buses must be frequent and regular. Accessibility to transit stops must be given high priority in the design of streets in order to promote transit rider-ship. Street crossing placements, design, and markings should recognize the need for fast and flexible access to the stop.

In the modern context, where vehicles have become an important component of an individual’s life, accommodating them within the urban area, has become essential and crucial. It is crucial in the sense that, though it helps to overcome the separations created by distance, it has created contradictions for human needs at various occasions. At these situations parking spaces form a vital negotiating entity. The Gelephu Structure Plan while understanding the needs of an urban life provides various parking options for the vehicles in the town.

On-street parking helps to create street activity, as well as provide functional spaces. It supports in the orientation of building entries to the streets by providing convenient access. Parallel parking should be used most often; however, angled on-street parking is encouraged along shopping streets within the Town Core commercial areas, where slow drive-by traffic is desired. To maintain travel speeds and emergency vehicle access, on-street parking should be discouraged on arterial Roads. On-street parking helps “civilize” the street for pedestrians by creating a buffer between moving cars and the sidewalk. The additional parking helps to replace areas devoted to large off-street parking lots and places the parking near the desired street-side building entries. On-street parking tends to slow down the flow of through traffic and helps to develop a pedestrian environment where walking is desired.

Park-and-Ride facilitates the interface between public transit and private transit systems, where one can park private vehicles in a parking lot and catch a public transit system to reach the destination. While Park-and-Ride lots are extremely important components towards building the rider-ship of the overall Public Transit System, they do not necessarily augment the uses, activities, and densities of a mixed use, transit-oriented neighborhood. The location and type of Park-and-Ride lots should be considered in terms of the goals and functions of the entire transit system. Park-and-Ride lots are best located adjacent to the Transit Stops and the Transit Hubs. One such Park and Ride lot is proposed to be developed as a part of the proposed Multi-Modal Transit hub to encourage the use of public transit system in the future.

In a pedestrian oriented Structure Plan, like the one for Gelephu, off-street parking in small pods, will allow vehicles to penetrate into the Town Core, Urban Hubs and Village Squares, from peripheral access streets, while maintaining the pedestrian friendly nature of the urban areas.