Chimanlal Girdharlal Road, popularly known as CG road, has always been an important arterial road for Ahmedabad. The road emerged as the prime retail street of the city in the late 1980s with high property prices on both sides. However, the street itself, with a 100 ft. right-of-way and a length of about 3.5kms, was no more than a 40 ft. wide patch of asphalt with streetlights and unpaved earth on either side. As the city grew, traffic increased considerably, parking became haphazard, and the street became unsafe for pedestrians.
In 1994, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation appointed HCP to comprehensively design CG road to make it efficient and safe, while accommodating the conflicting demands on the street. The design provided parking for 400 cars and 1200 scooters, two-lane carriageways for thoroughfare, and boulevard-style pedestrian walkways on both sides. The project received critical acclaim for its design and for its innovative self-financing mechanism.
Twenty-five years later, by 2019, the city had once again outgrown the now-central arterial street. Consequently, CG Road needed to be refurbished and renovated to cater to the rising densification, increased footfall, and heavier traffic on the 3 km stretch. This challenge was to address five primary objectives through the design of the street: ensuring that it serves as an efficient arterial road for thoroughfare; improving the pedestrian experience of the street; ensuring that it functions well as a retail street; demonstrating robust and high-quality construction; and making it easy to operate and maintain.
The design addresses all these objectives in a comprehensive manner, retaining and enhancing CG Road’s value as a retail destination for residents and visitors alike, while keeping its distinct and memorable character intact. The project serves as a part of HCP’s wider attempt to make Indian cities more livable and pedestrian friendly.
Watch the video here
Ahmedabad
Start Year: 2018
Chimanlal Girdharlal Road, popularly known as CG road, has always been an important arterial road for Ahmedabad. The road emerged as the prime retail street of the city in the late 1980s with high property prices on both sides. However, the street itself, with a 100 ft. right-of-way and a length of about 3.5kms, was no more than a 40 ft. wide patch of asphalt with streetlights and unpaved earth on either side. As the city grew, traffic increased considerably, parking became haphazard, and the street became unsafe for pedestrians.
In 1994, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation appointed HCP to comprehensively design CG road to make it efficient and safe, while accommodating the conflicting demands on the street. The design provided parking for 400 cars and 1200 scooters, two-lane carriageways for thoroughfare, and boulevard-style pedestrian walkways on both sides. The project received critical acclaim for its design and for its innovative self-financing mechanism.
Twenty-five years later, by 2019, the city had once again outgrown the now-central arterial street. Consequently, CG Road needed to be refurbished and renovated to cater to the rising densification, increased footfall, and heavier traffic on the 3 km stretch. This challenge was to address five primary objectives through the design of the street: ensuring that it serves as an efficient arterial road for thoroughfare; improving the pedestrian experience of the street; ensuring that it functions well as a retail street; demonstrating robust and high-quality construction; and making it easy to operate and maintain.
The design addresses all these objectives in a comprehensive manner, retaining and enhancing CG Road’s value as a retail destination for residents and visitors alike, while keeping its distinct and memorable character intact. The project serves as a part of HCP’s wider attempt to make Indian cities more livable and pedestrian friendly.
Watch the video here